After what seems like an eternity, we are very please to announce that we are now shipping all our great acoustic treatment products to the EU.

The Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) means that we can now sell direct to consumers and take advantage of the seamless transfer of customs declarations through our dedicated courier DPD.

For orders less than €150 Euros the process means you can expect to receive your purchase without any additional charges being lumped on to you when your products are delivered. 

If you are purchasing product worth more than €150 we highly recommend that you split it into two orders. This may mean that delivery costs increase but will ensure your products get to you without having to create in unnecessary paperwork and incur additional charges.

Please ensure that your orders include as much information to ensure that it is delivered without and issues this includes contact number and email address for the delivery notifications to be sent to.

For our business customers please continue to contact us on sales@hypedupacoustics.co.uk you will need a VAT number and EORI number for us to ship out products to you.

Using the wrong spray adhesive to mount foam can be a very frustrating experience especially when mounting  panels on walls and ceilings, most spray adhesives are not designed to hold foam panels onto walls and ceilings rather are designed to join bits of foam together to make composite parts.

Carpet spray adhesive although cheaper doesn’t have the adhesion, tackiness and webbing to enable it mount foam panels permanently onto walls and ceilings. This is because carpet spray adhesive is designed to work with gravity not against it. Tiles are sprayed and the weight of the tile plus that of people walking over the carpets or objects resting on them, keeps the tiles in place.

Mounting foam panels however on vertical walls and ceilings requires a purpose made adhesive that has the right adhesion and is able to sit on the foam surface and not get soaked in. The right combination of these very exacting characteristics make ATAC Heavy Duty spray adhesive the  ultimate choice for permanent mounting of foam panels on walls and ceilings.

ATAC spray adhesive has been manufactured to high quality standards to ensure you get a quick, clean and effective bond on your acoustic foam. This spray adhesive is ideal for use on both polyurethane polyether and polyester foams.

ATAC spray discharges in a thick webbed stream allowing the adhesive to coat the foam panel and not get soaked into the foam. The heavy duty formulation of ensures that once parts to be mounted are bonded they remain in place.

ATAC spray is specially formulated to ensure it does not distort or shrink the acoustic foam it is applied to which would happen using other non specialist spray adhesives.

This spray adhesive will bond acoustic foam to wood, chipboard, plasterboard, metal and furniture.

After what has been a frustrating few months shuttling back and forth with our couriers, questioning why VAT and Duty is being double charged  on orders less that £135 shipped via IOSS we have decided to give it another go. We are taking a cautious step out to see what new challenges BREXIT has in store for us this time round.

We are pleased to say that the following stores are now open for orders shipped by us and over the comming weeks we shall be closely monitoring the situation to see if the deliveries are being made without major issues.

So if you are looking for where to buy our great products and you are in any of the above countries please head over to our Amazon store and get yourslef high quality acoustic treatment.

Please note purchases over £135 or €150 cannot be shipped out using IOSS in this case the VAT & duty amounts will be payable by the customer at point of receipt. Amazon will in this case ensure the amount paid at point of purchase doesn’t include VAT.

 Check Out Our Golf Simulator Panels

Ultraflex® is a premium, dark grey, high density, fire rated technical foam with excellent impact absorption properties which lend it well for use in impact simulation enclosures. Our plano panels are an increasingly popular choice for golf simulation installers who are seeing the benefits of a cost effective, easy to handle and install alternative to traditional curtains, drapes and upholstered foam.

Benefits of Ultraflex® Plano panels

Cost effective: Our plano panels are cut from a technical grade of foam which is designed to be used uncovered and yet remain aesthetically pleasing. The dark grey colour of the foam doesn’t discolour and naturally lends itself well to simulation enclosures where dark material linings are required. This drastically reduces costs, furthermore the dark grey colour reduces unnecessary reflections helping create a totally immersive experience.

Reduced installation time : Installing plano panels takes a fraction of the time required to mount and install alternative solutions. Plano tiles are installed used our ATAC heavy duty spray adhesive with large areas being covered rapidly. 

Aesthetically superior : Our plano panels are cut with a 45 degree bevel which creates a smart looking cushioned surface when installed. Increase client satisfaction with a professional looking surface. Other shapes and sizes can be cut if required with fast turn around times. Plano tiles are shipped out as standard 585x585x55mm with a beveled edge. No special handling equipment is required and panels can be cut on site using a stanley knife to fit any any awkward areas. The panels are light weight and can be used on ceilings without impacting on the load bearing limits of the ceiling structure. This flexibility and ease of handling also makes our  planotiles an attractive option for DIY users a market we are seeing growing exponentially.

Looking for a premium faux leather finish? Try out our premium stitched faux leather panels

We are delighted to announce that customers in ireland purchasing products from our stores on ebay and amazon can now have their orders delivered without any issues. 

The new EU VAT directive shifts responsibility for collection and paying VAT to online sellers and market places e.g. Amazon an ebay for purchase less that 135 Euros.

Although the directive means that we should theoretically be able to ship to all Euro countries the huge number of shipping issues we have encountered over the month of July have made it virtually impossible to ship products to Euro countries.

However a trial with items being shipped to Ireland purchased from Amazon has been successful and parcels were received in 2 working days with out any issues. We feel now is the right time to start accepting order from customers based in ireland.

We are in the process of securing our own IOSS arrangments and will announce when purchases can be made directly from our site.

Now that the lockdown is over, public spaces that are properly acoustically treated are in great demand for occasions and events. What most venue hall managers don’t realise is the acoustics in the room will almost instantly influence a client’s decision on whether or not to book a space.

Venues and spaces that are not acoustically treated sound bright and noisy and the thought of having guests in a venue that has excessive ring, echoes and reverberation will almost certainly turn away potential clients.

We are offering venues right across the UK the opportunity improve their chances of making the most of this demand by offering a free venue acoustical survey worth over £500. Our virtual survey  can be carried out at a time of convenience and involves visually inspecting the venue over  a video call , seeking out measurements, carrying advanced acoustical modelling to determine any particular issues and suggesting solutions to deal with these issues.

As a specialist acoustical treatment manufacturer we pride ourselves in offering solutions that are high performing, competitively priced and tested to the UK’s high fire standards for public buildings. Our class ‘0’ melamine foam panels are  a great way to instantly improve the reverberation times in any hall. They are fibreglass free, super light and can be installed using spray adhesive to walls or ceilings.  Our advanced CNC machinery can convert this foam into a  range of attractive shapes to suit your needs.

We would love to help you make the most of you space, if there is any particular aspect of acoustic treatment you would like to discuss please do not hesitate to speak to one of our friendly technical team members on 01442 899 294 or visit our website to see our range of acoustic treatment products.

Noisy neighbours driving you crazy? Motor traffic getting on your nerves? Many customers come to us seeking products that will reduce noise in their rooms and houses only to be disappointed when we try to explain that our acoustic foam products are not sound proofing products and will not stop sound entering or leaving a room. So much so that I thought it would be useful to have a simple article explaining how it is we provide acoustic treatment products that do not sound proof rooms.

Put simply soundproofing is the process of stopping or significantly reducing sound movement from one area to another this could be, stopping sound being created within the room leaving the room or preventing sound generated outside a room entering the room. In most cases soundproofing is required by customers trying to achieve the latter rather than the former. Our products are not soundproofing products.

Acoustic control or Sound treatment on the other hand is the process of controlling the residual sound in the room so that any unwanted sound interference within the room is either eliminated or attenuated so that its impact within the room is negligible. In sound treatment the emphasis is on the sound that is in the room and not sound that has left the room. Once the sound is in the room either from an internal or external source, sound treatment attempts to control it so that its effect on the sound or music a producer or mixing engineer is creating is minimal or non existent.

Sound-treatment

The simplest way to understand the distinction between these two is by considering a sound source in a room usually the speakers producing the music or beat a producer is working on. This sound comprises of a whole spectrum of frequencies from sub 100Hz to 10Khz and over.

Figure 1 attempts to illustrate this. As the sound created impacts the walls of the studio (Arrow A) three things happen.

i)- Some of the sound energy is absorbed by the wall. This will depend on the frequency of the sound as well as the absorption properties of the wall. Sound energy that is absorbed is converted in to heat (D) by the vibrating molecules of the wall as they “soak” up the sound energy. This portion of sound will have no impact on the sound in the studio as such is as good as non-existent.

ii)- A portion of the sound will pass through the wall and emerge as sound wave C after having undergone diffraction downward as it passes through the wall (Arrow B). Generally sound frequencies whose wavelength is greater than 4 times the thickness of the wall will penetrate the wall. This again depends on the thickness of the wall and structure e.g. if it has a filling or composite makeup. As the sound wave C has left the room it is of no use to us. Incidentally this portion of sound is what will create noise complaints from your neighbours

iii)- The final portion of the sound will get reflected back into the room (A1) . The amount of the sound reflected will depend on the frequency of the sound, the angle of incidence as well as the reflective properties of the surface onto which the sound is incident. This is the portion of sound that acoustic control and sound treatment attempts to deal with. This is because it is still in the room and will have an effect on our resultant mix.

Scenarios i & ii are what soundproofing deals with i.e. using construction to absorb as much sound as is incident on the walls of a room so that the energy of sound wave C is reduced significantly not to disturb those it is not intended for. Soundproofing will reduce sound leakage or entry into any room.

If you are reading this article and are looking for soundproofing materials and panels, the best advice I could give is to stop right here and head over to a sound proofing expert or building merchant to purchase soundproofing materials. If however you are interested in improving the quality of the sound in your room please read on.

Sound treatment

Scenario iii is what acoustic control or sound treatment deals with – Improving the quality of the sound left in any room. Figure 2 shows what happens to the same sound wave impacting a wall fitted with an acoustic panel. A portion of Sound wave A will still get absorbed and converted into heat (D) and will still emerge on the other side of the wall (C) pretty much unscathed. The big difference is what happens to the sound that would have otherwise been reflected back into the room (A₁).

The profile and composition of the acoustic panel will determine what happens to the reflected sound wave A₁. Using a convoluted profile or wedge profile will mean that rather than having one strong reflected sound wave A₁ you will end up with several weaker waves A₁ A₂ A₃ scattered in several directions. The process of absorption, diffraction and reflection is true for every layer of material placed on the wall facing the incident waves. Absorbent materials such as foam will absorb more reflected sound than rigid hard panels that will reflect more of the incident sound waves.

Considering that it is the lower frequencies that will penetrate walls due to their much longer wave lengths it is easy to see why a panel of foam 2 inches or so thick will have little impact on sound that is already “determined” to pass through your walls. If sound energy is powerful enough to pass through a 7 inch brick wall what difference will 2 inches of foam make? Diddly squat! Be wary of dealers who sell foam as sound proofing foam!

Sound treatment products

Acoustic treatment products focus on the sound that is reflected internally by the boundaries that create the room, i.e walls, ceilings and floors. The idea being that whilst you may not completely eliminate the sound bouncing around your room you should be able to tame it so that it doesn’t have a huge effect on the overall sound of your mix.

Applying acoustic foam or other absorbent material helps in doing just that, waves that would otherwise have been reflected by the surface of the wall hit the acoustic foam or panel and either get scattered in various directions (depending on the profile) or absorb some of the energy. Waves bouncing off the surface face the same fate again getting absorbed by the foam panel and getting diffracted in different directions as the different portions of the wave front emerge at different times due to the non planar profile of the panels.

Acoustic foam with a uniform open cell structure of density over 28Kg/m3 is the main type of foam used for this purpose. The open cell structure presents the wave front with several air filled pockets which contains air molecules which vibrate as sound penetrates them, this vibration helps reduce the power of the waves reducing the energy with which they are reflected at.

The more open cell the foam is the better the airflow resistance and the better it is at reducing sound energy incident on it. The three types of foam commonly found in acoustically treated spaces in descending order of performance and cost are Melamine foams, Polyurethane Polyester foams and Polyurethane Polyether foam.

Pro-coustix acoustic solutions

If you are looking to give your sound an added edge or improve the accuracy of the sound you are mixing check out our range of acoustic treatment products. Our eXtreme range of acoustic tiles and bass traps are made from Polyester foam to give you that added absorption you require and greater aesthetics whilst our flex range is made from a high density acoustic foam and is suitable for sound deadening large areas where cost is an issue.

If you are interested in the detailed physics behind absorption and diffusion I recommend reading Acoustic Absorbers and Diffusers by Trevor J. Cox , Peter D’Antoni F. Alton Everest A Master Handbook of Acoustics

One of the first obstacles many voice over artists come across when trying to set up their own personal vocal studio is the unsuitability of the environment in which they are recording vocals. The change in working arrangements since the pandemic has meant many voice over artists who would normally rely on fairly well equipped office studios and spaces are having to make do with what they have at home.

Producing vocal content in a space or room that is not effectively acoustically treated can result in poor quality audio being captured which in turn affects the professionalism of any audio content being created. In a world where first impressions matter it is important that your audio content hits the spot in terms of clarity and quality.

Many voice over artists will have a fairly good idea of the gear they require to start recording from home. Microphones, monitors and sound cards have come down in price that you can get a starter kit for a few hundred pounds which will have good response curves and should create good sound.

Investing in high quality gear

When audio equipment is designed, manufacturers spend a lot of time measuring the response across the frequency spectrum. Professional equipment is designed to accurately capture or replay sound that is being produced without distorting in any way or form. The closer the equipment is in reproducing the audio captured the higher the quality and hence price.

Audio equipment is tested in multi million dollar facilities with anechoic chambers and suspended floors. Speakers are placed on solid plinths to ensure that the surface they are resting on doesn’t colour the sound produced.

Unfortunately these test conditions are far from the typical listening or recording space. So a microphone with the flattest response rate in a test facility could sound mediocre in a room that is not sufficiently treated.

Using acoustic treatment to improve your sound quality

The best way to tackle sound quality in voice over recordings is by considering the influence your room has on the sound you capture. The sound that is recorded by your microphone consists of a combination of sound waves hitting the microphone directly as you speak and reflections, echoes and reverberations of sound waves that have bounced off walls and flat reflective surfaces of the room you are in. This resultant sound is what is captured and converted into a digital signal ready for processing in your  Digital Audio Workstation (DAW).

In order to reduce the influence of the space you are recording in on your content, every attempt has to be made to negate the effect of reflective surfaces around your recording space. Introducing acoustic treatment is the quickest and easiest way to do this.

Acoustic foam for Vocal Booths

There are a number of materials that are used for acoustic treatment however acoustic foam is by fat the most popular for a number of reasons.

• Acoustic foam can be easily machined into various shapes.
• Acoustic foam is  a light material and can be mounted without damaging walls using removable solutions like isotack removable strips
• Purpose designed acoustic foam is combustion modified and unlike the old “egg crates” will extinguish once a flame is removed making it safer to use.
• Unlike fibreglass, Acoustic foam doesn’t contain fibres and means the air in your enclosed working space is free from potentially harmful fibres found in poorly manufactured fibreglass panels.

Finally and most importantly,

• the vocal frequency range is  1500hz – 3000Hz, very seldom do you find commercial vocal recordings on the extreme low end of the audible frequency. These frequencies are effectively attenuated by acoustic foam of a suitable thickness and density.

Acoustic panels or bass traps or both

As mentioned above, the frequency range of vocals means that panels of suitable thickness and density should be sufficient in improving the quality of vocals being captured. There is absolutely no need to purchase bass traps, diffuser panels or fibre glass panels when recording vocals. The traps would only use up space that would be better used for panels at a cheaper cost.

The ideal vocal recording space

If you are recording vocals for voice overs, jingles and narration you almost certainly want to deaden your vocal recording space as much as possible. We would recommend 100% deadening for recording vocals. Digital effects such as phasing, echo and reverb can then be applied “in the box” once the audio has been captured.

Completely deadening your room will ensure you have a great audio recording to start with on which to carry out your post capture editing.

Care should be taken to take into account the deadness of the room if you decide to carry out your mixing in the room as the deadened surfaces will almost certainly result in a mix that is not portable and will be distorted when played on different players/speakers in the typical untreated room.

For vocal booths, the patterns on the tiles are mainly an aesthetic choice as is the arrangement of tiles when placed on the walls or ceilings. All the acoustic tiles in our voice over studios section will work well, with thicker tiles giving greater absorption.

Portable adjustable acoustic filters for voice over artists and podcasters

If you are stuck for a dedicated room to acoustically treat of are looking for a solution to  use when you have to travel to meet guests then a portable acoustical screen or set of screens will work well.

The flexisorb acoustical isolation filter and privacy screen is one such screen designed to sit on your table top and wrap around your recording equipment, be it a laptop, workstation or microphone. By adjusting the wrap around your device you can vary the acoustics in the area immediately surrounding the microphone, resulting in content that is comparable to that produced in sound deadened rooms.

The isolation wraps have another advantage over box type filters in that you don’t have to fiddle trying to get your head into a box and does away with the otherwise unwanted boxy effect that a box creates which colours the sound you are capturing.

That’s just about it on acoustic treatment for voice over artists. There is obviously a lot more to take into account but I hope by the end of this article you can tick off one thing that needs to be sorted to get that professional sound audio content.

It is a well known fact that using acoustic foam in your studio will improve the sound quality of your studio. However with so many companies available selling acoustic foam it is easy to see why many producers venturing into acoustic treatment make the wrong decisions when looking for the right material to treat their rooms. This confusion is brought about by the fact that there are so many companies out there selling furniture foam passed off as acoustic foam. This foam is normally cheaper and is no wonder why every other question on our twitter feed is. “Why is acoustic foam so expensive?”

Acoustic foam has become the treatment material of choice for many home music producers for a number of reasons however the top three reasons are;

• Acoustic foam offers great absorption for mid to high end frequencies.
• Acoustic foam is relatively more affordable compared to high end options
• Acoustic foam is easy to handle and shape into aesthetically pleasing and performance enhancing shapes

Broadly speaking, there are three types of open cell foam used for acoustic applications. These are, in order of increasing price.

• Polyurethane polyether foam
• Polyurethane polyester foam
• Melamine foam

Polyurethane polyether foam

Polyurethane polyether foam has a large range of applications and comes in a variety of densities and colours. Acoustic applications are best suited to densities that are 29kg/m3 and above. Furniture foam converters generally tend to use the 25Kg/m3 foam or less and pass this off as acoustic foam. Whilst this foam may look similar to acoustic grade foam the performance shows that this foam falls below that of higher densities. This is basically down to physics. Although the structure of lower density polyether foams is the same as higher density foams lower density foam doesn’t have enough air pockets to absorb the sound waves impacting on them which reduces the observed performance.

Lower density foam whilst appearing cheaper may cost more in the long run because trying to get equivalent absorption values in your studio will mean purchasing more foam which is probably not a good idea because excess absorption can leave your room sounding flat.

If you are on a tight budget look for polyether foams that have higher densities 29Kg/m3 or greater, are darker coloured as these foams will tend to discolour with time and darker colours age gracefully. Also consider the fire rating UL 94 HF1 is the most stringent acoustic foam fire test and means you are not taking chances in your studio.

Polyurethane polyester

Polyurethane polyester foams are the Rolls Royce of acoustic foams and come at a premium which reflects the performance you can expect from these foams. Professional acoustic foam brands use polyester foams because the performance is guaranteed. Polyester foam is manufactured to very high standards because the applications these foams are used for require only the best foam.

Polyester foam lends its great performance to the greater percentage of open cells meaning more air pockets exist which soak up the energy of sound waves. Polyester foam is manufactured in blocks and tested for air resistance at intervals to ensure that the performance is uniform which ever part of the block is used. This precision led manufacturing process means that polyester foams aren’t riddled with blow holes leaving a shiny aesthetic surface that delivers performance time after time.

Polyester foams provide controlled absorption across the entire spectrum with thicker foams offering effective absorption down to 125Hz right through to the top end of the frequency spectrum. This wide band of performance means polyester foam is the choice for professionals looking to introduce absorption into their studios. Polyester foams take longer to discolour when compared to their polyether counterparts.

Melamine Foam

Whilst not traditionally used in music studios melamine foams are fast gaining recognition as an acoustic treatment option for studio acoustic treatment. Priced higher than polyester and polyether foams melamine foam offers the perfect combination of absorption and light weight.

Melamine foams achieve this extraordinary feat by exhibiting a true 3D filament structure. This structure means that melamine foam doesn’t have any closed cells but rather millions of air chambers which significantly increase its performance in the mid to high frequencies. Although thicker panels will shift the absorption down to the lower end of the spectrum for domestic purposes the cost doesn’t justify the performance.

So where then does melamine foam come in handy? The answer is simple. Firstly the extremely light weight nature of this foam means that melamine foam panels can be stuck on to ceilings of large buildings without any concern of the impact on roof loading. This property means that melamine baffles and blocks are used in large building, factories, gymnasiums, churches and swimming pools.

Secondly melamine foam is available in brilliant white and is the only type of foam which holds its colour without getting discoloured when exposed to UV rays. This lends it well to use for indoor applications where darker coloured tiles would present an aesthetic challenge. Melamine panels are handy for home cinemas and used for treating walls and ceilings at reflection points as well as treating home studios that double up as work offices.

Melamine foam can be cut into a number of shapes although most popular are flat panels with bevelled edges. Melamine comes in standard White, grey and light grey however the white panels may be spray painted using specialist equipment to any colour.

Finally melamine foam is class 0 fire rated which is lends it well to applications where building regulations mean only materials with high fire ratings can be used without impacting on the aesthetic of the room it is applied to. Other foams can be treated to make them class 0 rated but this involves impregnating them with graphite and carbon which results in black sheets. Not exactly the best for indoor use.

Melamine foam however is quite brittle and can easily get damaged so needs to be handled with caution.

I hope this helps you understand what to look out for when you are next shopping around for acoustic foam for your studio. Just remember if it looks like furniture foam and is priced like furniture foam then it most likely is furniture foam.

The manufacturers of aerogels have hailed it as a space age material that is super light and yet posseses superior thermal and acoustic absorption properties compared to acoustic foam. When we first found out about aerogels we too were impressed by the said capabilities of this wonder material. We were intrigued and wondered if this was the future of studio acoustics and acoustic treatment.

A Cabot sales representative of one of the companies that makes the aerogels into wraps even boldly stated.
[blockquote class=”{classname}”]…. aerogel absorbs sounds very well and has good impedance match with sound waves so it reflects very little sound. The structure of the Aerogel also creates a torturous path for the sound to travel though it once inside, resulting in a slowing down of the speed of sound from roughly 350 meters per second to around 100 meters per second. This reduction in speed reduces the amplitude of the sound.
The porous structure of aerogel will reduce the transmission of airborne sound waves through either reflection or absorption. Acoustic insulating properties can be particularly notable at lower frequencies (< 500Hz).[/blockquote]

Indeed a wonder substance you would think, so did we! At 200 quid a meter we set about obtaining a sample of this material and had it acoustically tested to prove if this was really the next big thing in acoustic treatment.

We’ve had the results back in and surprise surprise. An 8mm thick blanket of this stuff is pretty much transparent to sound frequencies below 500Hz talk about them being “particularly notable at lower frequencies (<500Hz)” . Even above 500Hz one only starts to see a significant change in absorption coefficient at 5000Hz where the aerogel’s absorption coefficient comes in at a decent .74.

It appears the huge discrepancy between the claimed and actual results is due to the method of converting the substance into a practical useable format. Aerogels are mainly available for sale as granules and wraps. The wrap which is what we tested basically constists of a fine polyester material infused with aerogel granules. The fact that the granules are not tightly packed in the material would theoretically have an effect on the absorption properties observed. Perharps in future solid aerogel panels will be readily available and maybe then would we have an acoustic product that is a practical solution for interior acoustics.

Conclusion
We carried out this test to answer the thousands of questions out there about the performance of aerogels and their application in acoustic treatment products for studios. The results show that if you are looking for a material to absorb high frequencies >5000Hz and have enough money in the bank then this is for you. Otherwise stay clear of the “Hype” (No pun intended) and leave this stuff for thermal insulation which we understand it is even more effective at. If the acoustic properties are anything to go by then we know what this means.

Find out more about aerogels and the nanotechnology used to create them here.