When installed properly, acoustic foam (also called sound foam or recording studio foam) eases slap and flutter echo and effectively diffuses sound waves to eliminate hot spots in a room.This enables the clean sound necessary to result in a professional quality recording. It is crucial to understand that not all foam is created equal; more over, the incorrect use of packaging or bedding foam, regardless of your acoustic needs, could be disastrous.

The Physical Difference

The most visible difference between high quality acoustic foam and the cheaper bedding or packaging varieties is color. Who would want that once-was-white, but now is brownish yellow bed foam on the walls of a new studio or home media center?

While aesthetics are important, acoustic foam's dense and uniform cell formation makes it superior for absorption and echo elimination. Since packaging foam is intended to reduce the weight for shipping, it is obviously inferior at absorption, and bedding foam's cell structure is less dense, making it soft and conforming but not an effective acoustic treatment. Not only is sound foam best for the acoustic treatment of a room, but also is the forerunner when it comes to safety.

The Tragedy That Inspired NFPA Code Changes  

Perhaps you remember the horrific nightclub fire of 2003 that claimed the lives of 100 people. The accusations of blameflew; the nightclub owner claimed the band and their use of pyrotechnics were responsible, but the band reportedly had the owner's clearance to use fire in their show and felt it was poor fire protection and lack of exits that caused so many unfortunate deaths.Turns out it was all of the above.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology investigated the nightclub fire and reported that, "the hazardous mix of building content" was one of three directly contributing factors of the fire and subsequent deaths. The hazardous mix in this particularly deadly scene was an unidentifiable expanding foam that was used to sound proof the stage. Had the owner of the nightclub used fire retardant acoustic foam instead, the fire may not even have happened.

The Fire Retardant Classification

There are different ranges of fire retardant,Classes A, B, and C (sometime referred to by the corresponding numbers 1, 2, and 3). Class A, considered the best, will not easily ignite and any flame dies quickly when the source is removed. ClassC, though still fire retardant, is at the opposite end of the spectrum and may burn slowly. 

Public places including schools and churches, as well as nightclubs are now required by law to use only Class A fireretardant materials. It is imperative to know the rating of the product you are using, and this is why all of the acoustic foam products at proSoundFoam meet the ASTM E84 Class A fire retardant specification. Class A fire retardant acoustic foams are available only in black, and until the colored foams meet the Class A specifications,proSoundFoam will not carry them. Besides that, the dark charcoal color resists sun fading better than lighter colors, and is an excellent contrast to any color for an aesthetically pleasing effect. 

No matter what your acoustic treatment needs are:absorption, diffusion, or bass traps, be certain to use a high quality acoustic foam to safely achieve a cleaner, truer, more precise sound.