Acoustic booths or acoustic panels: which is right for your office?
Acoustic booths and acoustic panels both appear in open-plan office specifications, but they solve different problems. Buying the wrong one, or buying one when you need the other, is a common and expensive mistake. This article explains the difference, when each is the right answer, and how to compare performance specifications.
The two problems acoustic products solve
Before choosing between booths and panels, identify which of two distinct problems you are trying to solve:
- Noise and distraction: the ambient noise level in the office is too high, people cannot concentrate, find it tiring, and are distracted by conversations around them. This is a sound absorption problem.
- Lack of speech privacy: people have no enclosed space for calls, video conferences, HR conversations or sensitive discussions. This is a sound privacy problem.
These two problems have different solutions. Buying panels when you need booths (or vice versa) will not fix the issue.
What does an acoustic panel actually do?
Acoustic panels absorb sound energy, they reduce the amount of sound that reflects off hard surfaces (walls, ceilings, glass, floors) and bounces around the room. By reducing reverberation, they lower the ambient noise level and improve speech intelligibility.
What panels do not do: they do not prevent noise from travelling between people. A conversation happening 3 metres away will still be audible, the panel reduces the echo and general din, not the direct sound path between speaker and listener.
Panels are the right answer when:
- The office sounds echoey or fatiguing
- Speech intelligibility in meetings is poor
- Background noise from HVAC, equipment or footfall is the main complaint
- The problem is noise level, not privacy
What does an acoustic booth actually do?
An acoustic booth is an enclosed or semi-enclosed structure that provides both sound absorption (internal lining reduces echo inside the booth) and sound attenuation (the walls, ceiling and door reduce sound transfer in and out).
Booths address the privacy problem directly. A person inside the booth can have a call or conversation that cannot be understood by someone sitting outside. This is measured as speech level reduction, OTTOKIND booths achieve up to Rw 38 dB reduction, meaning a normal conversation inside is not intelligible outside.
Booths are the right answer when:
- Employees need space for calls or video conferences
- HR, legal or finance conversations require confidentiality
- Employees are disturbing others when on the phone
- Meeting rooms are consistently overbooked
When panels are the right answer
- The office has hard surfaces and high reverberation time
- The complaint is general fatigue and din rather than specific privacy issues
- Budget is limited (panels cost significantly less than booths)
- The layout is open and flexible, panels can be reconfigured easily
- Privacy is not a legal or compliance requirement
When booths are the right answer
- Remote calls and video conferences are a regular requirement
- The organisation handles sensitive information verbally (HR, legal, finance, medical)
- Meeting room availability is consistently a problem
- GDPR or professional standards require demonstrable speech privacy
When you need both
Most open-plan offices benefit from both. A typical effective solution combines acoustic panels (to reduce general reverberation and noise level) with booths (to provide enclosed space for calls and private conversations). The panels improve overall acoustic quality; the booths solve the privacy problem that panels cannot address.
How to compare acoustic performance specifications
| Metric | What it measures | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| NRC (Noise Reduction Coefficient) | Average sound absorption across frequencies (0 to 1) | Panels and soft furnishings |
| Absorption Class (A to E) | European classification of sound absorption (A = best) | Panels, baffles, acoustic products |
| Rw (dB) | Weighted sound reduction index, how much sound a partition blocks | Walls, glazing, booth walls |
| ISO 23351-1 | Speech level reduction in a booth, the most relevant metric for phone booths | Acoustic booths and pods |
For acoustic booths, ask for the ISO 23351-1 test result. Marketing claims like “reduces noise by 30 dB” without a test standard reference are not directly comparable between manufacturers.
Frequently asked questions
Can acoustic panels alone fix a noisy open-plan office?
They can significantly improve acoustic comfort but cannot eliminate noise. In a large open-plan office, well-positioned acoustic panels typically reduce reverberation time and lower perceived noise level noticeably. For offices where the primary problem is general fatigue and din (not calls or privacy), panels alone can be sufficient.
How many booths does an office need?
A useful starting ratio is one phone booth per 10 to 15 people for organisations where remote calls are common. For offices with lower call volumes, one per 20 to 25 people may be sufficient. Monitor usage after installation, if booths are consistently occupied, add more; if underused, the problem may be noise rather than privacy.
Do acoustic booths get hot?
Without ventilation, yes. All OTTOKIND booths include ventilation, passive on smaller models, fan-assisted on larger models. This keeps internal temperature comfortable for the occupation duration the booth is designed for (typically 20 to 60 minutes).
Can acoustic products be used in a listed building?
Yes. Both panels and booths are freestanding with no structural fixings. They are suitable for listed buildings, leasehold offices and any environment where permanent alterations are restricted.
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