Reverberation Rooms
- Jul 10, 2025
News out of England that recently caught our attention: Meta has opened a $16 million lab to conduct audio research and development for the company's AI glasses and other AI equipment. In addition to anechoic and semi-anechoic chambers, the lab also features what it is calling "one of the world’s largest configurable reverberation rooms," equipped with "101 individually adjustable acoustic panels" to simulate different environments ranging in size.
Whereas anechoic chambers completely absorb sound (to the point that people have reported feeling disoriented after standing in one for a prolonged period of time), reverberation rooms are designed to create reverberation and send sound energy around the space. In fact, when an acoustics company like Audimute wants to calculate the noise reduction coefficient, or NRC, of its acoustic panels, it sends them to laboratories that test the acoustic products in such reverberation rooms. NRC ratings range from 0.0 (no absorption) to 1.00 (total absorption), with Audimute's panels boasting NRC ratings as high as 0.95.
We're excited to learn more about the role that acoustics will play in, as Meta says, "developing intelligent audio that adapts to users and their surroundings." And, hey, Meta - if you ever want to build a reverberation room stateside, feel free to reach out to our Acoustic Specialists for a consultation!