How to Test the Acoustics of a Room

September 09, 2025

An acoustic test can help diagnose potential sound issues, whether you are creating a home cinema or building a theater. From simple hand-clap tests to more complex methods, knowing the room’s acoustic challenges can save time and costs.

Why You Should Measure Your Room’s Acoustics

Taking accurate acoustic measurements lets you pinpoint issues correctly. Whether the room has frequency issues or excessive reverberation, you get the right solution for your acoustic needs.

Assessing Acoustics: A Tutorial

To measure sound acoustics, you can take a simpler test with the tools you have or a more specialized test with software. Both tests measure sound reflections and frequency.

Simple Methods With No Special Tools Needed

You do not need any additional tools for these tests. Stand in the middle of the room and do any or all of the following:

Clap your hands once.
Burst a balloon.

What to listen for:

Reverberation: Lingering sounds that decay indicate high reverberation.
Sound reflections: A ringing or sharp sound suggests reflective surfaces.

Advanced Methods Using Software and a Mic

A software test offers a more technical analysis of the room. You will need the following:

A measurement microphone
Room EQ Wizard free software
An audio interface
A speaker

To take the test, download the software on your PC and sit in your usual seat with the microphone, holding it at ear level. Play a full audio sweep on the software, then analyze the results. You will be looking for the following:

Reverberation time (RT60): This measures how long the sound decays by 60 decibels. The ideal RT60 time depends on the room’s purpose, such as a home theater.
Frequency response: The frequency response shows you which sounds are too loud or too quiet from where you are sitting. It identifies missing frequencies, or nulls, and boomy bass sounds, or peaks.

If You Have High-Frequency Echo or Reverberation

Echoes and reverberation can make sounds unclear, affecting their quality. Soundproof Cow has several solutions to absorb vibrations for a more distinct sound:

Udderly Quiet^® Acoustic Panel 300 Series: This product removes reverberation echoes and is ideal for hallways, gyms and lobbies.
Art Acoustic Panels: Our wall art solutions offer excellent reverberation dampening while beautifying the room.
Echo Absorber™ Acoustic Panel (Natural Blend): To reduce echoes, install the Echo Absorber^® inside walls or mount it on any surface.

If You Have Boomy, Uncontrolled Bass

Uncontrolled bass is a low-frequency issue that can make some sounds overpowering and unbalanced. These sounds accumulate in corners, resulting in inaccurate or unpleasant noise. Our top solution for boomy sounds:

Udderly Quiet^® Class A™ Bass Wedge: This product reduces low-frequency reverberation and is suitable for use in any room. Our bass wedges are foam products designed for applications needing a Class A™ flammability rating.

Achieve the Right Sound With Soundproof Cow

From clap tests to software analysis, testing a room’s acoustics is the first step. At Soundproof Cow, our experts make finding the right solution easy with professional products you can use with certainty.

Complete our online form today to get started.

Author

About Kellen Beaver

Kellen has been a member of the sales team for over a decade. Prior to delving into the soundproofing realm, he was a jack of all trades in the service industry, working both front and back of the house jobs to various degrees. This diversity in experience makes it easy to relate to the needs of a large customer base. He understands noisy environments as well as the importance of aesthetics in a space. Adding something that doesn’t fit the look can be intrusive, so knowing that acoustical needs must fit the interior design is something he’s become very well-versed in. Most of this planning comes from working with both the owner/operators as well as their design team and architects. He has been able to adapt his knowledge in the restaurant industry into projects involving schools, office buildings and large medical facilities when the situation calls for it.

View all post by Kellen Beaver