Our Services

Sound Masking & Speech Privacy

Confidential conversations should stay that way. We design and commission sound masking systems that reduce speech intelligibility across open offices, boardrooms, healthcare spaces, and reception areas — without making the space feel noisy.

What it is

What Is Sound Masking?

Sound masking is the use of a soft, specially engineered background sound — introduced through a dedicated speaker system installed in the ceiling — to reduce how clearly people can understand speech from a distance. The sound is carefully tuned to the frequency range of human speech, making nearby conversations blend into the background rather than cutting through it.

The aim is not to make a space noisy. Done correctly, occupants are barely aware the system is running. The effect is simply that conversations no longer carry as clearly across the room — improving privacy, reducing distraction, and making the space feel acoustically comfortable.

Sound masking makes speech harder to overhear – helping improve privacy, concentration, and acoustic comfort in modern buildings.

Sound Masking Is Not Soundproofing

This is the most common point of confusion. Soundproofing and sound masking are different solutions to different problems – and they are not interchangeable.

	Sound Masking	Soundproofing	Acoustic Treatment
What it does	Reduces speech intelligibility	Blocks sound transmission between spaces	Reduces reverberation within a space
Sound still travels?	Yes – but harder to understand	No – transmission reduced	Yes – but decays faster
Structural works needed?	No	Yes – walls, floors, ceilings	Minimal
Best for	Open plan, reception, clinical privacy	Between rooms, studio isolation	Boardrooms, auditoriums, RT60 control
Can be combined?	Yes – often specified together	Yes	Yes

The Principle Behind Sound Masking

Human speech is most intelligible between 500Hz and 4kHz. Sound masking introduces a continuous, low-level background sound precisely shaped to that frequency range — raising the acoustic floor of the space. When the background sound level is close to the level of a distant conversation, the brain can no longer decode the speech clearly. The conversation becomes audible but unintelligible.

This principle is measured using the Speech Transmission Index (STI) – a scale from 0 (completely unintelligible) to 1.0 (perfectly clear). Sound masking systems are designed to bring STI values in non-private zones to below 0.50, where speech from neighbouring workstations becomes too indistinct to follow.

Where Sound Masking Is Used

Sound masking is appropriate in any space where speech privacy, confidentiality, or concentration is a requirement – and where architectural or acoustic treatment alone cannot fully resolve the problem.

Open-plan offices
Boardrooms and meeting rooms
Executive offices
Clinics and consultation rooms
Reception and waiting areas
Call centres
Government service counters
Legal and financial services offices

Deliverables

Space assessment and STI target definition per zone
Sound masking system design — speaker layout, zoning, equipment schedule
Coordination drawing for MEP and ceiling trades
Supply and installation of masking system hardware
Commissioning with zone-by-zone STI verification
Post-commissioning report confirming performance against targets
Handover documentation and facilities management guide

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