Acoustics First BLOG

In New Harmony, Indiana, there is a former Odd Fellows Lodge repurposed as a private residence—the main hall doubles as an event and performance space. Measuring 80 by 40 feet with a 14-foot ceiling, the room features a mezzanine, raised stage, large windows, and an extensive collection of artwork. While visually striking, the space presented […]

People with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) frequently report different sensory experiences, especially with sound. Many experience hypersensitivity (overreaction to stimuli like noise or light) or hyposensitivity (reduced response, requiring stronger input). Unlike most individuals, they may not adapt to constant background noise, which can remain overwhelming. Tools like noise-canceling headphon…

For those users who like to design visually, Acoustics First® has released a new 3D model repository at: Currently, the 3D models are available in .SKP and .GLB format for: More models are coming soon. The repository is available at https://acousticsfirst.com/acousticsfirst-3d-model.htm or it is linked from any of the diffuser pages listed above.

The joint meeting of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) and the Acoustical Society of Japan (ASJ), held in Honolulu in December 2025, was a welcoming gathering for the international acoustics community. This joint congress happens only once every ten years, making it a rare opportunity for researchers, consultants, and students from both societies to come together, reconnect, and exchange id…

It’s that time again! Time to do The End-of-Year cleanout of overstock, B-Stock, etc! Help us clean house! Free Ground Shipping to the lower 48 states included on warehouse sale items – Available until January 31st… or while supplies last! These Aeolian™ Diffusers have minor imperfections due to the batch of plastic having small orange specs in it. Barely noticeable, and easily paintable. Quantit…

A couple common form factors in acoustics are based on building material sizes. Ceiling grids are a common place to install acoustic devices, and you will find that many are built to either work in a 2’x2′, 2’x4′, or 4’x4′ ceiling grid installation. This makes sense, but did you know that these devices also perform differently in some cases due to their dimensions? This is especially true with ac…

If you’ve spent any time around acoustic treatment—especially sound diffusion—you’ve probably noticed something odd: sometimes the product is called a “diffuser“, and other times it’s a “diffusor“. For newcomers, this can feel like a secret code or a subtle technical distinction – But the truth is much simpler. Many trace the dual spelling back to […]

Today we thought we’d take a break from the usual Acoustics First blog topics and talk about owls and the fascinating way in which they experience acoustics. Owls possess some of the sharpest hearing in the animal kingdom. But what makes their hearing so exceptional and how does it differ from our own? The secret […]

When optimizing a room’s acoustics, you’re often balancing how much sound is absorbed (loss) against how much bounces around (reverberation). Some common ways to describe absorption — sabins, SAC, and NRC — look different, but they’re closely related. Sabins A sabin is a direct measure of absorption: One sabin equals the sound-absorbing effect of one […]

In this installment of “Similar, yet Different,” we explore the similarities and subtle differences between a classic, standard 1D QRD and a modern, angled 1D QRD. While being based on the same mathematic function for their design, there are a couple subtle differences in the performance of these devices. Quick review. A Quadratic Residue Diffuser […]

After being outside on a hot summer’s day, nothing quite hits the spot like a slice of a cool, crisp, sweet watermelon. Unfortunately, not every watermelon is the same, and everyone has different methods for selecting the best ones. There are number of visual clues that one can rely on to help identify a good […]

Acoustics First® has maximized the idea of adaptable designs. One of the most common modular architectural elements is the 2′ x 2′ ceiling grid. While standard, fiber ceiling tiles have their uses, specialized acoustic environments require higher-performing materials – for both absorption and diffusion. While Acoustics First® excels with its Sonora® and Cloudscape® Ceiling tiles…

On this Throwback Thursday, we look back at a popular Sound and Communications article about why sound diffusion is so much more complex a phenomenon than sound absorption. In this article, we discuss some of the different variables associated with the quantification of diffusion – magnitude, phase, frequency, direction, etc. When comparing its properties against […]

When evaluating a restaurant, guests will often look at four factors: food quality, service, price point and atmosphere.  The first three are fairly obvious in terms of how they influence the customers satisfaction, but the link between atmosphere and guest satisfaction is a bit murky.   Atmosphere is a sort of “catch-all” term for the […]

In June of 2015, Acoustics First® posted about our experiment which allowed people to hear the effects of sound diffusers in a small space. The experiment consisted of treating a small office with varying numbers of our new (at the time) Art Diffusor® Model D sound diffusers, then providing various sonic stimuli and capturing and […]

The bank wanted the building be a “show-piece” and communicate its principles of “security” and “fidelity” (remember, this was at a time before the FDIC), to impress customers and convince them to store their valuables at their bank.  Incredibly, the building was completed in just one year; construction began in 1928 and finished just before […]

While the HiPer Panel® and the HiPer Panel® Impact may appear to be identical on the surface, there are some key differences that may change which one you would use, and why you would use it. They are both layered, flat-panel diffuser products, with perforations, and they are both covered in fabric. However, their construction, […]

Based on the golden-ratio, offset pyramid… both the Acoustics First® Pyramids and QuadraPyramids have a great deal in common. They are asymmetric in their scattering, which reduces lobing. They have different sized surfaces of different angles, which impose different polar radiation patterns at different frequencies. Both allow for redirection, while allowing much of the signal […]

Poor classroom acoustics has long been the invisible problem that has the farthest reaching implications for learning. Excessive noise and reverberation degrade speech intelligibility, resulting in reduced understanding and therefore reduced learning. In many classrooms in the United States, the speech intelligibility rating is 75% or less. That means, in speech intelligibility tests, listeners w…

With the ability to measure and analyze every detail of an acoustic environment, sometimes we forget about the basic fact that it should sound the way we want it to sound. There are scenarios where objective measurement is important, desired, and even required. If there is a physical safety concern that may damage hearing ( […]