“Can you repeat that? I couldn’t quite hear you.”
You’re on an important call, but the person on the other end sounds muffled and unclear. Your first instinct? Crank up the volume! That’s what we do to hear better, after all. However, in many cases, the underlying problem isn’t the volume – it’s the presence of masking noise, which interferes with speech frequencies and makes communication frustrating and less effective.
But contrary to popular belief, increasing the volume is often an ineffective solution for improving speech clarity during calls and video conferences. In fact, excessive loudness can actually make speech harder to comprehend. A key factor that often goes overlooked is sound directionality – the way sound travels from the source to the listener. By understanding and optimising sound directionality, you can reduce interference from masking noise and ensure that voices reach the listener clearly and accurately.
In this article, we’ll dive into the science behind why turning up the volume doesn’t necessarily make speech clearer, and how understanding masking noise can dramatically improve your listening experience.
The Problem with Loud But Not Clear
Volume has a significant impact on our ability to perceive speech accurately. At normal conversation levels (around 60 dBa), our ears are more sensitive to the frequencies associated with human speech than to low or high frequencies. When you turn up the volume excessively, low frequencies become more prominent, which can actually mask and obscure the speech frequencies, making it harder to understand what’s being said.
Sound engineers refer to this phenomenon as the “upward spread of masking.” As the volume increases, low frequencies (bass) become more dominant and effectively drown out the speech frequencies. This is why simply turning up the volume may not solve the problem of unclear speech in many situations. By addressing masking noise, either through improved audio design or environmental adjustments, speech clarity can be restored without relying solely on higher volume levels.
What Else Might Be Affecting Speech Clarity
Aside from volume levels, several other factors can contribute to poor speech clarity during calls and video conferences. These include:
- Noisy Environments – If the environment you’re in is noisy, the sound from your speakers or headphones may need to compete with background sounds, making it harder to hear speech clearly. Masking noise from external sources often exacerbates the problem.
- Room Acoustics – Echoey or reverberant rooms can cause sound reflections and distortions, further degrading speech clarity.
- Speaker Orientation – If the speakers on your device are facing away from you or are obstructed, it can affect the clarity of the sound reaching your ears.
- Speaker Quality – Low-quality speakers or those not optimised for speech may struggle to reproduce the nuances of the human voice accurately, which is critical when masking noise is present.
Addressing these factors, alongside reducing masking noise, ensures that your communication is crystal clear and reliable.
The CrystalVox Solution
CrystalVox Ltd. is a leading manufacturer of high-quality audio products designed to solve the problem of “loud but not clear” speech. Their speakers and audio systems are expertly engineered to optimise speech clarity, reduce the effects of masking noise, and ensure that your conference calls and video meetings run smoothly without the need for constant repetition or miscommunication.
So don’t let poor speech clarity or background masking noise hamper your productivity or cause frustration during important calls and meetings. Experience crystal-clear speech, consistent intelligibility, and seamless communication, even in challenging acoustic environments. With advanced audio engineering, optimised speaker placement, and technology specifically designed to reduce interference, you can focus on the conversation without distraction. Every participant will hear every word clearly, ensuring smoother collaboration, fewer misunderstandings, and more effective decision-making across all your professional interactions.
Get in touch to learn how you can get your hands on the CrystalVox range – designed to minimise masking noise and deliver speech clarity that makes every meeting count. With CrystalVox, every participant can hear and be heard accurately, no matter the surrounding noise conditions.