While many clients have one specific space that needs masking, others require more flexibility. Indeed, scalability is increasingly important in a hybrid working environment where workers have the option of working from home all or part of the time. This flexibility may be required by large businesses scaling up, or small businesses using co-working spaces that themselves can be scaled depending upon need. In such situations, a sound masking system can be removed and taken with the business to a new office space or scaled up or down depending upon business needs. This ensures long term flexibility and cost effectiveness.

360 Medico Legal case study

The benefits of scalability can be illustrated by the 360 Medico Legal installations. 360 Medico Legal is a law firm that requires auditory privacy because it receives instructions from solicitors, insurers and case managers. These instructions are highly sensitive, being covered by both legal privilege and health privacy legislation. Initially, the sound masking system was designed to address noise transfer between offices through air conditioning grilles. This is a common issue, and the addition of sound masking solved this key auditory privacy issue.

Scaling up

However, as time went by, the client needed to address auditory privacy across the whole firm. At this time, the sound masking system was expanded throughout the entire level including within the open plan office. Because the original design factored in any future expansion, it was easy to add to the design. The expansion took advantage of the scalability of the system. The sound generator used for the initial installation could service the expanded layout. Not requiring a second generator reduced the cost of the expanded installation. It also reduced the overall per square metre cost of the system.

This blog is an edited excerpt from The flexibility of sound masking: three case studies from Perth presented at Acoustics 2025. To read the full paper, please click here.