Sound Reduction Systems Ltd

Background Opened in 1955, Stinchcombe Village Hall has been at the heart of the community in the Gloucestershire village for decades, and it continues to thrive thanks to the dedication of a group of local residents and regular users. An active programme ensures the hall is regularly used for a whole host of activities, classes, clubs, and events for residents, maintaining its original mission to provide a facility that supports physical and mental wellbeing, training and recreation.The committee works hard to ensure the village hall’s facilities are maintained to a high standard. The hall features dimmable lighting, a stage with seating area, kitchen; and toilets accessible to disabled users, plus another meeting room known as the ‘Committee Room.Over the years Stinchcombe Village Hall has benefited from various upgrading projects, including in recent times improved heating and energy efficient lighting throughout. However, the committee are constantly looking at how they can improve things further, including acoustics.ProblemCharlie Oakhill, Chairman of Stinchcombe Village Hall, approached acoustic specialists Sound Reduction Systems (SRS) to explore the potential for reducing excessive reverberation within the hall during use. The committee had taken the initiative prior to contacting SRS by completing and submitting SRS’s online 3 Step Estimator Form.They wanted to take action to make the hall more acoustically comfortable during regular activities. Users often found it difficult to hear speech and music easily because of the high levels of ambient noise that developed, particularly during performances and busy activities.SolutionUpon receiving key information about Stinchcombe Village Hall, including the dimensions, surface finishes and photographs of the ceiling and walls, SRS were able to input this data into their Sonata acoustic modelling software. This was able to evaluate the existing acoustic performance of the room and specify exactly how much Sonata Class A sound absorption would be required to solve the issue.The Stinchcombe Village Hall committee were then presented with a report detailing predicted before and after performance and a budget estimate for the treatment. Once this had been approved, the next step was for an SRS technical advisor to visit the hall and carry out a dimensional survey to confirm the specification and quote.SRS Sonata Aurio absorbers are a practical and cost effective way to control reverberation inside buildings like this village hall where there are a lot of hard surfaces. The panels comprise a technical, non-shedding, acoustic foam with an acoustically transparent fabric finish to the face and sides. They are easy and quick to install and can be directly bonded to walls and ceilings, and because they are robust, they are perfect for gyms, sports halls or anywhere where ball strikes may occur.Results The site survey was carried out by SRS Director, Alex Docherty. He said:“The presence of hard, acoustically reflective surfaces and lack of soft furnishings was creating a high level of reverberation and echo. This was creating an environment that wasn’t ideal for many activities undertaken within the hall and making speech intelligibility particularly poor. Once the details of the hall had been entered into the SRS computer prediction programme, it showed an estimated mid-frequency reverberation time (Tmf) of 3.73s – way higher than the recommended value of <1.5s for a room of this usage.”After the quotation was approved by the committee, approximately 52m2 of class A Sonata Aurio acoustic panels were installed to the walls and ceiling within the hall, with fantastic results.Client feedbackFollowing completion of the installation, Charlie Oakhill, Chairman of Stinchcombe Village Hall commented:“Thank you for completing the acoustics promptly and a very tidy job. The panels have made a tremendous difference in our hall and I am sure we will get a lot of positive feedback from our users.“Jed the installer did a great job and left everything neat and tidy, he is a credit to SRS. Thanks again and finally we are happy to speak to any potential customers and also happy if they want to come and have a look and a listen.”Products used·       Sonata Aurio panels

Background Established in 1976, the 4th Ashby de la Zouch Scout Group is a thriving organisation which provides opportunities for young people in the local area to join the Beavers, Cubs and Scouts. More than 175 young people take part in weekly meetings in which volunteers organise a wide range of activities for them to have fun, play games, socialise and learn new things. In 2021, the North West Leicestershire group increased its capacity to enable more young people to get involved when it moved to its current HQ in the in the village of Donisthorpe. Scouting volunteers worked hard to modernise the building to create the right environment for the activities that the Beavers, Cubs and Scouts would be undertaking, but like many halls of its kind there was a significant acoustic issue that needed to be addressed.The problemThe Donisthorpe Scout Centre’s main hall was acoustically uncomfortable. When it was fully occupied, background noise was excessively high which made speech intelligibility poor and impacted on the engagement and enjoyment levels of the young people during activities. It was also physically demanding for volunteers having to constantly shout to make themselves heard as they organised activities.The acoustic issue here was reverberation, a common problem which stems from the use of hard, durable materials in the construction and décor of buildings designed to accommodate group activities. While materials such as wooden flooring, plastered walls and large glass windows are excellent choices for their longevity and ease of cleaning, they have a far less positive contribution to acoustics as soundwaves generated from speech, music and other activities have little scope to be absorbed – they simply bounce back into the room to make it uncomfortably noisy.The solutionSound Reduction Systems were tasked with addressing this reverberation after been contacted by Jon Bloor, volunteer leader of 4th Ashby de la Zouch Scout Group. After receiving his description of the issue, the SRS team recommended the installation of its class A rated Sonata Aurio, which are purpose-designed to absorb soundwaves in applications of this type.Sonata Aurio absorbers are an efficient way of reducing reverberation within most kinds of buildings. Scout huts, village halls, school halls, or in any large, open area can benefit from them, and the potential improvements can be indicated by completing the simple 3-Step Estimator form on the SRS website. Alternatively, the room dimensions and photos of the ceiling and walls within the room can be sent to the SRS team via email or WhatsApp.The key to providing the most effective reverberation solution using these absorber panels is to understand how many are needed to achieve the target acoustic improvement and where they should be mounted within a room. This is where the extensive experience of the SRS team benefited the scout group most, informing their proposal and providing a solution that was guaranteed to make a significant acoustic improvement. Just over 34 sq. m of Sonata Aurio absorbers were installed to the ceiling within the main room, with their finished in light and dark blue fabrics improving aesthetics too. This process was carried out by the company’s professional team in just one day, meaning minimal disruption to the use of the room.The resultsImprovements to acoustic conditions where reverberation is the issue are assessed by calculating the reverberation time before and after installation of the absorber panels. In this instance, the reverberation time in the main hall was reduced from 2.19s to 0.96s, a reduction that Jon, his volunteer colleagues and all the young people who use the hall immediately noticed.Client feedbackJon Bloor, volunteer leader of 4th Ashby de la Zouch Scout Group said:"Thank you both (you and your two fitters) for guiding us and delivering a solution to the noise problems we have endured for several years in such a quick time. Last night we all noticed the difference - it was possible to have conversations in the hall rather than shouting all the time.“I've recommended you to my boss for his scouts and also a couple of groups down the road who struggle - I'll continue to do so."

Sonata Vario Class A suspended acoustic absorption panels installed within Narborough Village Hall to control reverberation and noise during use.

BackgroundThackley Primary School in Bradford is a well-established suburban school providing education for children aged 3-11. The school’s positive ethos seeks to provide a happy and active environment for learning, with teachers and staff dedicated to working hard to secure the highest educational standards for their pupils. With more than 450 pupils, the building can become extremely busy during school hours, both in classrooms and communal areas. That was presenting some challenges in terms of acoustics in certain areas of the school, particularly in its multi-use hall which is used for performances, PE lessons and dining.ProblemThackley Primary School’s multi-use hall is a large, open plan room which, like many internal environments of this type, features extensive areas of hard, reflective surfaces. When the room was in use, particularly when occupied by a large number of pupils and staff, excessive reverberation and echo was making it an unpleasant acoustic environment.Head of the School, Annette Patterson, sought to find a solution to these issues and approached Sound Reduction Systems (SRS) given the company’s experience in resolving these types of acoustic problems in schools. At the initial enquiry stage, Annette provided details about the school hall, including dimensions and photographs, from which the SRS technical department was able to model the space using their acoustic software. This enabled the team to propose a provisional solution with a specification and provide a quote. Once the proposed solution was agreed in principle, an acoustics specialist from SRS visited the school to take detailed measurements and discuss the various options available to arrive at a detailed specification.SolutionImmediately on receipt of Annette’s request for help addressing this acoustic issue, the SRS team confirmed reverberation was indeed excessive and reducing it would make a huge difference. SRS Director, Alex Docherty, commented:“As soon as I was shown into the hall, it was clear that the acoustic environment was not ideal – the long reverberation time made it difficult to hold a simple conversation between a few people comfortably, let alone when the hall was full of children. It was clear that a treatment using one of our Class A rated Sonata products was required to solve the issue.”Prior to any improvements, the estimated mid-frequency reverberation time was recorded at (Tmf) 3.57s. This level is considered excessive for a room of this nature. SRS calculated that 75sqm of their decorative Sonata panel absorbers would be required to solve the problem, bringing the reverberation time down to (Tmf) 1.13s.SRS provided the school with a layout design detailing where the panels would be installed within the hall. The school chose a combination of Suspended Sonata Vario panels and bonded Sonata Aurio panels and SRS were able to despatch their installation team within 2 weeks to fit the absorbers.Client feedback“I just wanted to say a huge thank you for the acoustic panels we had fitted. The whole process was great - from making initial contact with you, site survey, and fitting. You were always so helpful and knowledgeable when I contacted you. The wonderful man who came to fit the panels was just lovely! Really professional, friendly and had a high standard and a high quality of fitting.“The impact of the panels has been simply fantastic! What a difference!!! Lunchtimes are now completely different, assemblies are better and PE lessons are calmer. I have been recommending your company to everyone and playing them my ‘before and after’ videos that I made! Thank you again.”Head of Thackley Primary School, Annette Patterson.Products usedSuspended Sonata Vario panels Sonata Aurio panels

Sonata Vario Class A suspended acoustic absorption panels installed within the dining room at Burlington House School to control reverberation and noise during use.

Sound absorption experts, Sound Reduction Systems (SRS), have recently completed a successful acoustic project at Socketts Heath Baptist Church in Grays, Essex.

Sound Reduction Systems Ltd (SRS) have installed Class A acoustic absorption panels within Westgate Primary School in Morecambe to treat the problem of excessive reverberation and unsuitable room acoustics.