Commercial sound masking systems create more productive and comfortable environments by promoting speech privacy, reducing noise distractions, and increasing focus and productivity.

What is sound masking, and why is it useful?

Sound masking adds an acoustically tuned ambient background noise into a space. This background noise helps people unconsciously focus more on the masking than everything else going on around them. Because the sound masking targets the same frequency as human speech, it reduces its intelligibility.

For Example
If I am in the kitchen with the water faucet running and my wife tries to talk to me from the living room, at that moment, I can not understand anything she is saying. I may not even know she is talking. After I turn the water off, I can hear her again. Similarly, this is how sound masking works. It also serves to raise the overall volume of the space slightly in a controlled way to eliminate excess stimuli making the area seem quieter.

Sound masking is valuable for speech privacy in office environments, whether it is an open floor layout or individual offices for employees that deal with sensitive information. Sound masking can also add a good atmosphere. If it is quiet enough that you can hear a pin drop, and every time somebody scoots out their chair, that can create distractions.

How do our sound masking systems work?

Our sound masking systems feature the Pure Resonance Audio PrivacyCard™ and ComfortCard™ USB sound masking generators. Pure Resonance Audio's proprietary noise-masking uses frequency-shaped waves of ambient noises that focus on the sound frequencies you want to block, ensuring higher efficiency and quieter masking levels.

While sound masking itself may seem like a bit of a mystery, our unique USB sound masking noise generators are an affordable and uncomplicated tool. This small, portable, and versatile sound masking solution pairs ambient noise with the all-so-familiar USB drive so you can plug-n-play or mix in your favorite music. Create the perfect atmosphere for your commercial space with both sound masking and background music.

Pure Resonance Audio USB generators have a variety of sound options. There is the standard white noise, babel (sounds like a crowded restaurant), river, rain, ocean, and a Japanese Zen garden.

Sound Masking Installation

A sound masking speaker system from Pure Resonance Audio will include your speakers, an amplifier, and your PrivacyCard™ or ComfortCard™ USB sound masking generator. We are going into detail about how to set it up once you get your equipment and have the system wired and speakers installed.

Turn On Your Sound Masking System

The very first thing you want to do is power your system on. There will be a light on the amplifier notifying you that it has power. You can then take your sound masking card out of the case.

Plug-In Your USB Sound Masking Noise Generator

Hold the sound masking card with the red side facing away from you. If you push on the red tab on the top, it flips out the USB portion of the card. Keeping the white side facing up, insert it into the USB slot on the front of the mixer-amplifier. The awesome thing about Pure Resonance Audio amplifiers is that the USB will take priority as soon as you insert it. So if you had Bluetooth connected or were using the FM tuner these will stop, and the sound masking will automatically start playing, and you will see counting on the media player. This count is a timer that indicates the amount of time the sound masking has been running.

From here, you can make adjustments to ensure the system settings are optimal for your space and individual preferences.

Adjust The Volume Of Your Amplifier

First, make sure the volume is adjusted. The mixer amplifier has a master volume control, but the media player itself also has volume control. This is much like when you connect your phone to a Bluetooth speaker or your car, there is a volume control on the speaker, but the phone also has volume control.

You can adjust the media player volume using the knobs on the amplifier or the remote that comes with the amplifier. The highest volume level is 32, but we recommend setting it at around 16, halfway to three quarters. You do not want to turn the volume all the way up because you still need to adjust the master volume.

Next, adjust the master volume to a comfortable level for the space. The master volume changes with the knob on the far right on the front of the mixer-amplifier. Keep in mind that a little bit goes a long way. You are not trying to blast it. The idea is we want the sound masking to blend into the background, not be too piercing, too harsh, or too loud. Over time you may not even realize your sound masking is playing. You have probably gone into clinics or other facilities and did not even realize they had sound masking.

Set The Equalization Of Your Sound Masking

The last thing to adjust is the EQ presets. The EQ setting will slightly change the frequency, much like when listening to a song in your car, and you can change the radio setting from rock to country or jazz. Each preset will make it sound a little bit different. To change the EQ presets, you will use the button located on the top right of the remote. Each setting is a little softer, rougher, or more high-pitched than the other. You may prefer one over the other. The beauty of this sound masking system is that you can choose exactly what you want for your space.

You can keep fine-tuning the volume through the media player, through the master, and get the EQ setting just how you want it. If you have any questions about our sound masking technology and equipment or are looking to purchase a system, give us a call at (866) 676-7804 or shoot us an email at sales@pureresonanceaudio.com, and we'll be happy to help.