Guide to Soundproofing & Improving Acoustics within Your Home Theater

Home Theater Soundproofing & Acoustics

Keep noise inside your home theater
Keep exterior noises outside of your home theater
Improve acoustics within your home theater

If you live in a multi-dwelling building, it is likely that your neighbors complain when you blast your stereo or favorite movie. Not only will you appease your neighbors by properly soundproofing your home theater, it is also easy to make your audio system sound as if it cost two times its actual cost.

Before I tell you the proper soundproofing techniques, you must first understand a few principles of acoustics and soundproofing. For your home theater, you must understand Sound Transmission Class (STC) to determine what you desire for your home. In short, STC is the average decibels (dB) lost through a barrier across the range of frequencies 125 Hz to 4000 Hz. A high-end home theater will typically produce sounds as loud as 100 dB to 110 dB. To compare this, a quiet room typically hovers around 40 dB. To properly balance this, the wall between the two rooms would require an STC rating of 60.

Typically, an interior wall composed of stud construction with drywall on both sides has an STC rating of 30 to 34. If the separating wall were to remain non-soundproofed, the dB in the room adjacent "quiet room" would increase to 70 dB (100 – 30 = 70). Considering that a loud home theater, at 100 dB is too loud to hold a conversation, the adjacent room at 70 dB would be too loud to hold a conversation.

One common misconception in soundproofing is that filling the wall with egg cartons will reduce noise transmissions between rooms. In actuality, test results have shown that filling your wall with egg cartons will not produce any measurable reduction in sound transmission between rooms.

To achieve the best results, you should use the proper combination of soundproofing and acoustic materials such as our QUIET BARRIER® HD for soundproofing and SOFT SOUND® Home Theater Products for improving acoustics.

For improving in-room sound quality and reduce noise transmission through a ceiling, please see our Acoustic Ceiling Tiles

For vibration isolation mounts, please view our VIBRA PADS™.

Looking for more information or wish to discuss your individual needs? An acoustical product specialist at American Micro Industries welcomes your call or email to discuss your unique situation and help you choose the best materials for your application. To inquire about your home theater, please call 1-800-558-2058 Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM ET. Alternately, email sent to will receive a prompt and courteous response.

Home Theater Soundproofing Products


QUIET BARRIER® HD - A flexible, 2lb per sq./ft. 1/4 in. thick, high density material with a smooth surface designed to reduce noise transmission between two spaces. Applications include reducing airborne noise transmission through walls, ceilings and floors. Quiet Barrier Details...	QUIET BARRIER® MD - A flexible, 1lb per sq./ft. 1/8 in. thick, high density material with a smooth surface specially engineered to reduce noise transmission between two spaces. Econo Barrier Details...	QUIET BATT® Insulation - A premium high-performance acoustical / thermal insulation manufactured from 80% recycled cotton fibers. QUIET BATT® offers superior noise reduction versus typical fiberglass, cellulose and foam insulations. Quiet Batt Insulation Details...
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isoTRAX™ Complete soundproofing system for walls and ceilings. Blocks and isolates sound, reduces noise from traveling through building materials. New or existing construction. isoTRAX Details...	Stud Beam Isolators - Made from medium density thermoplastic designed to isolate vibration and structural noise transmission. The Stud Beam Isolators are sized to fit any 2X lumber product. Stud Beam Isolators Details...	IMPACT BARRIER® LD - Multi-function carpet underlayment designed to reduce the transfer of sound from impact (footfall), decrease the transmission of sound from airborne sources and add comfort to your carpeted floor. Step Above Impact Barrier Details...
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STEP ABOVE® HD - The most technically advanced sound blocker available for hardwood, laminate and engineered flooring systems. Minimizes airborne and structural ( footfall ) noise and significantly improves in-room sound quality. Step Above Plus Details...	STEP ABOVE® LD - Designed to eliminate noise transmission and improve in-room sound quality. Eliminates noise transmission and isolates structural borne vibration. Step Above Details...	PROFLEX™ - Specially designed for use under thin-set and mud-set mortars and adhesives for interior and exterior applications of ceramic tile, stone and brick and for interior applications of wood flooring. Effectively reduces noise transmission and eliminates the transmission of cracks from the concrete base slab. Proflex Details...
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Home Theater Acoustic Products


SOFT SOUND® Acoustic Panels - Great for reducing in-room noise levels! Excellent finished appearance in a Class "A" fire rated building material! Tackable surface available. Acoustic Panels Details...	SOFT SOUND® Studio Foam - Designed to improve sound quality and speech clarity by reducing echo. Excellent acoustic performance combined with a variety of architectural textures, sizes and colors. Studio Foam Details...	SOFT SOUND® Foam Panels - a composite of acoustical foam and a non-woven fabric covering. It is a light weight, sound / noise absorbing panel used to improve the acoustics within a room by minimizing reverberation (echo). Foam Panel Details...
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Tufcore Acoustic Ceiling Tiles - High-performance composite ceiling panel. Especially well-suited to minimize sound transmission between adjacent spaces sharing a common plenum or attic space. Available in a variety of finish options and edge details. Acoustic Ceiling Tile Details...
3 - 5 week lead time