Let’s clear the air (and the echo).
People use the words “soundproof” and “acoustic” like they’re twins — but in the world of fabric, they’re more like cousins who share a surname and nothing else.
If you’ve ever walked into a restaurant that’s all marble and glass, you know what poor acoustics sound like: chaos.
If you’ve been in a home theatre wrapped in velvet drapes, you’ve felt the opposite — warmth, focus, silence.
The secret? It’s not just thickness. It’s purpose.
Think of soundproofing as a wall — it keeps sound from escaping or entering.
Think of acoustic treatment as a sponge — it softens sound inside a room.
Goal Material Type How It Works
Soundproof Heavy, layered barriers (vinyl, insulation, dense velvet) Blocks transmission between spaces
Acoustic Breathable, textured surfaces (polyester, velour, mesh) Absorbs echo and reflection inside a space
So when someone says they want soundproof curtains, what they usually need is acoustic fabric — something that tames echo without turning a room into a cave.
At Equus Fabrics, we’ve seen this mix-up countless times. People call asking for “soundproof velvet,” but what they actually need is a sound-softening IFR velvet or velour — like our Fire Velvet line.
Velvet isn’t technically soundproof (no fabric truly is).
But thanks to its dense pile and soft matte surface, it absorbs and diffuses sound waves, especially in the high-mid frequencies — the ones that make a room feel harsh.
That’s why stage designers, restaurants, and home-cinema installers all love it.
It creates that cinematic hush — not by blocking sound entirely, but by controlling how sound behaves.
When your goal is clarity and comfort, not total silence, acoustic fabrics shine.
They’re usually lighter, looser-woven, and breathable — the kind of material you can blow air through.
That breathability is key: it allows sound energy to pass through the fabric and get absorbed by the panel or insulation behind it.
That’s how our printable IFR polyesters work. They’re used for:
Custom acoustic wall panels
Recording studios and offices
Restaurants with high ceilings
Decorative sound-absorbing artwork
Add your artwork, logo, or gradient print — we’ll handle the dye-sublimation so you get color and clarity without losing sound transparency.
Even residential clients overlook this: Canadian fire codes (CAN/ULC-S109, NFPA 701) don’t only apply to hotels and theatres — they set the standard for safety everywhere.
Our IFR Fire Velvet and printable IFR fabrics are permanently flame resistant — no re-treatments, no chemical sprays.
It’s peace of mind with a side of performance.
If you want to stop sound from leaking into another room → combine drapes with insulation or barrier layers.
If you want to soften echo and improve clarity → choose acoustic fabrics (breathable polyesters, velours).
If you want both → layer them: a Fire Velvet front drape with acoustic panels behind gives you beauty, control, and fire safety in one package.
At Equus Fabrics, we’ve spent over 35 years helping Canadians design quieter, better-sounding spaces — from recording studios and theatres to home cinemas and restaurants.
We carry one of the largest selections of Inherently Fire Retardant (IFR) fabrics in the country — including velvets, velours, blackouts, and printable acoustics — all available by the yard and shipped coast-to-coast.
You bring the sound challenge.
We’ll bring the fabric that makes silence look beautiful.
2 Responses
Thank you for sharing this.
Hello John! You are most welcome. We are glad we can help you better understand the difference between Acoustic and Soundproof curtians.