In a word yes, it does. Plain faced foam and profiled foam both have their pros and cons.
Let us discuss plain faced acoustic foam tiles to start. Because the foam has no profile the rate of absorption is, in some cases, greater compared to profiled foam tiles. This is because there is no foam removed from the tile. This results in more acoustic foam per square meter when compared to profiled tiles of the same thickness. The more foam there is to absorb the sound waves the better the results you are going to receive. And so the opposite is true of profiled foam, the more complicated the profile, the worse the performance will be. This will mean that you will need to install thicker tiles if room has poor acoustics. Think of the acoustic foam as a sponge. Take a piece of foam that is 2” thick and has no shape to it but is a slab of foam. That piece of foam is going to be able to soak up more water than a piece of foam that has valleys and troughs in it. Acoustic tiles that has no foam removed will give you better performance at low frequencies. This depends on the thickness of the foam but generally this is the case. Low frequencies have longer and stronger wavelengths. This means that it takes more foam to be able to absorb those low frequencies. With profiled tiles there isn’t the foam there to be able to absorb those lower, stronger frequencies. Thinking back to the sponge and water example, if you fired a jet of water at the plain faced foam less water would leak through the back as opposed to profiled acoustic foam. There are a few down sides to plain faced acoustic foam. The first is surface area. With plain faced tiles it is impossible to increase the surface area of a room. If you have only set areas where you can place acoustic treatment plain faced acoustic foam won’t give you coverage you need. By using profiled acoustic tiles, you will increase the surface area of absorbent material. One other little aspect with plain faced acoustic foam is that it is not visually pleasing for some. But every person has their own taste. This is one of the reasons why we offer such a wide range of different profiled foams. Whether you want a contemporary look, a modern look or a clean and crisp look there will be something in our range that would appeal to your taste.
It is not all bad for profiled acoustic tiles. Profiled foam can catch or trap the sound waves striking it. This will reduce reflections in the room. It will tighten up those high to mid frequencies. It will create a room that has much better response and control. Of course the room will need bass trapping to be able to cope with the low frequencies. Those sound waves which are more difficult to treat and absorb. Another good thing about the profiled tiles is their good looks. They help to break up the plain looking walls to add another dimension to the room when it comes to looks. An inspiring looking room will translate into inspired music and performances.
In the end we have a product that’s suits every situation. Whether you need a lot of absorption. Whether you need to tighten up the response of the room a little. Or if you need to cut down the reflectivity of the room we have a product that will suit your needs both acoustically and visually. The best solution, of course, is a combination of both plain faced tiles and profiled tiles. At Advanced Acoustics we have been able to deliver exactly our customers need. The Euphonic is a pack of tiles which contains both 2” thick plain faced tiles and profiled tiles, perfect.
