Sound absorb and Sound Insulate- what's different?

19th, December 2024

1.     Material difference


Sound-absorbing materials are made of porous, granular or foamed materials, so the sound-absorbing materials we buy will have many pores inside and are soft, such as honeycomb sound-absorbing panels, grooved wood sound-absorbing panels, and polyester fiber sound-absorbing panels. They are all sound-absorbing materials


Sound insulation materials are made of materials with heavy weight and high density. Theoretically, the higher the density of the sound insulation material, the better the sound insulation effect will be. For example, glass magnesium damping sound insulation boards, damping sound insulation felt, etc. are all sound insulation materials.

 

2.     Process difference

Sound-absorbing materials are usually produced from polyester, granular, honeycomb or foam materials to form porous sound-absorbing materials.

The sound insulation material should be dense and thick, with no gaps on the surface or inside the entire material, and it should be heavy.

 

3.     Structure difference


The structure of sound-insulation materials and sound-absorbing materials is exactly the opposite. There are no gaps or pores. Instead, they are dense and dense. Since the materials of sound insulation materials are dense and heavy, sound insulation materials cannot absorb sound energy.

 

4.     Principles Differences


Sound-absorbing materials have many penetrating micropores, so when sound enters these micropores, it causes the air in the micropores to vibrate, and the sound will cause friction with the walls of the micropores, coupled with the resistance of the air in the micropores and the heat conduction effect , can convert the sound entering the sound-absorbing material into heat energy, playing a good sound-absorbing effect.

 

5.     Usage scenario difference

Sound-absorbing materials are used when the source of the sound cannot be isolated, but the noise needs to be reduced, such as the sound of people talking indoors or the sound of playing the piano.

Sound insulation materials can be used when the source of noise can be isolated and the noise is not expected to affect the next door, such as the partition wall between KTV private rooms and the content of the meeting in the conference room. For outsiders to hear, soundproofing materials can be used at these times.