Project Challenge

This 260㎡ independent vinyl record store with a dedicated listening room is located in Capitol Hill, Seattle. The space features exposed brick walls, concrete floors and high open ceilings, delivering the raw industrial aesthetic record lovers love — but hard reflective surfaces create severe reverberation. In-store browsing chatter, turntable playback and listening room audio bleed together, making it hard for customers to evaluate records properly and forcing staff to raise their voices. The owner wanted an acoustic upgrade that preserved the store’s vintage record-shop vibe, not the sterile look of generic commercial acoustic treatment.

Our Solution

We installed cement-bonded wood wool acoustic ceiling panels across the main retail floor and listening room, with an NRC rating of 0.80–0.90. The natural textured fibre-cement finish requires no extra paint, blending seamlessly with the exposed brick and beam interior while absorbing scattered reflected sound across the high-ceilinged space. Inside the dedicated listening room, we added E0-grade formaldehyde-free polyester fiber acoustic panels in deep walnut tones on side walls, NRC 0.85–0.95, precision-cut to frame the turntable stations and improve playback clarity.

All panels carry ASTM E84 Class A fire certification, fully compliant with US retail venue safety rules. Installation was completed after hours over 7 days with zero disruption to store operations.

Project Results

Peak-hour ambient noise on the sales floor dropped by an estimated 36%. Listening room playback clarity improved dramatically, with customers reporting far more accurate record evaluation. Average in-store dwell time increased by 26%, and the textured wood wool ceiling has become a frequently commented-on design feature.