Acoustic diffuser (4)

Acoustic diffusers are systems that were created for the most optimized sound scattering. The diffusion of sound waves has been known to man for many years. Richly decorated rooms with statues, ornaments and wall decorations caused the sound field to be dispersed. Nowadays, we notice the trend of minimalist architecture, most rooms have empty walls, which significantly affects their acoustics. Also, progress in construction makes perfectly parallel walls and straight angles can cause mirror images of sound. Appropriate dispersion of the sound wave significantly affects the reception of sound. By placing acoustic diffusers, we even out the frequency response of the room, with practically no shortening of the reverberation time, the sound remains “alive”.

Many people subjectively determine that the room seems much larger in acoustic terms than it really is. Distracting devices should be made with high accuracy, preferably using specialized machines. Only panels constructed in this way can provide us with adequate acoustic parameters, which are determined by their size. The material and the finish of the regimes also have a big impact on their parameters our acoustic panels.

When selecting panels for your room, you must select the appropriate type for the problem in addition to determining the number and location of the room. If we want to get rid of too long time of reverberation, noise, and maybe even a noticeable echo, the best choice would be sound absorbing panels, e.g. sound absorbers.

The absorbers will work in every room where we want to improve the acoustics, for example in the office, recording studio, conference room, home theater, restaurant etc. If, on the other hand, we want high quality sound recording or playback, it is worth using in addition to the panels absorbing also acoustic diffusers. These types of panels are best suited for recording studios, in a room with home cinema, concert halls or in a listening room. They would not necessarily find their application in the office or restaurant. Diffusing panels usually work on medium and high frequencies.

→ Take a look: Hybrid Acoustic Panels

Thanks to interesting shapes and forms, dissipative panels can be an interesting decoration in the room. When choosing a suitable place to hang the system, we should first remember that the diffuser should be at least one meter away from the listener. In some cases, this distance should be larger, and in some cases even smaller. However, you can average the correct distance and set it to 1m from the listener.

This distance is determined by the lower frequency that the diffuser can dissipate. The recommended places for this type of panels are the rear wall, the first sound reflections on the sides or on the ceiling and the center of the wall behind the speakers. When designing the layout, it is worth to read the techniques of acoustic adaptation such as LEDE – Live-end-dead-end or more developed RFZ (Reflection Free Zone).

→ Take a look: Basotect Basf