Is the Sound Insulation Value of Materials and Structures Equivalent to the Sound Insulation Value of Chamber?

There are many different companies manufacturing and selling soundproof chambers. Inexpensive sound-proof chambers cost several thousand yen, while expensive soundproof chambers can cost millions of yen. Even soundproof chambers of similar dimensions can vary greatly in terms of specifications and price range.

Sonora Technology sells modular soundproof chambers as standard products, which are very expensive compared to the sound-proof chamber in general.

Example:

The above example compares Sonora’s soundproof chamber and an soundproof chamber by the company X in equivalent dimensions. Our anechoic chamber costs nearly double as much on a regular price basis.

Since both of the sound insulation values are almost the same, the user may think it would be better to purchase an anechoic chamber manufactured by the company X, based on this information alone. However, this price difference has certain reasons.

Which are as follows:

• 1. Sonora Technology guarantees sound insulation value, while company A does not.
  Our guaranteed sound insulation value: 42 dB@500Hz
  Our actual measurement value: 53.5 dB@500Hz
• 2. It’s doubtful whether the anechoic chamber by company X has enough sound insulation value or not.

In other words, when comparing under conditions of the actual measurement value, the results are as follows:

In particular, when using a soundproof chamber for industrial or research and development purposes, things will go wrong if the soundproof chamber does not provide reliable sound insulation value when it is constructed on site.

The followings are unable to be ignored:
When constructed an soundproof chamber on site, its sound insulation value was worse than expected. The measurement could not be made. The noise problem was not solved…

For this reason, as a manufacturer, Sonora Technology guarantees the sound insulation value and proves that the value of demonstration measurement is exceeded that of our guaranteed value.

The guaranteed value is, as-it-were, “the value that this soundproof chamber demonstrates bare minimum. The actual sound insulation value is better than the guaranteed value since it is set with more margin than the actual measurement value.

In short, when combining the above-mentioned two conditions of soundproof chamber, it can be said that Sonora has far better sound insulation value than the company X.

Is the sound insulation value of materials equivalent to that of a soundproof chamber?

The specified sound insulation value of soundproof chamber sold by various companies often does not include that value of the soundproof chamber itself. For example, it is often the case that an anechoic chamber by one certain company is specified as having a sound insulation value of 25 dB, while only 15 dB according to the actual measurement.

Our company “specifies minimum value,” while company X “specifies maximum value.” That’s the difference.

Basically, sound insulation values of walls and ceiling materials and those structures used in anechoic chambers are measured by public institutions based on the JIS standards, such as JIS A 1416. However, even though an anechoic chamber is manufactured with those materials and structures, the chamber itself will not have the same sound insulation value as those of values.

This is because the measurement environment in public institutions is specialized for measuring sound insulation value and is an ideal environment for measurement without any influence of external noise and vibration, making it the easiest place to demonstrate the best sound insulation value.

Measurements conducted by public institutions are intended to compare various materials and structures under the same conditions. So, it is not correct to specify those as the actual sound insulation values.

This is true whether it is the materials and structures or the chamber itself.

There is no other anechoic chamber constructed under the same environment and conditions in the world, but only one.

In other words, sound insulation values are not naturally constant when constructing chambers in various different environments. Furthermore, those values vary depending on the door sealing, the design of silencer, the gap between panels and the accuracy and precision of construction of chambers.

Therefore, it is not good to specify the values measured by public institutions as they are. The actual measurement values themselves are given only for reference, so manufacturers should not discuss the sound insulation values of chambers without specifying their guaranteed values.

There are many companies specialized in this industry that are unaware of this fact, and some of them do not even measure the sound insulation values after completion of chambers. (Some do so intentionally even though they have knowledge on it.)

Sonora Technology provides accurate information and conducts measurement testing. Instead, we charge you a certain amount of money, a fair price. If other companies could achieve the same sound insulation values as our company for a lower price than us, then there would be no point why Sonora Technology is worthy in its existence.