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Step into any large space — a gallery, auditorium, or co-working hub — and there’s a good chance it sounds worse than it looks. Echoes bounce off every hard surface, speech becomes chaotic, and any sense of calm or focus is quickly lost. For venues built to inspire or perform, poor acoustics can sabotage everything.
Honestly, echoing large spaces are not that bad... If you are really into Gregorian chants and ominous reverberation. Most likely not. There are many ways to improve the way your space sounds, especially if it has high ceilings.
In this article, we will break down what causes echo, how it affects function, and most importantly, how to fix it using tailored acoustic solutions.
Why Do Large Spaces Echo So Much?
Echo is caused by sound waves reflecting off hard surfaces like glass, concrete, or metal. In a small room, that reflection fades fast. In a large, open space, it lingers — bouncing around before it ever dies out. The result? Reverberation muddles speech, amplifies background noise, and kills clarity.
If you're asking “How to reduce echo in a room?” — you’re really asking how to absorb sound energy before it reflects endlessly. Technically, echo and reverberation are a bit different, but both can be narrowed down to sound reflections within a room. This is fixed with absorption materials. However, soundproofing is filtering the sound from escaping or entering a room – fixed with insulation.
But what is the connection between size and sound, we hear you asking? Well, get ready for some data. First, let’s understand what is Reverberation time (RT60). It is the time it takes for sound to decay by 60 decibels once the sound source has stopped. This benchmark is used by acousticians to describe a very clear and definitive end to the sound in any environment.
Basically, the larger and more reflective the room, the longer the RT60. The longer the reverberation time, the more persistent the echo — which makes everything feel louder, muddier, and more chaotic. In numbers, this can be measured as:
- In a high-ceiling room (200–300 m³) the RT60 will be around 1.5–2.5 sec
- In a large hall or atrium (500–1000+ m³) the RT60 will be around 2.5–5+ sec
- In a cathedral or a gymnasium (>2000 m³) about 5–10 sec
We can look at unwanted reverberation as “sound junk” that freely and chaotically floats in the air. It will eventually dissipate, and that is where RT60 comes in handy. The longer the reverberation time – the more decibels remain in the space. This commonly leads to a confusing overlap of sounds - impossible to tell people about your new hobby.
How Does Sound Absorption Work in a Room with High Ceilings
High ceilings create longer sound paths — more space for noise to bounce and build. This is the type of echo that will repeat your words or the sounds you produce. This is because tall spaces with smaller widths, like a tower or a loft, create vertical flutter echo. Meaning that sound will dissipate by prolonged reflections.
A reflection, or echo, that returns at −6 dB to −10 dB relative to the original direct sound will be heard as a clear echo. Like this, Like this, Like this.
To manage echo in rooms with high ceilings, look up. The ceiling is often your most underutilised acoustic surface. You can reduce the echo with acoustic hanging baffles or acoustic clouds. Their job is to absorb sound energy before it can reflect down to the room. They’re ideal for preserving both aesthetics and acoustic function in spacious environments.
Acoustic Treatment for Large Rooms
What happens if you put cotton candy on your walls? Sadly, dampening sound isn’t just about “adding soft stuff.” It’s about strategically placing materials that trap and absorb mid-to-high frequencies, where speech intelligibility lives. This is what we mean by acoustically treating a room. For example, you can try this combination:
- Acoustic panel print for visually integrated wall coverage
- Acoustic desk dividers in open offices to break up sound paths
- Rugs, curtains, and soft furnishings as secondary tools (they help, but aren’t enough on their own)
For corporate or hospitality spaces, products like the acoustic art panel let you turn the treatment into a design feature — colour-matched, print-customised, and effective. Your space will look beautiful and acoustically efficient.
How Can You Modify an Area to Reduce Echo?
Not to sound too much like Bruce Lee, but think of sound like water: it flows, reflects, pools, and unfortunately leaks. Your job is to control the current. We call that sound leaking, and just like water, it can get through:
- Gaps around door frames or light switches
- Unsealed joints in walls or flooring
- Shared ductwork or recessed lighting between rooms
- Thin, lightweight wall or door construction
In the case of open spaces, you need to break them up with bookcases (you don’t need to read all the books for it to work), green walls, or upholstered dividers. Cover parallel walls (where sound reflects back and forth) with WAVO panels – their irregular surface diffuses sound rather than bouncing it straight.
How to Make Rooms Less Noisy (Without Tearing Them Apart)
You don’t need to rebuild a room to fix its acoustics. So if you have hired a demolition crew – let them go. Instead, you need the right surface treatment, placed in the right spots.
Start with ceiling treatment – especially in tall rooms. Then, cover with acoustic panels the biggest reflection points – those are wall areas directly facing sound sources. Finally, install bass traps in the corners — these absorb low-frequency build-up where sound tends to accumulate.
There are also support items that can help with the sound quality of spaces. Things like curtains, tapestry, carpets, artwork, and books can add character to the space and help with reducing the echo.
The Real Cost of Bad Acoustics
Remember the last time you were in a train station and you didn’t understand anything from the PA system? In public venues, poor acoustics mean missed messages and frustrated visitors.
People in echoing office spaces struggle with distraction and burnout. In hospitality, noise dilutes the customer experience. A space that sounds wrong feels wrong — no matter how good it looks.
Luckily, echo is a solvable design challenge, and we can help you filter it substantially, shaping the acoustics of your space with precision. Ready to transform the way your space sounds? Get in touch with DECIBEL for a tailored acoustic consultation — we’ll help your large open space sound just as it looks - magnificent!
