© Mark Ollig
Not many Minnesotans know this, but our state once contained the most soundless artificial chamber in the world.
Sound 80 Studios, located in Minneapolis, began in 1969. During the 1970s, they collaborated with Minnesota’s 3M company, which had invented a multi-track digital recording process using a 1-inch magnetic recording tape.
Portions of Bob Dylan's album, “Blood on the Tracks,” were recorded at Sound 80 Studios in 1974.
Sound 80 Studios recorded Cat Stevens' album, “Izitso,” and the demo tapes for Prince's first album, “For You,” in 1977.
The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra also made recordings at Sound 80 Studios.
In 2006, Sound 80 Studios was listed in Guinness World Records as the “Oldest Digital Recording Studio in the World,” and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020.
In 1995, Steven J. Orfield, the founder and president of Orfield Laboratories, purchased Sound 80 Studios.
Orfield Laboratories is the nation’s only independent multi-sensory design research lab.
It provides consulting services in acoustics, lighting, audio-visual, perceptual product research, temperature comfort, indoor air quality, building standards, and architectural and occupancy research.
Orfield Laboratories also perform research in applying “human factors,” which is the application of psychological and physiological principles used in engineering.
The benefits of enhanced human factors include safety and comfort, which results in reduced human error, increased productivity, and improved human and technology interactions.
Located at 2709 East 25th St. in Minneapolis, the anechoic chamber at Orfield Laboratories was, until 2015, the quietest and most soundless artificial room on our planet.
An anechoic [pronounced an-e-koh-ik] chamber is a room designed with special coatings and materials to deaden sound and electromagnetic waves by obstructing its reflections.
Certified by Guinness World Records as officially the quietest place on Earth in 2004, the Orfield Laboratories Anechoic Chamber tests measured background noise at an exceptionally low -9.4 dBA.
Note: dB (decibel) unit sound pressure levels are unweighted, and dBA levels are “A” weighted according to weighting curves that come close to how a human ear hears.
Orfield Laboratories measure sound power, vibration transmission, and sound absorption, and provide consulting services across the United States, Canada, and many clients in Europe and Asia.
Company testing of products inside the Orfield Laboratories Anechoic Chamber includes Harley-Davidson's motorcycle bike's trademark-specific audible “exhaust roar” and Whirlpool Corporation's washing machines’ sound levels.
“When it’s quiet, ears will adapt. The quieter the room, the more things you hear. You’ll hear your heart beating; sometimes, you can hear your lungs, and hear your stomach gurgling loudly. In the anechoic chamber, you become the sound,” Steven J. Orfield said.
Orfield Laboratories is a private testing facility not generally open to the public; however, they have three standard tour options, including a brief time to go inside the anechoic chamber.
Tour reservations are $125 per person (with a $250 minimum per tour) and are Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Orfield tours include the history of Sound 80 Studios, Orfield Labs' history, and their work with sensory spatial and product development.
They recently added the Orfield Challenge tour, which confirms an individual's record time inside their anechoic chamber at the cost of $600 per hour per person; any additional time is charged in one-hour increments.
An official “certificate of time” spent inside the anechoic chamber is awarded to each person.
Orfield Laboratories inform anyone signing up for the challenge with the following: “Please do not expose yourself to loud sounds and music for a week prior to your visit, as loud sounds can cause a Temporary Threshold Shift (TTS) that will reduce your hearing sensitivity and your enjoyment of listening to quiet sounds of your body, like your heartbeat, airflow from your lungs, and joint movement.”
Regarding “joint movement,” I get to listen to my knees crackling whenever I stand up, so that is a sound I don’t need to hear from inside the Orfield Laboratories Anechoic Chamber.
The individual record for staying inside an anechoic chamber was accomplished in August 2021, when a person remained inside the soundless room for two hours.
As of 2022, the quietest artificially-built room in the world is inside the anechoic chamber at Microsoft Headquarters in Redmond, WA. Audio tests performed June 10, 2015, showed an average background noise reading of an extremely low -20.35 dBA.
To learn more about touring Orfield Laboratories, send an email request to info@orfieldlabs.com. Its website is located at https://www.orfieldlabs.com.
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| Orfield Laboratories Anechoic Chamber |
