The Sound Transmission Class (STC) is a single-number rating of a material’s or an assembly’s ability to resist airborne sound transfer at the frequencies 125-4000 Hz. In general, a barrier with higher STC rating blocks more noise from transmitting through a partition. The STC ratings allow accurate ‘apple to apple’ comparison of materials for soundproofing.

First of all knowing STC rating of a barrier helps to measure your expectation of what can be achieved when using various types of soundproofing materials.

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When building your home recording studio one of the important factors you have to deal with is the sound transmission. To determine their soundproofing quality materials are tested for sound transmission loss values, that can be measured, and rated in a single-number rating system – Sound Transmission Class (STC). The STC rating figure very roughly reflects the decibel reduction in noise that a partition can provide.

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Many people who are starting to set up their home recording studio often get confused on what is soundproofing, and what is acoustic treatment.

The materials and techniques used in soundproofing are very different from what needs to be used for acoustic room treatment. And, when you are preparing to set up your home recording studio, you need to understand the differences before shopping for soundproofing products. Understanding of basic principles of soundproofing will help you make right decisions, save you time and money, and a lot of headache down the road.

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When building a home recording studio or a vocal booth, it is important to understand the different approaches one needs to take when tackling soundproofing and acoustic room treatment of the recording space.

The first thing people do when they get into the audio recording business is purchase recording equipment. Instead, they should consider spending their money on things that don’t make a sound. If you are converting a closet into a voice over booth, building a DIY vocal booth in a garage or turning a bedroom into a recording studio, investing money into the room itself may be a very good idea.

It boils down to this: you need to take care of acoustics and/or soundproofing because if you don’t, you will have a problem – noise problems. Noise problems related to home studios and neighbors in attached houses. Noise caused by a flying jet or lawn mower. Noise from family members or the dog.

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