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Do Acoustic Panels Soundproof a Room?

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No, acoustic panels don't soundproof a room: they're rated by NRC, which measures how much echo they absorb, and a 2 in. Owens Corning 703 (opens in a new tab) panel rates NRC 1.00, lists no STC at all and weighs just 0.5 lb/sq ft. So do acoustic panels soundproof anything? They cut the echo inside your room, but the noise coming through the walls stays about the same.

And the gap they'd have to close is a big one. A typical insulated 2x4 wall rates STC 34 in USG lab tests (opens in a new tab). At that level you can still hear loud speech next door, and loud speech doesn't go inaudible until STC 50 (Johns Manville (opens in a new tab)). An extra layer of drywall, more than four times the weight of a panel, only won back 3 of those 16 points.

Ladder of wall STC ratings and loud speech next door: 30 fairly well understood, 34 an insulated 2x4 wall where panels leave it, 35 audible but not intelligible, 45 some barely audible, 48 the same wall with resilient channel, 50 not audible and the code minimum
Panels leave the wall sitting at STC 34. Resilient channel on one side gets it to 48.

If you actually want to soundproof the room, go in this order:

  1. Seal the gaps: a door sweep, gaskets, sealant along the wall base and outlet seals. One unsealed 1/8 in. gap 1 ft long drops a wall from STC 46 to 36 in PABCO's guide (opens in a new tab).
  2. Add mass: a second layer of drywall or sealed mass loaded vinyl.
  3. Decouple: resilient channel on one side took USG's wall from STC 34 to 48.
  4. Absorb last: hang panels only if the room still echoes.

Acoustic panels vs soundproofing explains the two ratings, do soundproof panels work sorts it out problem by problem, and the soundproof panels guide covers each method. There are more answers in the soundproof panels FAQ.

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