Brand Spotlight: Snowsound
We recently caught up with Cheryl Kramp, Director of Marketing at Snowsound, to learn more about this unique acoustic brand:
Tell us the history of your brand
The first question people usually ask is, what’s with the name? Snowsound. It’s biophilic. It refers to the ability of a fresh snowfall to absorb sound. A fresh snowfall is nature’s purest sound-absorbing phenomenon. We take our name from this phenomenon and model our technology on it as well. Our panels absorb 100% of excess sound, across all sound frequencies, providing the same purity as a fresh snowfall.
Just as a fresh snowfall provides nature’s purest acoustics, Snowsound creates the purest acoustics for interiors. Like snow, our panels have varying densities, which allows them to absorb ALL frequencies of sound. Plus, our panels target the frequencies of human speech—because speech is always the biggest source of noise.
Snowsound offers the only products on the market that 100% of excess sound while providing pure acoustics. What’s the benefit of pure acoustics? Comfort.
Science tells us better acoustics helps us work, learn and heal at our best. Want the best from your people? Give them the best acoustics.
What market are your products designed for?
All spaces where acoustics can be improved. At Snowsound, we believe spaces should sound as great as they look.
What else should we know about Snowsound?
All materials absorb some sound; however, most materials in today’s workplace reflect more sound than they absorb. Human speech frequencies are the source of the vast majority of the problem related to excess noise in the built environment. It’s the reason why focusing on a project while colleagues are using speaker phone or having impromptu meetings is frustrating. It also impacts productivity. Even in a less densely populated hybrid workplace, employees will continue to be sensitive to this quality-of-life issue. The marketplace has responded with many new products to help with acoustics. Before you specify a solution for your project, there are five facts to keep in mind.
1) Total Silence is Not the End Goal. The true objective is to reduce unwanted reverberation. This is the key to creating the most acoustically comfortable environments. Snowsound acoustic technology improves sound by absorbing echoes and reverberation without eliminating all sound. Snowsound panels act as acoustic equalizers and close the gaps between the different frequencies in a space, which leaves necessary sound without the feeling of noise.
2) Sound Masking Does Not Always Improve Acoustics. Sound masking or “white noise” is frequently used for speech privacy in open plan offices. White noise creates a “cover” over the chatter and helps mask conversations. However, sound masking does not help within closed rooms because here speech clarity is needed. In closed rooms sound masking adds more noise to the space. Even in open floor plans, if the space has reflective materials such as an exposed ceiling, hard floors or windows, sound masking alone is not a solution. Absorptive materials should be used together with sound masking for open areas, and in addition to high-rated STC products for smaller closed spaces.
3) Snowsound is Not Felt. Snowsound is available in panels and fiber textiles that set the standard for sound absorbing acoustic performance. Snowsound’s variable-density construction is engineered to reduce reverberation and echo in a space by selectively absorbing sound from all frequencies. In fact, they are the only acoustic panels that selectively absorb low, medium, and high frequencies. Snowsound is more effective than felt or PET, because Snowsound panels absorb 100% of sound waves that hit them. The panels offer a Noise Reduction Coefficient (NRC) of 1.0 . NRC is an average rating of how much sound an acoustic product can absorb. The rating system is measured from 0 to 1.0 with 1.0 meaning the product absorbs all sound.
4) Frequency is Not a Key Indicator. Some manufacturers boast that their acoustic panels are most absorptive at higher frequencies. But the focus actually needs to be on the mid-range frequencies (the higher frequencies are already being absorbed by objects and people in the room). If a concert hall is being fitted with acoustic panels, it would be a mistake to use ordinary panels that are most absorptive at the highest frequencies. This would drown out the sound of the high-pitched instruments like the violin and create an imbalanced acoustic performance. It’s the same in the workplace where current acoustic panels typically absorb more of the high frequencies. Snowsound technology, on the other hand, is entirely unique because the panels provide up to 94% of mid-range absorption which includes those speech frequencies that create distractions and lower productivity. Only Snowsound maintains the acoustic balance of spaces at three distinct frequencies—high-range, mid-range, and low-range absorption—for the most comfortable acoustic workplace environments.
5) You Can Calculate Your Acoustic Needs. Snowsound has developed an award-winning calculation software to quickly estimate the necessary amount of Snowsound material needed to achieve acoustic comfort in a space. A powerful sound algorithm allows the sound of a room to be heard before and after the treatment with Snowsound products. Snowsound is preparing to launch technology that will allow you to hear simulations of your space before and after Snowsound is installed.
Acoustics are critical to create spaces where we can work more effectively. Snowsound technology offers the highest possible NRC and absorbs 94% of human speech frequencies which are the source of most of the problem noise in the workplace. For a free acoustic analysis and quote click here to fill out Snowsound’s online data form. A Snowsound rep will analyze your space and contact you to discuss your needs and possible solutions.
Check out Snowsound’s Products on Hello Raye!