Audio Video News

Are you about to build a home theater? If so, you have probably researched acoustic treatment---and the need to hide it. Until recently, most acoustical insulation was made in some light color---yellow, pink, or gray---that required covering with paint, tape, or fabric to make it look acceptable.

Owens Corning has two new acoustical insulation products, SelectSound Black Acoustic Blanket and SelectSound Black Acoustic Board, that may ease your home theater installation woes considerably. Intended for commercial theater applications, where low visible reflectivity is just as important as damping sound reflections, the SelectSound products are equally applicable for use in home theater systems. Not merely standard insulation with a bit of black paint applied to the surface, SelectSound is black to the core, thanks to the addition of black dye during the manufacturing process. Cutting it won't reveal a garish blotch that needs to be hidden.

SelectSound insulation products are also said to be "engineered to provide the highest quality audio reproduction by dramatically reducing sound reverberation." Greg Bonsib, Owens Corning business manager for commercial acoustics, explains: "From quiet dialogue to dramatic explosions, movie theaters stretch an acoustic environment to its limits. Owens Corning has created products specifically for theater applications that absorb the sound from a big explosion, allowing the viewers to hear the following dialogue without annoying echoes."

Both the Blanket and the Board are finished in the same identical flat black, and can be installed side-by-side in a visibly seamless fashion. The Board would work perfectly as a ceiling treatment. Both the Board and the Blanket can be applied directly to finished drywall, concrete block or pre-cast concrete using regular industry techniques, according to a September 26 announcement from the manufacturer. SelectSound Black Acoustic Board has a three-pound density and is available in sheets cut 48" x 96" in either a 1" or 2" thickness. The SelectSound Black Acoustic Blanket has a 1.5-pound density and is 72" wide. This flexible batt is available in 1" or 2" rolls that are either 50' or 70' in length depending on the specified thickness.

SelectSound Black Acoustic Board and Black Acoustic Blanket are available through Owens Corning-approved commercial and industrial distributors. Call 1-800-438-7465 for more information.