Meeting Room Acoustics: How to Fix Echo and Reverb

You can have the best camera, the smartest conferencing software, and the fastest internet—but if your meeting room sounds bad, none of it matters. Echo, reverb, and muffled audio are some of the most common culprits behind unproductive meetings, and they often go unnoticed until frustration sets in.

Good meeting room acoustics are no longer optional. In an era of hybrid collaboration, clear, natural sound is essential for inclusion, engagement, and productivity. Whether you’re a small business upgrading your huddle space or a large organisation designing executive boardrooms, improving acoustics doesn’t always require major investment—just informed decisions.

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Why Acoustics Matter More Than Ever

Modern offices are designed for openness—glass walls, hard floors, and minimalist furnishings. Aesthetically, it works. Acoustically, it doesn’t. Sound reflects off hard surfaces, creating echo and reverb that distort voices and make speech harder to follow.

For in-person participants, this results in fatigue and misunderstanding. For remote attendees, the problem compounds through microphones and conferencing systems, making communication feel fragmented.

With hybrid meetings now standard, achieving acoustic clarity has become a key part of creating effective video conferencing solutions that deliver consistent experiences across rooms, devices, and locations.

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Understanding the Basics: Echo, Flutter and RT60

Before jumping into fixes, it helps to understand what’s happening in the room.

• Echo occurs when sound reflects off large flat surfaces (like windows or bare walls) and bounces back with a noticeable delay.
  
• Flutter echo happens when sound waves rapidly bounce between two parallel surfaces—think glass walls or opposing plasterboard.
  
• Reverb (short for reverberation) is the persistence of sound after it’s produced. In rooms with high RT60 (reverberation time), voices linger and overlap, making speech unclear.
  
  

Ideally, a meeting room should have an RT60 between 0.3 and 0.6 seconds—enough to sound natural, but not so long that speech becomes muddy.

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Quick Wins: Placement and Soft Furnishings

Not every solution requires a full refit. Sometimes, simple tweaks can deliver surprisingly big results:

• Add soft materials: Carpets, rugs, upholstered chairs, and curtains absorb sound. Every fabric surface you add reduces reflections.
  
• Strategic placement: Move tables and seating away from reflective surfaces like glass partitions or bare walls.
  
• Acoustic panels: Foam or fabric wall panels can be installed behind displays or on ceilings to target specific problem areas.
  
• Plants: Even greenery can help—dense foliage subtly diffuses sound waves while softening the space visually.
  
  

For offices that rely on video walls or large display screens, adding acoustic treatment around these reflective surfaces can balance clarity without compromising design. Bridgehampton’s office video wall solutions demonstrate how visual and acoustic performance can coexist beautifully.

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The Tech Side: Microphones, Noise Gates and AEC

Technology can’t fix poor acoustics entirely—but it can help you manage them intelligently. Modern conferencing systems include features like noise gating and acoustic echo cancellation (AEC), which clean up sound signals before they reach participants.

Choosing the Right Microphones

• Ceiling mics: Ideal for minimal, cable-free setups, but they often pick up reflections from above and may amplify reverb if the room isn’t treated.
  
• Table mics: Offer more clarity but can clutter surfaces and capture local noise like typing or tapping.
  
• Beamforming mic arrays: These advanced systems use multiple microphones to isolate voices and suppress background noise. They’re excellent for hybrid rooms where speech needs to be consistently clear for both in-room and remote participants.
  
  

When configured correctly, these tools complement a well-treated room, ensuring the technology enhances rather than compensates for acoustics. For a deeper look at how to address persistent sound challenges in conference environments, Bridgehampton’s insights on overcoming the challenges of video conferencing provide valuable context.

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Budget-Friendly Fixes at Every Tier

Improving meeting room acoustics doesn’t have to break the bank. The key is knowing where to allocate budget for the best return.

Budget: Up to £500

• Add acoustic panels or foam tiles to walls or ceilings.
  
• Install thick curtains or sound-absorbing blinds.
  
• Replace hard flooring with carpet tiles or area rugs.
  
• Add plants or decorative fabric partitions.
  
  

These affordable steps can reduce echo by 20–30%—a noticeable improvement for small meeting spaces or huddle rooms.

Mid-Range: Up to £2,000

• Invest in acoustic wall art or suspended baffles that blend design and function.
  
• Upgrade microphones to directional or array-based systems.
  
• Add a small DSP (digital signal processor) for AEC and room tuning.
  
• Engage an integrator to calibrate settings for Teams Rooms or similar platforms.
  
  

This tier typically suits medium-sized rooms where balance between style, technology, and performance matters.

Premium: £10,000+

• Commission a full acoustic assessment and design.
  
• Combine sound absorption, diffusion, and isolation for optimal clarity.
  
• Integrate beamforming arrays, DSPs, and intelligent cameras for seamless hybrid experiences.
  
• Include acoustic ceiling clouds and dedicated soundproofing if privacy is essential.
  
  

This approach transforms large meeting rooms, boardrooms, and client-facing spaces into professional-grade environments where every voice is heard clearly—onsite or remote.

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Fine-Tuning for the Modern Workplace

Once the core acoustic issues are addressed, calibration becomes key. Adjust AEC settings carefully—too aggressive, and speech sounds unnatural; too light, and echo persists. Similarly, noise gates should mute only ambient sound, not natural pauses in conversation.

These adjustments are often made during setup by AV integrators, but understanding them helps teams maintain optimal sound over time. When paired with unified communication systems like Microsoft Teams Rooms, these refinements create an audio experience that’s effortless, professional, and consistent.

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Designing Sound Spaces That Work for People

Acoustics are about more than eliminating echo—they’re about improving how people connect. A well-tuned meeting room allows participants to focus on the discussion, not the distractions. It shows attention to detail, empathy for remote colleagues, and commitment to professional communication.

Bridgehampton helps organisations design meeting spaces that balance technology, aesthetics, and performance. From immersive displays to advanced video conferencing solutions, our approach transforms everyday collaboration into something seamless and human.

If your meeting spaces need clearer sound or smarter integration, discover how we can help by visiting Bridgehampton or getting in touch via our contact page. Let’s create meeting environments where every conversation is heard exactly as intended