Guide to Sound Treatment and Sound Proofing

Something many amateur engineers and sound enthusiasts encounter is sound treatment and sound proofing. While those terms may seem similar, they're world's apart and information on them can be very vague and riddled with misinformation. We're gonna talk about those terms here and dispel some of those myths.

First, what is sound treatment? Sound treatment is the act of improving audio quality within a room either for recording or listening. That does not include treating a room so sound will not leak out. Many times, people will spend several hundred dollars on ''treating'' a room only to realize that they did very little to make the room sound proof.

So then, what is sound proofing? It's the act of making a room incapable of leaking audio. This is what many people have gathered incorrect information on, so let's expand on this subject a bit more. First, this is the correct procedure you want if you want to turn a room into a practice room that doesn't bother people. However, the act of sound proofing a room doesn't necessarily mean the inside will sound better. In fact, it may sound worse. So if you're looking for a room that sounds great and doesn't leak audio you're going to have to do both procedures. Sound proofing does little to the actual room itself, it just prevents leakage.

So you've decided to sound proof a room then? Well it's not as simple as it seems and is a costly process no matter how you slice it. Firstly, pretty much every makeshift method you've read about is fallacy. Carpets against the ceilings and walls, eggshell cartons, none of that works and will just be a waste of your time and money. You can buy sound proofing materials, but I'm positive you will be disappointed with the end result. They do help, but they don't prevent audio leakage completely. The truth is, if you want a room to really seal in audio you're going to have pay professionals to do it. Those of you looking for practice rooms are much better off renting space that's already been sound proofed. It hurts, but it's the truth.

Sound treatment, on the other hand, is very doable by nearly anyone and can be installed into any room without much trouble. These kill off unwanted room influence onto the sound, making audio more dry and closer in quality to the master track. One hundred dollars is enough to get you treatment foam for a moderately sized room. If you're looking to improve your listening space, it can make a pretty noticeable difference. If you're building an in home studio on a budget, you will absolutely need to treat the room you're recording it.

That concludes this guide of sound treatment and sound proofing. Good luck!