The difference between sound treatment and sound proofing

 In spite of what the salesperson at your local shop tells you, sound treatment and sound proofing are not terms that can be used interchangeably in acoustics. Sound proofing is the procedure of creating a space that prevents any type of sound from escaping it, while sound treatment is the manipulation of the response of a room to specific frequencies to create a balanced sound within the room with the use of a sound diffuser.

Soundproofing a room

If you are creating a space that will be used to have a huge amount of noise and sound, the best way to do this would be to build a room within a room. The room itself should have dense cement floor, ceiling and walls. This creates an outer shell which is the last line of the space for soundproofing, and should be sufficiently thick to absorb even the loudest low frequency sounds.  You can also use noise reducing curtains in this room.

Within it, another room should be made whose walls, floor and ceilings might be made of cement and also to make sure utmost thickness. Sound blocking curtains and drywalls filled with fiberglass or sheetrock can also be used.

A sound diffuser serves to scatter sound hitting its surface in random directions. Although less omnipresent than reflectors and absorbers, diffusers serve a vital purpose of preventing redundant travel of sound waves.  Diffusers are usually crafted with a mathematic model as a guide to make sure the randomness of its surface. 

The next time you decide to create a quality space for listening, define first whether or not you would like to treat it, soundproof it or even both. Knowing what you want to do ahead will save you money and energy by allowing you to emphasize on what would be the priorities for your acoustic curtains project.