Baca dalam Bahasa Melayu: Kawalan Akustik di Kafe dan Restoran Premium

Beautiful aesthetics and delicious food aren’t enough to make a cafe a favorite premium hangout. A comfortable atmosphere plays a big role in a cafe’s overall quality. One comfort element often overlooked is acoustics.

Customers come to relax, discuss, or work. If your cafe is filled with loud street noise, echoing coffee machines, and overly loud laughter, customers will feel uncomfortable and leave quickly.

Here are 4 practical steps to control noise and echoes to maintain a premium vibe in your cafe:

1. Block Outside Traffic Noise
For cafes on main roads, tire and engine noises can ruin the relaxing vibe, especially with honks and sirens.

Solution:
Reduce open spaces facing the road. If you want a view, use fixed glass. Ensure the main entrance doesn’t face traffic directly. Install acoustic door seals around the entrance.
Build a Soundlock: If it’s still too noisy, build a second set of entrance doors. Street noise that passes the first door will be blocked by the second, effectively reducing sound leaks.

2. Separate Noise Sources from Customers
Cafe noise comes from blenders, coffee machines, the kitchen, and more. This noise is unavoidable but manageable.

Solution:
As much as possible, keep seating areas away from noisy areas like the prep counter, kitchen, and restrooms. If space is tight, try to hide these noise sources behind solid furniture or walls so the sound doesn’t travel directly to customers’ ears.

3. Reduce Echoes (Reverberation Time) with Acoustic Panels
Have you ever entered a cafe that felt very noisy even with few people? This happens because the Reverberation Time (RT) is too long (too much echo). If your cafe has many hard surfaces like concrete walls, mirrors, and tile floors, sound bounces around uncontrollably.

Solution:
Install sound-absorbing panels on walls or ceilings. For F&B premises, PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) acoustic panels are highly recommended. If possible, leave an air gap between the PET panel and the wall/ceiling (don’t install it flush) to increase sound absorption.

Why PET? It’s much safer and cleaner for F&B than conventional sound absorbers. It’s also light, easy to cut, and easy to install.
Besides PET, using pleated curtains and cushioned sofas can also help reduce the overall echo in your cafe.

4. Distribute Speakers for Even Background Music (BGM) and Proper Tuning
Background music sets the cafe’s vibe. However, a common mistake is using only one or two large speakers for the whole space. This forces you to turn up the volume so the music reaches the back, making it deafening for customers sitting near the speakers!

Solution:
Install multiple small speakers evenly across the space (on the ceiling or walls). Tune the sound frequencies (like bass and treble) so it sounds pleasant. Adjust the volume so it is:
– Loud enough to mask conversations at the next table (maintaining privacy).
BUT
– Not so loud that it drowns out your own table’s conversation.

Conclusion
Whether planning a new cafe or upgrading an existing one, acoustic control is a worthwhile long-term investment. Good acoustic control subtly makes customers feel comfortable, encouraging them to return again and again.