Quality differences in telephone and meeting boxes
The Phone Booth Guide - Part 2
This is part 2 of our small mini-series on the topic of telephone and meeting boxes. While Part 1 deals with the question of which size or type of box is suitable for you (this way to part 1), we go into quality characteristics and quality differences in this part.
The use of materials
The main difference in the quality of telephone and meeting boxes can be seen in the materials used - both in terms of quality and quantity.
In the following illustration you can see the door threshold, floor and door seal of two acoustic cubes of different quality levels. You can compare them using the slider:
In the entry-level price segment, the wall structure is kept simple and functional and usually consists of two components:
- a load-bearing structure - usually in the form of chipboard with a melamine coating.
- sound insulation - often consisting of a layer of PET felt.
Premium telephone boxes, on the other hand, have a much higher quality finish. Typical features of acoustic cubes from the premium segment are
- Instead of chipboard, multiplex boards are often used in this category.
- the walls are thicker and often consist of several layers.
- The interior panelling is made of fabric, e.g. by using fabric-laminated acoustic panels. This enables a higher-quality appearance and individual colour design.
The door / The closing mechanism
Telephone boxes in the entry-level segment usually have a frameless door made of safety glass. This may sound elegant at first, but there are some disadvantages. The doors in the premium segment are usually framed. This ensures significantly better closing behaviour - and therefore also a better acoustic result.
The interior
When it comes to interior fittings, there are also significant differences between the price segments:
Carpeting: Boxes from the premium segment usually have a carpet covering that has an additional sound-absorbing effect. In the entry-level segment, this is often not included for price reasons.
Interior furnishings: There are also clear differences in the furnishings inside - these are quite easy to recognise even with an untrained eye and logically affect the pricing: Tables with real wood? Is a monitor holder integrated? What about the technology connections (Ethernet connection, HDMI, USB-C, etc.)? Are meeting boxes equipped with unupholstered wooden benches or sofas?
Popular telephone and meeting boxes:
-
Bosselino Uno phone booth (Bosse)
per month from 69,00€ plus VAT. Add to basket -
Jetson S1 phone booth (MUTE)
per month from 98,00€ plus VAT. Add to basket -
Meeting Booth Jetson L4 (MUTE)
per month from 194,00€ plus VAT. Add to basket -
Silen Chatbox Duo | Meeting booth (Silen)
per month from 161,00€ plus VAT. Add to basket
The ventilation
The telephone and meeting boxes are ventilated by fans, which are usually built into the ceiling of the box. Depending on the manufacturer and model, one to two fans are used for single-user telephone boxes. Depending on the manufacturer, the nominal throughput of a 1-unit telephone box is between 80 m3 and 250 m3 per hour. Telephone boxes with values of 100 m3/h or below are only recommended to a limited extent in our opinion. At the same time, however, it should be borne in mind that a very high fan output may also produce background noise.
If you would like to find out more about ventilation and air exchange, we recommend the following article: Air exchange as a selection criterion for acoustic cubes.
The sound insulation
Sound insulation is probably the most important feature or the reason for purchasing a telephone or meeting box in the first place. Nevertheless, it is difficult to make a comparison here: although many manufacturers state the sound attenuation effect of their boxes in decibels, the values are not necessarily comparable with each other: are measurements taken under real conditions in the assembled box or are the measured values determined individually per element in the laboratory? To which frequency range do the decibel values refer at all?
The answer: Sound insulation figures are only comparable if the speech level reduction has been measured in accordance with ISO 23351-1 - the relevant standard for telephone and meeting boxes. Read this article to find out what you need to look out for to avoid being dazzled by high decibel values when it comes to sound insulation: Sound insulation as a selection criterion for acoustic cubes.
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