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White noise generator for office
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| Topic: | White noise generator for office This thread has 39 replies. Displaying posts 1 through 15. |
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| Post 1 made on Wednesday November 4, 2009 at 20:09 |
phil Founding Member |
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Posts: | December 2001
1,894 |
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I have a client with a 3-5k' cubicle farm that is looking for a white noise system to give privacy to the cubicle inhabitants (cuboids? cubists? cubicals?).
I know what happens when I assume things, but I assume this is basically a white noise generator fed into an amp and speaker system that evenly distributes the sound over the entire room.
Has anybody done this and has it worked? Any pitfalls? Complaints from the workers?
TIA
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The CI business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side. |
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| Post 2 made on Wednesday November 4, 2009 at 20:15 |
amirm Regular Member |
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Posts: | December 2008
177 |
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I have only heard of people with confidential work (i.e. military contractors) deploying this in the special areas where they don't want people to hear the conversation. Having had to have meeting in such conference rooms, I have to tell you that it is one of the most annoying things there is. No one can properly understand anyone else in that environment. Without a government mandate to deploy them as with the case above, I wouldn't want to ever work in that environment.
Besides, if they have PCs, the fan noise acts as a mild version of that already...
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Amir
Contributing Editor, WideScreen Review Magazine
Retired Digital Media Insider |
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| Post 3 made on Wednesday November 4, 2009 at 20:18 |
Other Active Member |
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Posts: | March 2007
610 |
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Yes, you are correct in a nutshell. It's not really pure white noise, typically it is weighted noise. We generally try to match the HVAC so that workers just think it is HVAC noise and don't really notice it.
I use mostly Atlas for generators & speakers with Crown or Extron Amps, but there are many vendors that could be used.
The major difference in terms of installation is that the speakers are generally installed above the ceiling in the plenum vs. your standard through the ceiling background/foreground music speaker.
Give Fred Harding's favorite supplier a call and they should be able to help you out.
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| Post 4 made on Wednesday November 4, 2009 at 22:23 |
GotGame Founding Member |
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Posts: | February 2002
1,519 |
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You can talk to Lowell Mfg and they can help design a system for you and place you with the area rep.
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| Post 5 made on Thursday November 5, 2009 at 08:48 |
Fred Harding Founding Member |
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Posts: | October 2001
1,149 |
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It's called sound masking
Very effective at enhancing privacy in confidential situations like doctors, lawyers, therapists offices
Atlas happens to be my vendor of choice. As suggested earlier, available at my favorite supplier (along with design assistance)
I am teaching a class on this (and other related commercial audio topics) in Tampa the middle of this month.
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| Post 6 made on Thursday November 5, 2009 at 11:45 |
Ernie Bornn-Gilman Elite Member |
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Posts: | December 2001
12,933 |
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On November 4, 2009 at 20:09, phil said...
I have a client with a 3-5k' cubicle farm that is looking for a white noise system to give privacy to the cubicle inhabitants (cuboids? cubists? cubicals?).
Cubiclans, or following the example of Canada, Cubiclians (but perhaps that's why one satire site refers to the country as Canadia). Although I'm tempted to say Cubans.
I know what happens when I assume things, but I assume this is basically a white noise generator fed into an amp and speaker system
White noise has a random distribution of all frequencies, with all frequencies at the same volume. You want at least pink noise, which is the same but equal amounts of power per octave. The highs are less pronounced with pink noise.
Technically, it isnt' actually white or pink noise without a subwoofer to reproduce all the random frequencies down to zero Hertz.
that evenly distributes the sound over the entire room.
Yeah, I've seen that, with multiple speakers in the ceiling. I've also seen a little box for this, unobtrusively on the floor, in a psychologist's office. The noise lessens the likelihood of you being able to understand a conversation from the adjacent office, or a scream from down the hall....
A google search for "office noise masking" gives lots of hits, the first useful one being [Link: adiacoustics.com], who say they have national accounts. I was amused by their picture titled
Sound Masking Systems Designed and Installed Nation Wide
That sounds like a bigger system than I'd ever want to see!
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I have ACTUALLY said this a thousand times: We can't help you much without the make and model of everything involved in the problem! Unless you want a vague answer. Or none. Your move. |
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| Post 7 made on Thursday November 5, 2009 at 12:45 |
GotGame Founding Member |
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Posts: | February 2002
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How about getting Alan, Vincent and Ernie in the room? :)
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| Post 8 made on Thursday November 5, 2009 at 13:29 |
SOUND.SD Super Member |
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Posts: | April 2006
2,714 |
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Fred Favorite went over this briefly in a 70V training course.
As Fred mentioned it is called sound masking. I believe the speakers are usually placed above drop ceiling. If I remember correctly they even use it at Freds Favorite.
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Sales, Installation, Marketing, Accounting, and tech support specialist. San Diego / Bulldog Audio & Video www.Bulldog-AV.com |
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| Post 9 made on Thursday November 5, 2009 at 13:36 |
Ernie Bornn-Gilman Elite Member |
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Posts: | December 2001
12,933 |
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GotGame: I vote for your post as #1 post of the year so far. Of course, to get there I had to exclude all posts about residential opossum hunting....
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I have ACTUALLY said this a thousand times: We can't help you much without the make and model of everything involved in the problem! Unless you want a vague answer. Or none. Your move. |
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| Post 10 made on Thursday November 5, 2009 at 14:28 |
Mr. Stanley Elite Member |
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Posts: | January 2006
10,343 |
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On November 5, 2009 at 08:48, Fred Harding said...
It's called sound masking
Very effective at enhancing privacy in confidential situations like doctors, lawyers, therapists offices
Atlas happens to be my vendor of choice. As suggested earlier, available at my favorite supplier (along with design assistance)
I am teaching a class on this (and other related commercial audio topics) in Tampa the middle of this month.
Actually had a wealthy client request a sound masking system for his home!!
He had twenty foot (edited) ceilings walls of windows, stained concrete floors - horrid acoustics.
He had a sound masking system in his offices & enjoyed the benefits.
Last edited by Mr. Stanley on November 5, 2009 19:45.
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"If it keeps up, man will atrophy all his limbs but the push-button finger."
Frank Lloyd Wright |
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| Post 11 made on Thursday November 5, 2009 at 16:04 |
2nd rick Super Member |
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Posts: | August 2002
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On November 5, 2009 at 14:28, Mr. Stanley said...
He had twenty story ceilings walls of windows, stained concrete floors - horrid acoustics.
I know there is some ridiculous Microsoft money up there, but twenty story ceilings?? That's like 200+ feet high, Man!!
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2nd Rick on RC and IntegrationPros.
cinemascope on AVS (but I rarely go back there) |
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| Post 12 made on Thursday November 5, 2009 at 19:45 |
Mr. Stanley Elite Member |
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On November 5, 2009 at 16:04, 2nd rick said...
I know there is some ridiculous Microsoft money up there, but twenty story ceilings?? That's like 200+ feet high, Man!!
LOL! I meant 20 foot ceilings!!! Doh!
Last edited by Mr. Stanley on November 6, 2009 17:23.
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"If it keeps up, man will atrophy all his limbs but the push-button finger."
Frank Lloyd Wright |
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| Post 13 made on Thursday November 5, 2009 at 22:51 |
Hasbeen Regular Member |
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Posts: | November 2007
146 |
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Tell him to get taller cubicles....You'd be surprised at how much taller walled cubicles with the fabric walls mask the sound. We got them in our office, I went from feeling like I was in the conversation with the guy next to me to having to look over the wall to see if he was in the office. It was a huge difference.
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| Post 14 made on Friday November 6, 2009 at 05:05 |
SOUND.SD Super Member |
Joined:
Posts: | April 2006
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On November 5, 2009 at 22:51, Hasbeen said...
Tell him to get taller cubicles....You'd be surprised at how much taller walled cubicles with the fabric walls mask the sound. We got them in our office, I went from feeling like I was in the conversation with the guy next to me to having to look over the wall to see if he was in the office. It was a huge difference.
So..... essentially give the business to a furniture company?
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Sales, Installation, Marketing, Accounting, and tech support specialist. San Diego / Bulldog Audio & Video www.Bulldog-AV.com |
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| Post 15 made on Friday November 6, 2009 at 05:43 |
2nd rick Super Member |
Joined:
Posts: | August 2002
3,375 |
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There are options for acoustic panels which drop right into 24x24 ceilings as well. Some are fiberglass like standard acoustic panels, and some are more like traditional ceiling tiles, except from a softer material with a more exaggerated profile to diffuse the reflected sound.
I would also call Fred and attack this electronically, since that is what the client ASKED for.
Contrary to what Amir says, a properly designed and calibrated system can provide the desired results for adjacent areas without negative effects on speech intelligibility within a defined areas where masking is NOT desired.
The defined areas such as meeting rooms just have to be accounted for.
Another reason to work with a competent supplier...
Phil,
Read this...
[Link: lencore.com]
Amir, I am really confused by your PC fan comment...
Should the OP's solution be to just remind the client to make sure that his employees turn their PCs on each day??
This may be a stretch, but I think we can safely assume that the PCs are already going to be turned on each work day. Since we are making assumptions, we might also safely assume that the current level of ambient noise is NOT getting them the desired result, hence the request for something additional.
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2nd Rick on RC and IntegrationPros.
cinemascope on AVS (but I rarely go back there) |
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