Fountain Sounds - Understanding each Type

The most common question that we receive is in regards to the amount of sound a fountain makes. The other most popular question is to compare the sounds of two fountains. Unfortunately there is not an easy answer for these questions.

We can determine that there are three sources of where the sounds of the fountains come from. The first source is the distance the water falls, the second source is what the water falls onto, and the third source is how many levels the water falls through.  If there is only a small stream of water that flows a short distance, or if the water is simply running down the sides of an urn, the noise level will be small. If you have a tall tiered fountain, where water cascade from tier to tier and falls into a basin, the sound produced will have a significant volume.
Here a few other factors to consider:

• The Water speed: The majority of our fountains come with variable speed pumps. This means that by increasing the speed of the water flow will increase the volume and vice versa.
• Sound Reflection: The placement of your fountain can affect the sound. If you place it in a corner of a backyard it will reflect more sound into your setting, than a fountain standing in the middle of a setting.
• Basin Water Level: If your basin has low water levels, then the water falling into it must fall further, creating a greater sound. If your basin has a high level of water, the water has a shorter distance to fall creating a lower sound level.

General Guide to Fountain Water Sound:

• The Vicobello Fountain: This best selling fountain has three tiers, that sends multiple streams of water that strike the water surface of each tier below as they fall in a simultaneous manner. This is likely to create a louder water sound.
• The Barocco Fountain: This fountain features a single stream of water which shoots out from the top of the fountain, landing like a spray, in the basin below. This is much quieter than a tiered fountain.
• Grecian Urn Fountain: This is easily considered to be a quiet fountain. The reasoning is that the water bubbles out from the top of the fountain and glides down over the smooth surface of the urn. The water does not fall or strike a surface, so the only sound is the gentle bubbling and the dripping of the water into the basin.
• Capri Single Tier Fountain: This fountain features a single stream of water, which produces a distinct sound, but is not nearly as loud as multiple stream of water.
• Esplanade Two Tier Fountain: This fountain features two tiers of water and a basin at ground level, this means the water will be falling further, at a great velocity, increasing the sound of the fountain.
• Millennium Four Tier Fountain: This will be a relatively loud fountain, as it features four spate sound spheres that all occur at the same time. The lower bottom basin also causes the water to fall further, thus increasing the sound.

The sound of a fountain is your own personal choice. Consider that what may be loud to you may be more on the quiet side to someone else. If you choose a fountain and find that it is too loud, you can add real or silk foliage into the basin to help quiet the falling water, and add a stunning appearance to the fountain. If your fountain is a bit to quiet, try moving it to corner where the sound will be amplified. There are minor adjustments like the pump speed and water level that can affect the sound as well.

This should give you a better understanding of the sound level of various fountain, and how to judge the sound the fountain will add to your space!