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Had a talk with a barista about noise levels that changed how I pick spots
I was at this cafe in Austin last week and the barista told me they actually pipe in white noise through the speakers to keep conversations from carrying. I never really thought about how much background hum affects focus, but now I'm keeping an ear out for it. Anyone else notice which cafes manage sound better than others?
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dylanbarnes16d ago
Does the white noise actually help or is it just covering up bad acoustics? I've been in places with those industrial concrete walls and no rugs where white noise just adds to the echo chamber. Feels like cafes with soft furniture and some plants do way more for sound than any speaker trick. Did you ask if they added it after complaints or was it part of the design from the start? That tells you if they actually care or if it's just a bandaid fix. I'm way more picky about where I work now too since half the places treat loud music like decor.
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