APPLICATION OF SOUND MASKING SYSTEM AT DESK WORKING IN OPEN PLAN OFFICES BASED ON SUBJECTIVE EVALUATIONS

Abstract

 The purpose of this study was to examine masking systems between desks in open plan offices installed with an appropriate sound masking system. Word intelligibility tests for unwanted speech interference from nearby workstations, and subjective judgements on the degree of discomfort of masking sound were conducted in a simulated office workplace. The results were as follows: (1) The level of masker sound could be decreased to 5-10 dB when focused on desk work relative to the masking level in non-desk work; (2) We showed that the optimum masking level in a desk work environment is a target/masker ratio of -2 dB.