Material Catalog & Browser

Searchable, filterable reference for every acoustic material used in the MediaVerse Studio Complex. All data sourced from ACOUSTIC-CONSTANTS.js.

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Materials
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Categories
7
Wall Types
BUILDER CUSTOMIZATION GUIDE -- MATERIAL BROWSER

CUSTOMIZABLE -- Supplier and brand for any material tagged [DEC] Decorative in this catalog (fabric finishes, paint, trim, visible hardware), provided the replacement meets the same physical dimensions and fire rating.

DO NOT ALTER -- Any material tagged [AC] Acoustic Critical: insulation density, NRC, thickness, gypsum board specifications, damping compounds, seal and gasket types, duct liner properties. Use this browser to verify specifications before ordering. Substitutions on [AC] items require written approval from the acoustic consultant with equivalent test data.

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Material Comparison

Side-by-side analysis of selected materials

Absorption Coefficient Reference

Complete absorption coefficients at six octave bands for every material. NRC is the arithmetic mean of coefficients at 250, 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz. Darker cells indicate higher absorption.

Material 125 Hz 250 Hz 500 Hz 1 kHz 2 kHz 4 kHz NRC

Material Categories Explained

Understanding the acoustic principles behind each material category.

Acoustic Absorption vs Isolation +

Absorption reduces sound energy within a room by converting it to heat. Materials like rockwool and acoustic foam are absorbers. They reduce reverberation time (RT60) and improve speech intelligibility.

Isolation (or sound transmission loss) prevents sound from passing between rooms. Dense, heavy materials like concrete and multi-layer gypsum walls provide isolation. Measured as STC (Sound Transmission Class).

ABSORPTION: Sound enters material and is converted to heat
[Sound Wave] ---> |Porous Material| ---> [Reduced reflection]

ISOLATION: Sound is blocked by mass and decoupling
[Sound Wave] ---> |Dense Wall| X [Blocked transmission]

In studio design, both are critical: absorption controls the acoustic character inside a room, while isolation prevents bleed between rooms.

Mass Law +

The Mass Law states that doubling the mass of a wall increases its sound transmission loss by approximately 6 dB. Heavier walls block more sound.

TL = 20 * log10(f * m) - 47.3 dB

where: f = frequency (Hz), m = surface mass (kg/m2)

Example: 2x 12.5mm gypsum (25 kg/m2) vs 1x 12.5mm (12.5 kg/m2)
Gain = 20 * log10(2) = +6 dB

However, the Mass Law has diminishing returns. Beyond a certain point, decoupled double-leaf constructions (like the buffer spine wall) outperform single heavy walls.

Decoupling Principle +

Decoupling breaks the vibration path between two surfaces. When sound hits a wall, it sets the wall vibrating. If the second leaf is mechanically isolated, much less energy transfers.

COUPLED (poor isolation):
[Gypsum]-[Studs]-[Gypsum]
Vibration passes through rigid connection

DECOUPLED (good isolation):
[Gypsum]-[RSIC Clip]-[Hat Channel]-[Air]-[Gypsum]
Resilient clip absorbs vibration energy

RSIC-1 and RSIC-V clips are resilient sound isolation clips used in the MediaVerse walls. They mount to studs or concrete and hold hat channel, creating a spring-like break in the vibration path. This adds 10-15 STC points over direct attachment.

Damping (Green Glue) +

Constrained-layer damping converts vibrational energy into heat. Green Glue is a viscoelastic compound applied between two rigid sheets (typically gypsum boards).

[Gypsum Layer 1]
[Green Glue Compound - viscoelastic layer]
[Gypsum Layer 2]

When sound vibrates Layer 1, the Green Glue shears
between the layers, converting motion into heat.

Green Glue adds 5-9 STC points to a double-gypsum assembly. It is most effective between 100 Hz and 5000 Hz, which covers the critical speech and music frequency range. In MediaVerse, it is used in the east server wall (Wall 3) and buffer spine (Wall 5).

Diffusion vs Absorption +

Diffusers scatter sound energy evenly without removing it from the room. This preserves acoustic liveliness while eliminating flutter echoes and comb filtering.

ABSORBER: Energy is removed
[Sound] ---> |Panel| ---> (Heat)

DIFFUSER: Energy is scattered
[Sound] ---> |QRD Wells| ---> Multiple scattered reflections
---> in all directions

QRD (Quadratic Residue Diffuser) panels use wells of mathematically determined depths to scatter specific frequency ranges. In the Control Room, the rear wall uses an 80x80 cm QRD array to create a diffuse sound field behind the mix position.

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