For projects in Madrid
Recording studio acoustics and soundproofing in Madrid
Two jobs that must not be confused: keeping the building out, and making the room honest inside. The first is mass and decoupling and has to be built first. The second is absorption and diffusion and can be tuned later. Studios sit inside residential blocks, so the neighbour above matters more than the room treatment.
- Isolation
- A measured background level, agreed before anything is bought.
- Low frequency
- Corner and boundary absorption with real depth, not surface foam.
- Early reflections
- Controlled at the mix position, and only there.
- Quote
- From a plan and a section, within 48 hours
01 / Start here
The product, described honestly, for a Madrid brief
Two jobs that must not be confused: keeping the building out, and making the room honest inside. The first is mass and decoupling and has to be built first. The second is absorption and diffusion and can be tuned later.
Studios sit inside residential blocks, so the neighbour above matters more than the room treatment.
Work reaching us from Madrid is mostly ensanche apartments, Castellana office floors, restaurants, hotels, clinics, studios, schools.
- Ensanche blocks share everything The classic Madrid block stacks flats around a central patio with shared walls and slabs. Footfall and speech move between homes, which is a mass and isolation problem, not a panel problem.
- Castellana floors have nothing soft Tower and corporate floors run glass to glass with raised floors and exposed slabs. Speech carries because there is nowhere for it to land, so the ceiling has to do the work.
- A city that eats and drinks late Bars and restaurants run long hours directly under apartments. The complaint is almost always low frequency and footfall, and it arrives fast.
- Isolation A measured background level, agreed before anything is bought.
Full specification
Thickness, density, NRC by frequency, fire class, standard sizes and build-up detail for studio soundproofing are on the main product page. This page covers what that means for a project in Madrid.
02 / The build-up
What goes where, from the structure in
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Layer 1
Acoustic foam and BassBloc
Open cell foam shapes for high frequency control, and BassBloc, a high density absorber built for the low mid range where ordinary foam does nothing. In Madrid, split and multi-split systems dominate, with condensers in patios and light wells that act as reverberant shafts.
First reflection points. Mirror trick placement on side walls and ceiling, which is a handful of panels rather than a lined room.
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Layer 2
SoundBlanket mass loaded vinyl
A limp, high density sheet that adds mass to a partition, floor or duct without adding depth. In Madrid, churches, civic auditoriums and hotel function rooms are stone and plaster volumes with very long decay times.
Duct and plant wrap. Membrane wrapped over the duct with a decoupling layer beneath, sealed at every lap.
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Layer 3
Soundproof curtains
A layered curtain with a mass loaded vinyl core, used where an opening has to stay an opening. In Madrid, school buildings are concrete and tile with high ceilings and hard floors, and dining halls are the loudest rooms in the building.
Track with a seal. Ceiling track plus a floor seal or drape, so the perimeter is closed when it is drawn.
If you are specifying for a Madrid project, we can give you a section, a BOQ and the honest limits of each layer. See how we support architects.
03 / On the ground
The Madrid conditions that change the answer
- Ensanche blocks share everything
The classic Madrid block stacks flats around a central patio with shared walls and slabs. Footfall and speech move between homes, which is a mass and isolation problem, not a panel problem.
- Castellana floors have nothing soft
Tower and corporate floors run glass to glass with raised floors and exposed slabs. Speech carries because there is nowhere for it to land, so the ceiling has to do the work.
- A city that eats and drinks late
Bars and restaurants run long hours directly under apartments. The complaint is almost always low frequency and footfall, and it arrives fast.
- Closed up against the heat
Once a room is sealed and air conditioned it stops leaking sound outward and starts building it up inside. Absorption has to be balanced, not maximised.
- The housing stock
The Ensanche and equivalent city blocks stack flats around a patio with shared walls and slabs. Footfall and speech move between homes, which is a mass and isolation problem.
- The studio and content scene
Studios sit inside residential blocks, so the neighbour above matters more than the room treatment.
04 / Room by room
Space by space, for Madrid briefs
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Isolation
A measured background level, agreed before anything is bought. The classic Madrid block stacks flats around a central patio with shared walls and slabs. Footfall and speech move between homes, which is a mass and isolation problem, not a panel problem.
- Acoustic foam and BassBloc, 1800 x 900 mm
- Soundproofing materials, 1800 x 900 x 20 mm, 100 kg per cubic metre, NRC 0.85
- Soundproof curtains, 5.5 kg per sq m
-
Low frequency
Corner and boundary absorption with real depth, not surface foam. Tower and corporate floors run glass to glass with raised floors and exposed slabs. Speech carries because there is nowhere for it to land, so the ceiling has to do the work.
- Acoustic foam and BassBloc, 20 mm
- Soundproofing materials, Mass, then decoupling, then cavity absorption, then sealing
- Soundproof curtains, Up to 30 dB
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Early reflections
Controlled at the mix position, and only there. Bars and restaurants run long hours directly under apartments. The complaint is almost always low frequency and footfall, and it arrives fast.
- Acoustic foam and BassBloc, 100 kg per cubic metre
- Soundproofing materials, ASTM E90 for the barrier, ASTM C423 for the absorber
- Soundproof curtains, 30
If the visual is fixed and the room still has to perform, that is a solvable problem and a conversation worth having early. See how we work with interior designers.
04 / Climate and durability
What the Madrid climate rules in and rules out
Madrid is hot dry summers and mild wet winters, and that narrows the material list before acoustics is discussed.
The swing between a dry summer and a wet winter moves timber. PET felt is dimensionally stable across that swing; slat panels want a stable substrate and a ventilated fixing.
The failure we design against here is seasonal movement in timber and winter damp in unheated stock.
On a Madrid job with a consultant involved, our part is material that matches the submitted data. See working with acoustic consultants.
06 / Straight talk
Where this kind of project usually fails
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Buying foam to solve an isolation problem
Small on the drawing, expensive on site, and almost always found after handover.
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Treating the room before the shell is isolated
This is the one that comes back as a second fit-out rather than a snag.
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Killing the room completely and calling it controlled
A room can be over-treated. Past the target it stops sounding controlled and starts sounding dead, and you paid for that.
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Treating it as a generic Madrid job
The classic Madrid block stacks flats around a central patio with shared walls and slabs. Footfall and speech move between homes, which is a mass and isolation problem, not a panel problem.
05 / Route to site
Supply into Madrid, start to site
| Ships from | Palwal, Haryana, India |
|---|---|
| Arrives at | Valencia or Barcelona, then road inland to Madrid |
| Dispatch | 4 to 7 working days |
| Freight | Sea, then road inland |
| Support | Drawings, build-ups, BOQ and material that arrives complete |
Standard items dispatch in 4 to 7 working days. Grooved panels and custom colours take longer, and we say so before you order, not after.
Sea freight into Valencia or Barcelona, then road inland to Madrid. Air freight for samples and urgent quantities.
Questions from Madrid projects
What makes recording studio acoustics and soundproofing different in Madrid?
Studios sit inside residential blocks, so the neighbour above matters more than the room treatment. The classic Madrid block stacks flats around a central patio with shared walls and slabs. Footfall and speech move between homes, which is a mass and isolation problem, not a panel problem.
Where should the budget go first on a Madrid project?
Isolation. A measured background level, agreed before anything is bought. Low frequency. Corner and boundary absorption with real depth, not surface foam.
Do you have an office or installation team in Madrid?
No. We manufacture in India and supply into Madrid. We give you drawings, build-ups, a BOQ and material that arrives complete, and we will tell you plainly when a job needs a local contractor we cannot be.
How does material get to a Madrid site?
ships from: Palwal, Haryana, India, arrives at: Valencia or Barcelona, then road inland to Madrid, dispatch: 4 to 7 working days. Standard items dispatch in 4 to 7 working days. Grooved panels and custom colours take longer, and we say so before you order, not after.
What goes wrong most often on this kind of project?
Buying foam to solve an isolation problem. Treating the room before the shell is isolated.
What do you need from us to quote?
A plan, a section through the critical partition or ceiling, and what the room is for. From that we can give a build-up and a BOQ rather than a price per square foot.
Next step
Drawings in, BOQ and a delivered date out
We quote from drawings, not from a square foot rate. Send a plan and the section through the critical wall or ceiling and you will get something you can actually build from.