Wall Panels for Entertainment Venues
Entertainment venues live or die by their sound. A movie theater with flutter echo, a concert hall with dead spots, a recording studio with uncontrolled reflections — these are acoustic failures that wall panels help prevent. Getting the wall treatment right is critical to the venue's core purpose.
Entertainment Venue Applications
Movie Theaters and Cinemas
Modern movie theaters rely on immersive audio systems — Dolby Atmos, IMAX, DTS:X. These systems are engineered for specific acoustic environments. The walls must absorb sound at specific frequencies to prevent reflections that smear the audio image. Side wall panels are typically 2-4" thick fabric-wrapped fiberglass with NRC 0.95+ targeting mid and high frequencies.
Between auditoriums, sound transmission is a constant complaint. Nobody watching a quiet drama wants to hear explosions from the action movie next door. Wall panels alone don't solve transmission — that requires mass and isolation in the wall assembly. But panels on the source side reduce the energy hitting the shared wall, which helps the overall STC performance.
Concert Halls and Live Music Venues
Concert hall acoustics are the most demanding application in our industry. The wall treatment isn't just "add absorption" — it's a carefully calculated balance of absorption, reflection, and diffusion. Absorption panels control reverberation time. Reflective surfaces provide early reflections that enhance musical clarity. Diffusers scatter sound evenly throughout the audience area.
We install all three types. Fabric-wrapped absorptive panels, hardwood reflectors, and QRD (quadratic residue diffuser) or MLS (maximum length sequence) diffusion panels. Placement and coverage are driven by the acoustician's design — we follow their drawings precisely.
Recording Studios and Production Facilities
Studios require the tightest acoustic control of any space. Control rooms need flat frequency response with minimal early reflections. Live rooms need tunable acoustics — removable panels that change the room's character for different recording situations. Isolation booths need complete separation.
Studio wall panels are typically custom — specific thicknesses, specific densities, specific mounting depths to target specific frequencies. We build and install to the studio designer's specifications, which often require tolerances tighter than standard commercial work.
Bowling Alleys, Arcades, and Family Entertainment
These venues are loud by nature. The goal isn't perfect acoustics — it's making the space tolerable. Wall panels on key surfaces reduce the worst of the noise buildup. Impact-resistant panels are a must — bowling alleys and arcades see physical abuse that would destroy standard acoustic panels. We use hardened faces over absorptive cores for these applications.
Houses of Worship
Churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples have acoustic requirements similar to concert halls — speech clarity for the sermon, appropriate reverberation for music, and enough absorption to prevent echo. Wall panels in worship spaces are often decorative — custom fabrics, wood trim, and designs that complement the architecture.
Product Types
- Broadband absorbers: 2-4" fabric-wrapped fiberglass panels. NRC 0.90–1.10. The workhorse for theaters, studios, and music venues.
- Bass traps: Thick (4-6") panels or corner-mounted traps targeting low frequencies below 250 Hz. Critical for studios and small performance spaces.
- Diffusion panels: Wood or composite panels with mathematically calculated surface patterns. Scatter sound evenly. Used in concert halls and studios.
- Combination panels: Part absorber, part diffuser. Absorb at some frequencies, scatter at others. Versatile for multipurpose venues.
Fire and Safety
Entertainment venues have some of the strictest fire codes due to high occupancy loads and assembly use classification. All wall panels must be Class A per ASTM E84. Theaters and concert halls may have additional requirements from the fire marshal based on occupancy and egress configuration. We verify every product's fire test data before installation.