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FocusPod Max™What 30 dB Actually Sounds Like
Acoustics
What 30 dB actually sounds like.
Every supplier quotes a decibel figure. Almost nobody explains what it means when you are standing a metre away from someone on a call.
A 30 dB speech level reduction means a normal speaking voice inside a booth is not intelligible outside it. You will hear that someone is talking. You will not be able to make out the words. That is the practical meaning of Class A under ISO 23351-1, the highest band in the standard, and it is what every FocusPod model is rated to.
Decibels are a bad way to describe this
The scale is logarithmic, so the numbers do not behave the way people expect. A 10 dB reduction sounds roughly like halving the loudness. A 30 dB reduction is not three times better than 10 dB — it is the difference between overhearing a conversation and knowing one is happening.
What matters is intelligibility, not volume. You can still perceive that someone is speaking inside a Class A booth. What you cannot do is follow the conversation, and that is the entire point — for the person taking the call, and for the thirty people who no longer have to hear it.
A reference scale
For context| Level | Roughly |
|---|---|
| 30 dB | A quiet bedroom at night |
| 40 dB | A library, or a quiet office with nobody talking |
| 55–65 dB | Normal conversation at a metre. This is what a booth is containing |
| 70 dB | A busy open-plan floor at 11am |
| −30 dB | What a Class A booth takes off a speaking voice, leaving it below the ambient level of the room around it |
That last row is why it works. A voice at 60 dB inside, reduced by 30, comes out at around 30 dB — well below the 45 to 55 dB ambient of a working office. It is not silenced. It is buried.
Class A, and why the standard matters
Speech level reduction in booths is measured under ISO 23351-1, which sorts results into classes. Class A is the highest. The standard exists because a booth is a complete enclosure whose performance is limited by its weakest point — almost always the door seal — so testing a wall panel tells you very little.
Ask for the standard and the report number, not the decibel figure. Ours is Class A to ISO 23351-1 and we will send the reference. A number with no standard attached can be measured in whatever conditions produce the best result: one frequency, a sealed sample, no door. It is not comparable to anything.
How to test a booth in ten minutes
No meter requiredHave someone talk inside with the door shut
Not shouting. A normal client-call voice. Stand a metre away. You should hear that they are talking and be unable to follow it. If you can pick out words, that is not Class A performance whatever the brochure says.
Listen to the door close
A properly sealed door has a distinct soft compression as the gasket meets the frame. A door that clicks and rattles is where the performance goes, and it is where cheap booths give themselves away first.
Sit inside for ten minutes with the fans running
This tests the thing the acoustic rating never covers: whether you would voluntarily spend an hour in there. A booth people avoid is an expensive piece of furniture.
What the rating does not tell you
Two things, worth knowing before you buy on the number alone.
Low frequencies behave differently. The standard focuses on speech. A booth that contains a conversation perfectly may still transmit the thump of a door slam or nearby plant equipment.
Nothing is soundproof. Any supplier using that word without qualification is overselling, ours included if we ever slip. What you are buying is measured reduction, and 30 dB of it is genuinely enough.
What customers say
Named, with permission★★★★★
“We added a FocusPod Solo because private phone calls were becoming difficult in our open-plan office. It gets used constantly for client calls, Zoom meetings and focused work. It looks professional, takes up very little space and has freed up our meeting rooms for larger groups.”
Emily Carter
Harbour Lane Finance
★★★★★
“We originally purchased one FocusPod Solo to see how much use it would get. Within the first week, staff were booking it throughout the day. It has given everyone a quiet place to take calls without interrupting the rest of the office.”
Daniel Brooks
Westbridge Property Group
★★★★★
“The Solo has been a great addition to our studio. We have a collaborative workspace, which is excellent most of the time, but it can be difficult when someone needs privacy or complete concentration. The pod solves that problem without taking over the room.”
Sarah Mitchell
Coastline Creative
Common questions
What does 30 dB noise reduction mean?
It means a normal speaking voice inside the booth is not intelligible outside it. You will hear that someone is talking but not be able to make out words. A 60 dB voice reduced by 30 dB emerges at around 30 dB, well below the ambient level of a working office.
Is 30 dB good for an office pod?
Yes — it corresponds to Class A under ISO 23351-1, the highest band in the standard. Every FocusPod model is rated Class A.
Are office pods completely soundproof?
No, and nothing is. A Class A booth reduces speech by around 30 dB, which is enough that conversations cannot be followed from outside. Any supplier claiming complete soundproofing is overselling.
How can I test how quiet a booth is without equipment?
Have someone speak inside at a normal volume with the door shut and stand a metre away. If you can make out words, it is not performing at Class A. Then sit inside for ten minutes with the ventilation running, which tests whether anyone would actually use it.
What is ISO 23351-1?
The international standard for measuring speech level reduction in furniture-type enclosures such as office booths. Results are sorted into classes, with Class A the highest. It tests the complete enclosure rather than a single panel, which is why it is the relevant standard for pods.
Related: NRC rating explained · STC rating · why ventilation decides whether a booth gets used · one-person booths
Hear it for yourself.
Molendinar on the Queensland or Newport in Wellington, by appointment. Shut the door, have someone talk outside, and stay in there ten minutes.