Draperies and curtains have long been used as a cost-effective, aesthetically pleasing, and adjustable means of acoustic treatment within a room. The thick, heavy fabric provides useful sound absorption and reverberation control, especially at middle and high frequencies.
Quiet Curtains line of specialty curtains does all of that and more – by using a unique sound control lining sewn into the pleats, the Quiet Curtains offers increased sound isolation properties as well. Draped over a wall or window, these curtains will result in a noticeable reduction in sound levels transferred from the other side of the partition.
There are a number of fabrics and colors to choose from, from traditional velvets to a more modern suede-like microfiber material. They also offer a water repellent, anti-bacterial fabric ideally suited for hospital privacy curtains. You can even send in your own!
The best thing about Quiet Curtains is that they have independent acoustical test data to back up their claims to acoustical privacy. This greatly reduces guesswork and ensures real results.
The effectiveness of the curtains as a sound isolator, just like with its absorptive properties, is limited to middle and high frequencies. Acoustical laboratory tests have shown an average of 4 to 8 decibels of reduction in those upper frequency bands, depending on the material. While these curtains won’t drown out the neighbors blaring music, much of speech intelligibility is determined through the perception of consonants, which fall into this target region.
At about $13 per square foot, Quiet Curtains provide the form and function that might just keep your eyes and your ears happy.