Echoes can be eliminated or removed from a room by shortening the reverberation time in the room. An echo is usually associated with rooms with hard surfaces.
Acoustic solutions that can stop sound reflecting off hard surfaces in a room will help eliminate an echo
One of the important acoustic property in any room or open space where you have to listen to, or talk with somebody is often referred to as "Speech intelligibility".
The acoustic property of a room that controls speech intelligibility is reverberation time. In rooms such as class rooms where it is important that the students and teacher can hear each other; restaurants where we want to have a conversation with a friend; or even in the family room at home when we want to watch the TV or talk with a family member, it is important that the reverberation time in the room be short.
Rooms that do not have short reverberation times usually suffer from echo problems and thus it is difficult to hear and understand a conversation you may be listening to. We usually refer to these rooms as having poor speech intelligibility.
Reverberation time (RT60) is defined as the time it takes for the average sound level in a room to decrease by 60 decibels once the original source of sound stops transmitting. In any closed room, sound will continue to be heard for some time as it reflects off hard surfaces, even after the original sound stops generating.
The only way to improve the speech intelligibility of a room is to eliminate any echo problems by shortening the reverberation in the room.
Not all rooms require a short reverberation time
Rooms with short reverberation times are often described as being "Acoustically Dead" and these rooms are an excellent environments for learning and teaching. Also people with a hearing problem require a room with a short reverberation time in order to understand the intended conversation being directed towards them.
Conversely, rooms optimised for live music need slightly longer reverberation times, and these rooms are often described as having a, “Live Spaces”.
Longer reverberation times enhance the music experience. A longer reverberation time adds to the fullness of tone, helps blend sounds and enhances the richness of all the music frequencies
The image below show a range of optimum reverberation times for different activities in order to achieve a good acoustic experience.
The acoustic property of a room that controls speech intelligibility is reverberation time. In rooms such as class rooms where it is important that the students and teacher can hear each other; restaurants where we want to have a conversation with a friend; or even in the family room at home when we want to watch the TV or talk with a family member, it is important that the reverberation time in the room be short.
Rooms that do not have short reverberation times usually suffer from echo problems and thus it is difficult to hear and understand a conversation you may be listening to. We usually refer to these rooms as having poor speech intelligibility.
Reverberation time (RT60) is defined as the time it takes for the average sound level in a room to decrease by 60 decibels once the original source of sound stops transmitting. In any closed room, sound will continue to be heard for some time as it reflects off hard surfaces, even after the original sound stops generating.
The only way to improve the speech intelligibility of a room is to eliminate any echo problems by shortening the reverberation in the room.
Not all rooms require a short reverberation time
Rooms with short reverberation times are often described as being "Acoustically Dead" and these rooms are an excellent environments for learning and teaching. Also people with a hearing problem require a room with a short reverberation time in order to understand the intended conversation being directed towards them.
Conversely, rooms optimised for live music need slightly longer reverberation times, and these rooms are often described as having a, “Live Spaces”.
Longer reverberation times enhance the music experience. A longer reverberation time adds to the fullness of tone, helps blend sounds and enhances the richness of all the music frequencies
The image below show a range of optimum reverberation times for different activities in order to achieve a good acoustic experience.
How many acoustic panels does a room require to eliminate an echo
Reverberation time is affected by the size of the room and the surfaces that make up the room.
Small rooms typically have very short reverberation times so do not require a lot of acoustic treatment.
Larger rooms have long reverberation times and often require an acoustic treatment of between 30 - 40%.
Small rooms typically have very short reverberation times so do not require a lot of acoustic treatment.
Larger rooms have long reverberation times and often require an acoustic treatment of between 30 - 40%.