Sound Masking/Speech Privacy System
A sound masking system is most often used in buildings having an open office floor plan environment. The open floor plan is popular because it offers flexibility in reconfiguring office space without the need to build, or tear down, permanent walls or ceilings. Unfortunately, this use of "cubicles" for defining an office worker’s space, does very little to minimize the transmission of sound from adjacent workspaces. Telephone conversations and meetings between co-workers can easily be heard and understood by other employees, even when they are several workstations away.
A successful sound masking system design, when combined with the use of proper acoustical barriers and treatments, will substantially reduce the intelligibility of conversations coming from these adjacent workspaces; thus the name speech privacy.
A sound masking system is an unusual audio system because its primary use is not to amplify voice or music through an exposed loudspeaker system. Instead, random noise is generated through speaker assemblies that are typically out of sight; placed above lay-in ceiling tiles, in the space that is often called the plenum. This noise is adjusted to a very moderate level and its frequency response is tuned to act as a sound blanket. When operating correctly, normal speech occurring within a cubical or via telephone is virtually unaffected, but the sound masking system will interfere with speech coming from adjacent workspaces.
When considering the use of sound masking for the purpose of speech privacy, please keep in mind that it is only one component of the total solution. The success is dependent on the use of correctly designed and installed acoustical treatments as part of the workspaces and the use of compatible lay-in ceiling tiles.
It is possible to also use the sound masking speakers for general paging and background music, by including minimal additions to the amplification and control components. This capability should be planned for, during the initial design and implementation, instead of an afterthought, in order to guarantee success.
