   
Sound IsolationSound isolation. Noise control. Soundproofing. Sound blocking. They all mean the same thing: reducing the sound between your home theater and its surroundings. Don’t confuse sound isolation with acoustical treatment. Acoustical treatment improves the quality of sound within your home theater room; that is, the sound traveling from your speakers to your ears when you are watching a movie. While both of these fall within the domain of room acoustics, they are very different issues. And they are handled by completely different materials and methods. A room that has excellent sound isolation may have very poor acoustics due to insufficient or incorrect acoustical treatment, and vice-versa. Acoustical treatment is critical for overall sound quality, but sound isolation may be a significant issue as well. Sound isolation must begin in the earliest stages of home theater construction. If the walls are framed, you are already greatly limited in your sound isolation options. The type of construction for walls, ceiling and/or floor determines the ability of these structures to isolate sound. Sound isolation is commonly measured using a single number: the Sound Transmission Class (STC). This gives the average number of decibels by which a wall, ceiling or floor will attenuate sound. A higher STC number means that less sound is transmitted out of or into the home theater. -->
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