In the design of the home theater, the reverberation time (called RT) of the acoustic panel must be paid attention to, that is, the time needed for the sound to decay in a given time.
If the sound decay takes longer, it means that the space produces a stronger reverberation effect. The reverberation is due to the sound being bounced off multiple hard surfaces in the space and thus generated. The higher the RT in a space, the higher the echo and noise. Assuming that there is no sound-absorbing material in the space, the sound will keep bouncing on these hard surfaces until it disappears. Therefore, it takes a long time to attenuate the sound.
Because of this reason, the acoustic treatment in the space is to be necessary, the use of acoustic panels is to accelerate the decay of sound waves to achieve a low RT of the space. in order to reduce the echo effect in the space and improve the clarity of the sound in the space, we need to accelerate the decay speed of the sound.
Different spaces will have different requirements for RT values. For example, a restaurant is desired to have a high RT so that the buzz in the space can be maintained. But in a library, there is a need to have a very low RT, in order to give readers a quiet reading environment.
A home cinema requires a high acoustic treatment, in which the characteristics of absorption, diffusion and reflection of sound need to be achieved in this space, with the main goal of enhancing the sound in the room.
In most cases, acoustic panels are used in theaters. If in an untreated theater, there are a lot of hard surfaces that can cause the sound to reach the listener's ears at different times and can have a very messy echo. So it is necessary to install sound absorbing panels to prevent sound waves from being bounced off the walls or other hard surfaces. By installing acoustic panels to absorb sound waves, you can prevent the sound waves from constantly bouncing back to produce noise and echoes.
In order to have a good home theater sound effect, we recommend applying at least 30% of acoustic panels to cover the walls of the space, based on past practical examples.