What are centralized and distributed soundmasking systems and which is better for you?
While it is true that centralized systems are generally far more sophisticated than distributed systems both approaches have pros and cons. Centralized Systems incorporate a central control point for the soundmasking generator, equalizers, and amplifiers. All speaker zones are wired back to the “rack” or central location. This allows for volume controls and signals (such as soundmasking, paging and music) to be controlled and maintained at one location. This approach also allows for easy upgrades as new technology arrives. In Distributed Systems there is no central “rack” or location. Every individual speaker is its own self-contained soundmasking system. While this approach is well suited to small office environments with little or no expansion in office space, it has disadvantages for medium to large size projects. Distributed systems cannot be easily retuned or maintained on larger projects. Also distributed systems generally lack true 1/3 octave equalization, have limited soundmask
