How to Fix Echo and Poor Audio in Conference Rooms

The shift to hybrid work exposed a problem that was always present but tolerable: most conference rooms have terrible acoustics. When everyone was in the room, human auditory processing compensated for reflections and reverberation. Remote participants on video calls do not have this advantage. They hear every reflection, every echo, and every ambient noise picked up by the room microphones.

The result is the frustrating experience familiar to millions of hybrid workers: "Can you repeat that?" "You're breaking up." "There's an echo on your end." These are not network problems. They are acoustic problems with measurable solutions.

Before treating a conference room, measure its current acoustic performance. Use SonaVyx to capture three key metrics. First, RT60 tells you how long sound takes to decay by 60 dB, with a target of 0.3 to 0.6 seconds for conference rooms. Second, the frequency response reveals which frequency ranges have the most energy buildup, typically low-mid frequencies between 200-500 Hz in rooms with hard parallel surfaces. Third, STI measures speech intelligibility, with a target above 0.65 for clear communication.

Walk the room with the SPL meter to identify hot spots where reflections concentrate. These are typically at the center of the table (equidistant from parallel walls) and at the far end from the display screen.

The ceiling is the most impactful surface to treat because it is the largest untreated area and is involved in most first-order reflections from speech at the table. Suspended acoustic ceiling tiles with an NRC (Noise Reduction Coefficient) of 0.85 or higher are the standard commercial solution. For exposed ceilings, hanging acoustic baffles or clouds above the table area provide targeted absorption.

A ceiling cloud of 6 to 8 square meters centered above the conference table typically reduces RT60 by 0.2 to 0.4 seconds in a standard conference room, often enough to bring a problematic room within the target range.

Focus wall treatment on first reflection points. Sit in each seat at the table and identify where sound from the speakers (both human and loudspeaker) hits the walls and reflects back. These points need absorptive or diffusive treatment. A common effective approach is treating the wall opposite the display screen and one side wall with 50mm acoustic panels.

For glass-walled conference rooms, acoustic curtains or motorized blinds with acoustic backing provide treatment that can be retracted when not needed. Adhesive acoustic film applied directly to glass provides modest absorption without visual impact.

Before purchasing any acoustic panels, consider what the room already contains. Upholstered chairs absorb significantly more sound than hard plastic or metal chairs. A fabric-covered credenza along one wall adds absorption. Even placing a large felt pad under the center of the table reduces reflections from the table surface, which is a significant contributor to comb filtering picked up by table-mounted microphones.

After treatment, re-measure with SonaVyx to confirm improvement. Compare before and after RT60 values across octave bands. Check that STI has improved to above 0.65. Run a test video call with remote participants to confirm subjective improvement matches the measured data. Document the results for facilities management to justify similar treatment in other conference rooms.