Author Archives: Jon Page

Sound Masking and Art

Sound masking is an acoustical solution often used in offices to help protect speech privacy, reduce noise distractions, and increase productivity. Used by over 30,000 companies, sound masking from Cambridge Sound Management helps make offices more comfortable.

But did you know that sound masking can be useful in an art museum?

ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum is an art museum in Denmark that was established in 1859 and created by Schmidt Hammer Lassen architects. A building of massive size, over 17,000 square meters, the art museum features a glass and concrete for a sleek design.

Concrete and glass are reflective building materials, which means sound bounces off of it easily creating a loud an acoustically uncomfortable environment for museum patrons. To enhance the acoustics in the museum, the ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum installed sound masking to add subtle, airflow-like background sound specifically engineered to target human speech and reduce noise distractions in the museum.

Want to learn more? Download our free case study.

conference room 2

5 People Who Need Sound Masking

1. The Everyday Office Worker

Tired of being distracted by frivolous water cooler gossip? Wish you could quickly call your doctor without everyone knowing about it? Office noise distractions and lack of speech privacy are key drivers to worker dissatisfaction in the office. Sound masking can help by reducing the intelligibility of speech so other conversations are not distracting to you, and your conversations are not overheard by unwanted listeners. Sound masking helps to make for a more productive, private, and comfortable office.

2. The CEO

The Chief Executive Office has a lot on their plate and does not have time to be distracted by nearby conversations. CEOs also have to make important decisions and have highly confidential conversations that other office workers should not overhear. Sound masking can help CEOs protect their speech privacy and reduce noise distractions to increase their focus and productivity.

3. Human Resources

Human resources priority is keeping employees happy and productive. Lack of speech privacy is a key driver of worker dissatisfaction. Sound masking works by adding soft background noise into the office to help mask conversations and protect speech privacy. This helps workers feel more comfortable having conversations in private. Additionally, sound masking helps to make speech less intelligible. Simply put, conversations that would normally distract office workers do not anymore. A study by Brill, BOSTI Associates* showed that sound masking contributed to over 2% productivity gain.

4. Hospital Patients

patient, rest, sleep, hcahps, hospitals, healthcare acoustics, patient-rest - Sound Masking - Patient Satisfaction - Cambridge Sound ManagementA Press Ganey** survey showed that sound masking increased patient satisfaction 33%, specifically regarding noise around their room. When a patient is recovering and needs rest and sleep, hospital noise can be distracting and uncomfortable. Sound masking introduces soft background ambient sound into the room to help mask distracting noises so patients can rest and sleep. Sound masking also helps protect patient privacy, by masking private conversations patients may have with their healthcare provider so others do not overhear their confidential information.

5. Architects

Speech Privacy and Sound Masking in Modern ArchitectureWorkplace acoustics are often negatively impacted by the increased use of open office concepts and reflective materials such as hardwood floors, glass walls, and open ceiling decks. Sound masking is a smart solution to the acoustic problems in open office concepts that do not sacrifice design aesthetics. When used in combination with other acoustical treatments, sound masking can be a vital piece of the architectural acoustics puzzle.

Download our free Sound Masking 101 Brochure

Sound Masking 101 Cover

 

 

*Brill, BOSTI Associates, “Disproving Widespread Myths about Workplace Design”
** 2011 Press Ganey Pulse Report: Perspectives on American Health Care,
http://www.pressganey.com/researchresources/hospitals/pulseReports.aspx

5 Reasons You Need Sound Masking

How sound masking can benefit your office

1. Protect Your Customers

call center noiseEvery placed an order on the phone? Did you give out your credit card information? Did the phone operator read back your credit card number to you? If so, chances are one their coworkers could hear your credit card information being shared and one of their customers may also be able to hear. Think of how your customers would feel if they knew that others could hear their confidential payment information. Customer information is so important to customer satisfaction and your company’s reputation. Sound masking can help reduce the risk of data breaches by reducing the intelligibility of speech and reducing the risk of customer phone conversations being overheard.

2. Protect Yourself

What did you do this weekend? Do you want your customers to know? We often have casual conversations with coworkers thinking that our conversations will not leave the office. Well guess what, phones can pick up conversations. Just as your coworkers may pick up on your conversations with your customers, your customers can also pick up on the conversations you may have with your coworkers. Sound masking can reduce the risk of customers eavesdropping on your conversations by reducing the intelligibility of your speech.

3. Keep Private Meetings Private

confidential meeting

Sometimes meetings are meant to be private meetings, not a PSA. Perhaps there is a new product being launched, someone is being let go, or your company is acquiring a new company. Sound masking helps keep your private meetings private. It targets the unintended listener, making the speech of the speaker less intelligible. Put simply, sound masking reduces eavesdropping, whether intended or unintended.

4. Don’t Get Distracted

office conversation distractions

Whether we admit it or not, we all like to hear gossip. Even if it is harmless, it is still distracting. What Joe did over the weekend probably won’t help you hit your sales numbers this month. Think about how often you are distracted at work from conversations, and then how long it takes to get back to the exact spot of your mile-long spreadsheet.

5. Get Rid of That Awkward Silence

Ever been in a dead quiet room? Eerie, isn’t it? You can hear a door open, someone opening their drawer or the key strikes of a coworker 50 feet away. These little sounds shouldn’t be distracting you. By raising the space’s ambient noise level with a gentle, airflow-like sound, sound masking can help your workplace feel less like a mausoleum and more like a comfortable workspace.

Hear From Our Recent Customers – Testimonial Quotes

Cambridge Sound Management has had tremendous growth over the last couple of years, making workplaces more productive, private and comfortable. Below, in no particular order, please find the top customer testimonials and customer quotes for Cambridge Sound Management from 2016 and 2017.

You can read the full customer stories here.

Testimonial Quotes – Cambridge Sound Management from Cambridge Sound Management on Vimeo.

“Sound masking from Cambridge Sound Management has helped us ensure that every customer and employee has a sense of privacy and comfort. We’re very pleased with the results. ”

– Jay Krabbenhoft Senior Vice President and Office Services Manager Gate City Bank

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“Sound masking is a big part of making sure the space feels private and comfortable. We’re very satisfied with our experience with Cambridge Sound Management.”

-Allen Fletcher, Global Headquarters Operations Team Manager, Aquent

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“With sound masking, I am no longer distracted by conversations that aren’t intended for me – they just fade into the background. This allows me to be much more productive at work.”

– Arthur Boilanger Help Desk Specialist Event Source

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“Since installing sound masking, meetings in our conference room can’t be overheard elsewhere in our office space, and neither can conversations in adjacent offices. I wish I had known about sound masking earlier!”

– Vanya S. Hogen, Partner, Hogen Adams

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“We haven’t really had any acoustical issues in the space. Sound masking is definitely a big part of that – we’re very satisfied with the product.”

– Jakob Bay Gydesen Audio-Visual Coordinator ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum

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“We like it so much we’ve decided to roll it out at other Peach Tree locations and will be installing it in our corporate office”

– Greg Stone, Chief Executive Officer, Peach Tree Health

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“The QtPro sound masking system has been instrumental at reducing the noise distractions in our office and our employees feel more confident that their conversations are not being overheard. “

– Rick Campos, Controller, Traditional Senior Living, LP

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“Our employees are very pleased they can have meetings and know their conversations are not being heard by others at the other end of the office.“

– Dilia M. Teixeira, Office Manager Lead, RSM

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“The introduction [of sound masking] has almost created an ‘invisible audio partition’ between our customer experience teams and our software development.”

– Lucy Sargent, Director, Customer Experience Manager, Applied Systems UK

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“Sound masking helps make our office feel more quiet and comfortable. It’s become an essential part of our office .”

– Michele Sweet, President, Warren G. Bender Co.

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“The sound masking system makes it so speech noise just kind of fades into the background and you don’t notice it. We love our new office!””

– Brook Barnett, Office Manager, PLICO

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“Not only is QtPro extremely effective in reducing noise distractions and protecting speech privacy in our new office, but the Qt Emitters also fit in with our office’s open ceiling design. If I don’t point out the emitters to our visitors, they don’t even see them”

– Jay Scholten, Assistant Vice President – Asset Management, The Swig Company

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“We wanted our patients to have a sense of privacy in our practice, and also to know that their medical data was being protected. Thanks to the technical know-how of prodyTel and the sound masking technology of Cambridge Sound Management, we now have a tailor-made and scalable solution”

– Dr. Martin Assenmacher, Neurology Specialist, Offices of Martin Assenmacher, Christoph Sevenich, and Sebastian Riedel

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