Sound Masking Systems

The tremendous flexibility of an open office floor plan makes it a logical choice for many of today's businesses.  However, there are some trade-offs.  One of the most common complaints by office personnel is that they can hear conversations taking place three or four workstations away. Besides being distracting, it also affects productivity.  Sound masking, when combined with the proper amount and type of absorption (i.e. work station dividers, carpeting, acoustical tile ceiling, etc.) can mask the human voice so that these conversations become unintelligible.  By mounting speakers in the plenum (the area above the lay-in tile ceiling grid) and driving them with a noise source designed to mask the primary bandwidth of the human voice, it is possible to achieve a degree of speech privacy.  It is not uncommon for a sound masking system to pay for itself in just one year due to increased office productivity. With a minimal amount of additional equipment and labor, background music and/or announcement, capability can be layered on top of the sound-masking signal.  Today, businesses are realizing that a properly designed and installed sound masking system allows them to profit from all the benefits offered by an open office environment.

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