Soundproofer sound Booths, SPB Series, from VocalBoothToGo.com – how to choose the one that suits you best?

Email subject: Comparing SPB63 and SPB63-2 for Opera vocal practice.
Message body: Hi! I am looking for a sound booth for operatic vocal practice, mainly to help contain the sound to protect other people in the house. Just wondering if the SPB63 booth would be useful for this, and if the SPB63-2 would offer significant improvement for this application?
Thanks.
Laura C.
2020- February 02.

Soundproofer sound Booths, SPB Series from VocalBoothToGo.com

                                                                              – how to choose the one that suits you best?

 

Mobile-Soundproof-Vocal_booth_SPB33 Door_Open
Mobile-Soundproofer-Vocal_Booth_SPB33

The continuous practicing of your skills is what separates the true professional from an amateur. But how can you practice loud singing or playing when everyone around you wants to sleep, or is not particularly interested in listening to your vocal exercises?

A sound isolation booth is an obvious solution. But which one?
VocalBoothToGo.com offers several options to help you practice your singing or playing at home with efficient noise reduction. This is our line of patented SoundProof(er) Sound booths SPB series.

We have three sizes of booths available with dimensions 40 x 40 inches (SPB33), 40 x 80 Inches (SPB63) and 80 x 80 inches (SPB66).
Each size comes in two options, what we call “Single wall” and “Double wall”.

We treat our sound isolation vocal booths very seriously and, unlike other providers, who do “in house” testing we had the booth tested in an accredited acoustic lab, according to Federal NIC ( Noise Isolation class*) standard testing. This allows us to make recommendations with confidence.

(Note that the booth’s structure is Modular, meaning that you can create any size of the enclosure in the ~ 3 ft increments ( 40 inches).)

There are three major considerations : Size,  Efficiency and Cost.

SIZE. What size of Sound Isolation Booths SPB-Series would work best?

“What works best” is a loaded question, because everyone has different situation and different budget.
Let’s first look at the different sizes.

SOLO sound Booth (SPB 33).

Assembled booth Size Interior 40” W x 40” L x 80” H.

Recording in Soundproof booth SPB33
Recording in Soundproof(er) booth SPB33

This is what we call a SOLO sound booth. It is perfect for solo actors, singers, guitar players etc. With 40-inch square internal space it can comfortably fit one person, although we had feedback from some voice actors who had managed to squeeze three people in there for a book narration.
SPB33 can fit a chair, a microphone stand, a script copy can be attached to the frame and hang down.
User can comfortably sit or stand for practice.

DUAL Sound Booth. (SPB 63).

Assembled Booth Size – Interior 40” wide x 80” long x 80” tall.

Practicing and Recording in Soundproof booth SPB63
Practicing and Recording in Soundproofer booth SPB63

SPB 63 provides an advantage of additional space, but also an elongated rectangular shape, obviously it will fit in more people if you have to, but it also allows for a more comfortable set up. You can set up a recording desk, a computer and use it more comfortably if you are playing instruments, like a guitar, and can have two players at the same time.
The elongated shape of the booth would be great for a gamer, because it is a perfect fit for a computer desk and a chair and the gamer can even stretch out for more comfort. Advanced soundproofing will allow you to shoot, scream, make comments and communicate with other players without getting everyone around you running scared for their lives!

SOUND STUDIO CONFERENCE BOOTH. (SPB 66).

Assembled Booth Size – Interior 80” wide x 80” long x 92” tall. (This booth features a pitched roof).

Practicing drums in Soundproof booth SPB66
Practicing drums in Soundproofer booth SPB66

The SPB 66 booth provides plenty of space for a small band or a full drum set. It can be effectively used as an interview recording room for on the road interviews and personal story recordings. It is a good size for a conference room, especially to have a comfortable, private and quiet space for negotiations or product demonstration at Trade Shows. It has enough space to set up a demo board and can be used for creating explanation type video blogs with an interactive board or a screen to demo and draw on. It can be a small private office in a noisy household
NOTE: the components of the booths are modular, so it is possible to assemble larger booths out of the existing smaller booth parts. For example, two SPB66 booths can be joined to form a 12 x 6 booth, or SPB66 may be combined with SPB63 to make a 6 x 9 booth and so on.

EFFICIENCY.  What about Sound Isolation? Is Double wall sound booth twice as soundproof as the Single wall sound booth?

Besides the size of the booth, which is easy to understand, we offer two options: our regular Sound booth (Single wall) and Enhanced version (Double wall).
This may be confusing first of all because structurally “double” does not mean “two single panels joined together” they are structurally different.
On the other hand, acoustically the Single wall and Double wall booths perform differently at different frequencies. And the choice of the booth will depend on your intended use. If using for vocals – what type of voice are you? If using for playing instruments – what instrument? Different instruments and different voices can be mostly higher or lower frequency; therefore, the booth model could be selected to match your voice/instrument.
And of course, there is cost consideration.

Structural difference: The Single Wall SPB booth contains a layer of composite limp mass sound blocking and sound absorbing material enclosed in an outer layer of durable abrasive resistant ballistic nylon fabric. This special material is what makes the soundproofing work. The panels are connected by special flaps with Velcro.
The Double wall panels have the sound-blocking and the sound absorption material layered twice. Not “doubled” but “twice”. This makes a big difference in a way the sound transmits through the wall. Energy breaks down, gets absorbed, then breaks down again and gets absorbed again.

Soundproof Booth Construction- Side by side comparison - Single wall and double wall sound blocking Layers
Soundproof(er) Booth (SPB)  panels Construction:  Side by side comparison of sound blocking and sound absorption  wall structure

This layered composition of the double wall sound booth panels makes it much more efficient, than a rigid sound wall of the same mass. This proprietary booth design allows our booth to be as efficient as much heavier solid wall sound booths, yet they can be folded down and moved around without the need for a special transport.
The two times layered structure of the enhanced sound isolation sound booth is enclosed in a similar outer nylon shell, as the single layer. This is why the single layer sound booth cannot be easily ‘converted’ into the double layer, by simply hanging two panels on top of each other.

Difference in Soundproofing efficiency (Acoustical Difference):
All SPB booths come with a set of Producer’s Choice sound absorption blankets to create an acoustically treated environment for recording. Producer’s Choice acoustic blankets are great for sound absorption and cutout all reflections inside the booth.
But for the purpose of this article we will concentrate mostly on the efficiency of the sound booths to block the sound coming on or escaping out of the booth. To make the subject even easier it should be noted that the sound barrier is working the same for sound coming INTO the booth from the outside, or getting OUT of the booth if the source of sound is located inside the booth.
Until very recently in the USA there was no national standard for the sound isolation enclosures, so you can see that many companies producing sound isolation booths are listing the “Self-Test” results on their websites.
It is only recently that a National test for the sound isolation booths was introduced. It is called Noise Isolation Class (NIC). VocalBoothToGo.co had the booth tested to determine how efficient the Single wall SPB versus the Double wall SPB booths are.
The results were quite impressive! In the most sensitive to human ear frequency range, between 1000Hz and 4000 Hz, the Double Wall Sound booths outperformed the Single Wall Sound booth 2 to 1. In other words, Double wall cancelled twice as much outside noise as the single wall booths. And even more at a higher frequency range. (see the side by side test results here).

But how can you relate to the dB level? If at the lower frequencies both booths perform the same and at the higher frequencies the Double wall outperforms the Single wall booth, which booth should you get?
We attempted to make this decision easier by comparing the frequency of different instruments with the sound blocking efficiency of the booths.

Vocalists.  What is the best choice of sound isolation booth for singers?

In the diagram below you can see the frequency range of Bass, Baritone, Tenor, Alto and Soprano. With Bass having most of lower frequency and soprano being a high frequency sound. Obviously, there is various spectrum for every singer’s voice.

Soundproof Vocal Booth Construction- soundblocking efficiency for human voice and singing
Soundproof Vocal Booth Construction- sound blocking efficiency for human voice singing.

Legend: On the Vertical light blue column, on the left, there is a scale of Sound blocking in Decibels ( dB).
On the bottom light blue line there is a scale of frequency range going from 100hz to 2000 Hz (2 KHz).
The dark blue line above the piano keys shows the Octave range.

At the lower level (Bass) the Single Wall Sound Booth performs very close to the Double Wall sound booths, so it may make sense to save some money and get the Single wall booth. As we go up in frequency range, the Enhanced Double Wall Sound booth makes a much bigger difference.
If you have low voice – the Single wall Sound booth might be enough for you. Soprano – get the double wall.

Wind instruments.  What is the best choice of sound isolation booth for practicing Woodwind Instruments?

In the similar diagram below you can see the frequency range of Bass Clarinet, Alto Clarinet, Soprano Clarinet and Piccolo.
Similar to the vocals at the lower level (Bass Clarinet), the Single Wall Sound Booth performs very efficiently, so it may make sense to save some money and get the Single wall booth. As we go up in frequency range, Enhanced Double Wall Sound booth makes a much bigger difference, especially for Piccolo.

Soundproof Vocal Booth Construction- soundblocking efficiency for woodwind instrument practice
Soundproof Vocal Booth Construction- soundblocking efficiency for woodwind instrument practice

Legend: On the Vertical light blue column, on the left, there is a scale of Sound blocking in Decibels ( dB).
On the bottom light blue line there is a scale of frequency range going from 40Hz to 4000 Hz (4 KHz).
The dark blue line above the piano keys shows the Octave range.

Strings.  What is the best choice of sound isolation booth for string instruments?

Similar situation for the String instruments:

Soundproof Vocal Booth Construction- soundblocking efficiency for string instrument practice
Soundproof Vocal Booth Construction- sound blocking efficiency for string instrument practice

At the lower sound frequency level (Double Bass and, maybe, Cello) the Single Wall Sound Booth could be efficient enough. Viola and especially Violin players would be better off getting the Enhanced Double Wall Sound booth, that is twice as efficient as the Single wall sound booth at the high frequency range those instruments can deliver.
Legend: On the Vertical light blue column, on the left, there is a scale of Sound blocking in Decibels ( dB).
On the bottom light blue line there is a scale of frequency range going from 40Hz to 4000 Hz (4 KHz).
The dark blue line above the piano keys shows the Octave range.

COST.  HOW SPB SERIES SOUND BOOTHS WITH SOUNDPROOFING COMPARE TO OTHER VOCAL BOOTHS ON THE MARKET?

In its efficiency, mobility and ease of set up, the SPB series soundproof(er) sound booths from VocalBoothToGo.com is a rather unique product. So it might be difficult to compare it to another vocal booth because there is value of money, plus an added value of convenience. But we will try.

Our SPB series booths are about 30 to 50% less expensive than comparable hard wall sound booths of similar size and sound-proofing efficacy.

The additional conveniences of the SPB booths include being able to be assembled without any special tools or screws, or driven in a passenger car if you need to relocate, or even shipped by plane if you want to take it to another country. All while providing the level of soundproofing similar to those rigid booths and acoustically being superior to the off the shelf solid wall vocal booths, makes them much more valuable than the competition.

 

* Noise Isolation Class (NIC) is the single number rating applied to Noise Reduction (NR) 1/3 octave band results according to ASTM E596.  It is calculated the same way as STC, but uses uncorrected NR values rather than the absorption corrected Transmission Loss (TL) values used in ASTM E90.

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