Acoustic foam

Acoustic foam is a open celled foam used for acoustic treatment. It attenuates airborne sound waves by increasing air resistance, this reducing the amplitude of the waves. The energy is dissipated as heat. Acoustic Foam can be made in several different colors, sizes and thickness. It is Best applied directly to a wall.

Acoustic foam comes in a variety of sizes and can be attached to walls, ceilings, doors, and other features of a room to control noise levels, vibration, and echoes.

Many acoustic foam products are treated with dyes and/or fire retardants.

Uses

Acoustic foam can be used in two ways; sound blocking or acoustic enhancement.

Sound blocking

The objective is to stop sound from entering or leaving a space. This purpose requires all walls, ceiling and floor to be covered in acoustic foam, effectively eliminating all resonance within the room.

Acoustic enhancement

The objective is to enhance the properties of sound by improving speech clarity and sound quality.

For this reason, acoustic foam is often used in recording studios. The purpose is to reduce, but not entirely eliminate resonance within the room. This is achieved by placing similar sized pieces of foam, often in the shape of cones or triangles, on opposite walls.

Acoustic foam is often used to reduce echos by attaching it to the walls of large rooms, like churches, synagogues and temples. Using jagged acoustic foam to baffle the sound can help, as does hanging sound baffles that break up the empty space in high ceilings and large rooms.

some supplier's of acoustic foam are Auralex Sonex Siderise Comfortex Acoustics