Sound Proof Insulation – More Effective and Less Costly

Currently, there are now several ways and means of soundproofing a wall and insulate it. Improvements in the sound proofing industry have created more products that are now more effective and less costly than it was before. Sound proof insulation had come a long way.

Principles

At this time, though, one needs to understand some of the main principles of sound movements and how to minimize or totally eliminate it. Some of the principles include getting the information that the effect of insulation is minimal in both low and high frequencies.

For a conventional wall, the effects of insulation are quite similar to having no insulation. The largest gains are just above the primary low-frequency resonance.

Experiments

Adding layers to a normal single wood stud well result in the effects of getting the gains in the mid-range higher at middle and high frequencies. In the low frequencies, however, the performance is not as good as with the lighter installation.

It is here where the STC (sound transmission class) ratings rise by a mere 2 points (from 32 to 34). Insulation has much more value in decoupled walls.

Low resonance points

In walls having mechanical connections between the two sides, the insulation has proven to benefits of insulation at middle and high frequencies. In low frequencies, the capacity of the insulating materials to absorb sound falls dramatically. The benefits of insulation at low frequencies are to lower the resonance points.

Lowering the resonance points is deemed valuable and in walls with damping or decoupling, the insulation has considerable value at middle and high frequencies which should be considered mandatory for any sound isolation application.

Less effective insulation

To demonstrate how insulation becomes less effective as frequencies fall, place a fiberglass in front of the mid and high frequency speakers in youth room and listen to what happens. The sound would probably be muffled or muted.

Afterwards, put the same fiberglass in front of the subwoofer cones. Nothing happens. This is the same with the walls.

STC (sound transmission class) ratings

When dealing with sound, one need to be familiar with STC ratings. STC ratings measure how much a particular sound proofing construction material reduces sound. (R-values in thermal insulation are the values of retained heat in the materials used.)

Higher STC ratings means the materials used are better at noise reduction. A wall with an STC rating of 30 will allow most sentences to be heard clearly in a conversation. A wall having an STC rating of 50 will block most of the loud speech and only transfer faint sounds of loud musical instruments.

Some guides

Often enough, people think using denser insulation materials cures every sound problem. Generally, it is preferable using standard building type insulation.

It is not advisable to use expensive and very dense insulation. In addition to the expense, they tend to make low frequency performance worse by raining the resonance frequencies.

The use of sound proof insulation is critical and valuable, but insulation alone cannot win, especially in conventional walls where direct structural connections exist between the sides.