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Acoustic Panels 101: The Ultimate Buyer’s Guide

In the recording studio, acoustic panels are a cornerstone of any good acoustic treatment plan.

For more information, please visit XISHUN Acrylic.

While they may not absorb the low end as well as your bass traps, they do perform the entirely separate task of killing standing waves between parallel walls.

And it’s this issue specifically, that is especially problematic in the small cubical rooms of most home recording studios.

So to help you tackle this challenge, in this ultimate guide I’m going to teach you everything you know on this all-important topic.

So here’s what we’re about to cover:

First up…

Commercial Acoustic Panels vs Homemade DIY Panels

What you may not know is, building homemade DIY acoustic panels is actually a lot more common than you’d imagine.

It does require some trips to Home Depot, and basic carpentry skills, but it can potentially save you a lot of money.

Commercially bought acoustic panels however, while pricier, have the main advantage of being performance tested.

So you actually know for sure that they’re doing what they’re supposed to.

Many newbie studio owners make the common mistake of using materials such as carpeting, cardboard cup holders, or egg crate foam, which absorb the higher frequencies while allowing the low ones to remain.

And all this does is make the room sound dull and bassy.

So here’s what I’d recommend. If this is your first time around with this stuff, just buy them online.

And I recommend this route, mainly because you need to first get familiar with the “sound of a studio”.

Gain a few years of experience first, so you know what a good room should sound like, and what a bad room sounds like. THEN, if you want to later, experiment on your own with homemade panels.

So up next…

The 3 Key Features of Acoustic Panel Design

When you shop for acoustic foam online, there are 3 key features that you’ll have to consider.

First there’s the THICKNESS.

2″ is the industry standard. While 4″ is premium and more expensive.

Thicker is always technically better, but for their purposes, 2″ is good enough, and what I’d recommend. Later in this post I’ll show you a mounting trick to make them just as effective as the 4″ foam.

Next there’s the SURFACE PATTERN.

Panels typically have some type of 3D pattern on their outer surface. Wedged and Pyramid are the two most common.

These patterns do affect performance slightly, but the differences are minimal. So feel free to choose by aesthetics.

Next there’s the SQUARE FOOTAGE of the package.

The standard bundles normally come in packages of 6, 12, or 24. In sizes of 1ft², 2ft², or 2ft×4ft.

But the real number to pay attention to is the total square footage of coverage. A good starting point for most home studios is around 48ft².

This usually means:

48 – 1ft² panels

12 – 2ft² panels

6 – 2×4 ft panels

Any of these will work fine, but I’d generally recommend smaller panels because they are lighter and easier to mount with temporary adhesives that won’t damage your wall.

Up next…

NRC Ratings vs SRC Ratings: What’s the Difference?

Product descriptions typically include a “Noise Reduction Coefficient (NRC) rating” between 0 and 1.

The higher the number, the greater the absorption.

While this number may seem important, the truth is…it’s pretty much worthless for recording studios. And here’s why:

The test to determine this number only measures absorption at 4 frequencies:

Hz

Hz

500 Hz

250 Hz

Which means that no measurements are done below 250 Hz, where virtually all problematic frequencies in the studio exist.

That is why a different metric, known as Sound Absorption Coefficient (SRC), gives a much better representation of true performance.

Because this number measures absorption at a specific narrow band of frequencies. Unfortunately, it’s pretty uncommon these days to see SRC numbers actually posted.

Up next…

The 10 Best Acoustic Panel Packs on the Market Today

At this point, you’ve learned everything you need to know to choose a package that suits your room and budget.

And to save you a ton of painful research, I’ve already done all the heavy lifting for you…narrowing the options down to the 10 most popular and well-reviewed acoustic panel packs on the market today.

Each one is made by a top-name brand so there’s no question of what you’ll be getting.

For smaller rooms here’s what I recommend:

Auralex DST 112 – (B&H)

Auralex DST 114 – (Amazon)

DMSKY Self-Adhesive – (Amazon)

Fstop Wedge – (Amazon)

Auralex Wedge 1ft² – (Amazon/B&H)

Auralex Sonoflat 1ft² – (Amazon/B&H)

And for larger rooms, I’d recommend these instead:

Auralex D36 Designer Series – (B&H/Thomann)

Auralex 2ft² Pyramid – (Amazon/B&H)

Auralex 2×4 Pyramid – (Amazon/B&H)

Auralex Sonoflat 2ft² – (B&H)

Up next…

How to Build Homemade DIY Acoustic Panels

Maybe you already have some experience with commercial acoustic panels and you’d like to try something new.

Or maybe you’re just the handyman type and think it will be fun.

Or maybe you saw the prices in the previous section, and decided this is a better solution.

Regardless of your particular reason, you can easily build your own homemade panels with a little patience, and a few basic components.

So here are the tools you’ll need:

Hammer/nails

 – to construct the frame

Glue

– to secure the insulation within the frame

Staple gun/scissors

 – to secure and trim the outer fabric

Mounting brackets

 – to mount the finished panel to the wall

Next, here are the materials you’ll need:

Wood

 – to construct a standard-sized 2ft by 4ft frame.

Fabric

– to cover up the exposed insulation and give the finished panel a nice look.

Owens Corning 703

– which is a special type of fiberglass that costs about 1/5th the price of acoustic foam and is just as effective

While the wood and fabric can be easily bought at any local home improvement store, Owens Corning 703 is not available everywhere, so you may have to order it online instead.

Once you’ve got everything you need, here’s a great video I found that walks you through the entire building process step-by-step:

Moving on…

How to Mount Acoustic Panels in the Corners of the Room

Once your acoustic panels are built (or arrive in the mail), it’s time to mount them in your room.

Assuming you already have bass traps, and have mounted them according to the recommendations in this post…

The next step is to make sure the area directly behind your studio monitors is covered, especially if those monitors have a rear-facing bass port.

The third step is to cover the open dihedral corners (shown in the picture as blue lines) with acoustic panels.

With commercial foam, fold your panels around the corner as shown below, remembering to leave an air gap for added low-end absorption.

With homemade panels, position them diagonally across the corner like this:

Make sure you don’t use them all just yet though, because there’s still more area to cover on the walls.

Here’s how it’s done:

How to Position Acoustic Panels for Maximum Wall Coverage

Depending on the severity of a room’s acoustic problems…the ideal wall coverage could vary anywhere between 20-80%.

And the only way to know for sure, is to constantly re-test the acoustics after each new panel, using the clap test as described in this post.

It’s entirely possible that you may not even need every panel to reach the sound you’re after.  

Because at a certain point, adding more panels than you need will only make the room sound uncomfortably dead.

In most cases though, home studios have fewer than the ideal number of panels. So to get maximum results from a shortage of panels, here’s what you do:

When covering an area of one wall, leave its reflection point open on the opposite wall…because one panel is sufficient to kill standing waves in that spot.

And if those instructions are too confusing, check out the diagram above, and it’ll be crystal-clear.

Up next..

How to Mount the Panels Without Ruining Your Wall

In home recording studios, where acoustic foam installations are unlikely to be permanent, there’s always the big worry of damaging your walls.

You also want to avoid damaging the acoustic foam itself, in case you ever want to take them down and sell them.

So the challenge here is to find an adhesive strong enough to support the weight of the foam, yet weak enough to be cleanly removed at any time..

Unfortunately, since every wall/paint job is different, there is no single solution that works in all cases.  Which is why so many products exist to solve this one problem.

So up next…

3 Adhesive Strength Options for Mounting Your Acoustic Panels

Auralex more so than any other company, has developed a wide variety of adhesives to choose from for this one purpose.

Here are their 3 options:

Auralex TubeTak Pro – (Amazon/B&H/Thomann)

Auralex FoamTak – (Amazon/B&H)

Auralex EZ-stick – (Amazon/B&H)

TubeTak is the strongest, but can be difficult to remove.  EZ-stick is the weakest, but may not always hold well.

So FoamTak in my opinion, offers the best compromise between the two.

But the problem with FoamTak or any other spray-on adhesive, is that it leaves a big mess behind once everything is removed.

So here’s a trick I discovered in my own studio:

A DIY Hack I Discovered Through Years of Trial and Error

First, cover both the wall and the back of the foam with clear packaging tape.

Then spray the FoamTak or similar adhesive in between them.

With this method, you’ll be able to mount your panels while leaving ZERO adhesive residue on anything.

Want more information on diffuser board? Feel free to contact us.

HOWEVER…If you try this idea, proceed at your own risk. Because like I said, every wall and every adhesive is different.  

So test the tape on a small area of the wall first to make sure it can be removed later without damage.

And if all this stuff seems way too complicated, there’s one final option you can try which may be the best of all.

Rather than using an adhesive, you could instead try impaling clips, which screw into the wall, and are used to hang your acoustic foam by “impaling” them.

And that’s my final tip of the post.

The Ultimate Acoustic Treatment Buyer’s Guide – My New Microphone

So you're wondering which acoustic treatment you should buy. In this comprehensive buyer's guide, we'll go through everything worth considering before you make any decisions about any acoustic treatment.

If you've found yourself asking, “which acoustic treatment should I buy?” this extensive resource is for you.

Please feel free to jump around this article and read all additional resources I have provided links to.

With that, let's get into this comprehensive acoustic treatment buyer's guide to help you in your next acoustic treatment purchase!

Related article: Top 11 Best Acoustic Treatment Brands For Home & Pro Studios

Table Of Contents

What Is Your Acoustic Treatment Budget?

The first thing to consider when making any purchase is your budget. Money can be a touchy subject for some, so I'll keep this section brief.

I would never advise anyone to overspend on any audio equipment. Know what you can realistically afford, and do your best to stay within those limitations, whatever they may be.

Acoustic treatments range significantly in price. The market is rather large, and so there should be a good selection for any budget.

Note that some retailers offer payment plans, which could be an option.

Consider the cost-to-benefit ratio of the purchase of the acoustic treatment. For example, if the treatment is needed for business, perhaps stretching the budget is more appropriate. On the other hand, if you don't plan on making money with the treatment, perhaps a more conservative budget is appropriate.

Also, consider any additional accessories or upkeep that may be required for your acoustic treatment.

Only you can determine your budget. All I'm here to say is that you should consider it.

Back to the Table Of Contents.

Absorption

Acoustic absorption is the process of sound wave energy being absorbed by a material. Certain materials will be more absorptive than others, and soft materials tend to absorb more sound wave energy than hard materials.

Ceramic tile, concrete, plaster, metal, glass, hard plastic and even wood are more reflective than absorptive. Sound wave energy will bounce off the surfaces, causing echo, reverb and even build-ups of resonant frequencies within the room.

Common absorptive materials include fibreglass, rock wool, and foam. The materials are much less reflective than harder surfaces and act to absorb sound wave energy. These relatively porous materials “absorb” the energy of vibrating air molecules (due to sound waves) and turn it into heat through friction. 

It's critical to note that, when it comes to absorption, longer wavelength sound waves (lower frequencies) are less absorbable than shorter wavelengths (higher frequencies).

Acoustic panels (and acoustic foam) effectively absorb mid and high-frequency sounds, while bass traps are typically required for bass frequencies. We'll discuss this further in the section on bass traps.

Note that acoustic panels are generally made of acoustic foam in a proper frame. Acoustic foam and acoustic panels largely produce the same result of absorption. You may come across the term “ceiling cloud,” which is effectively an acoustic panel made specifically for the ceiling.

To reduce flutter echoes and general mid-range muddiness due to reflections and reverberation, acoustic panels are used. These are relatively thin and cover more space with less material. They're typically made of a frame and a certain thickness of absorptive material.

Acoustic panels are typically placed on the wall, though they can also be used on the ceiling. They're rarely ever used on the floor, as floor space is typically vital in rooms, and we wouldn't want to step on these panels either.

In absorbing mid and high frequencies, these panels also reduce resonances in the room.

Note that the thicker the acoustic panel, the more absorption/attenuation will take place. Additionally, thicker panels will absorb deeper frequencies.

Note that thick curtains, carpet, and studio furniture can act to absorb sound energy within a room. However, proper acoustic panels can truly make a difference in the acoustic treatment of a room.

Use absorption with diffusion to achieve the best results in acoustic treatment.

Back to the Table Of Contents.

Diffusion

As the name suggests, diffusion happens when a sound wave hits an uneven surface and is reflected in multiple different directions. This is different than sound reflections at smooth surfaces, where the reflection angle is strictly equal to the incident angle.

By spreading the reflected waves, diffusion keeps standing wave resonances from forming and greatly reduces the flutter echo of the space. The various weaker reflections (as opposed to the stronger single reflections) all interact and largely cancel each other out within the room.

Diffusers can be purchased to achieve this effect, though full bookshelves and other uneven surfaces can also provide diffusion within the room.

Use diffusion with absorption to achieve the best results in acoustic treatment.

Back to the Table Of Contents.

Bass Traps

Bass frequencies can cause severe issues with room resonances (modes), where certain frequencies resonate and are amplified within an acoustic space.

The long wavelengths of bass frequencies are difficult to tame with standard thin absorptive acoustic panels. These long wavelengths are more difficult to attenuate since they move air molecules over longer distances. Thinner panels are less effective at handling these longer wavelengths.

Furthermore, bass frequencies tend to accumulate in the corners of the room. The interference of bass frequency reflections will cause varying bass responses depending on the listening position within the room.

The solution to these bass issues comes in bass traps, which are large absorptive blocks typically placed in the corners of the room. They are thick enough to absorb the long, low frequencies effectively and help clean up the bass of the room and the variety of bass responses throughout the room.

Back to the Table Of Contents.

Control Rooms Vs. Live Rooms

Control rooms are the room where the engineers and producers monitor, mix and master the recorded audio. Live rooms are the rooms where the music, voiceover, etc., is recorded from.

So, how should the acoustic treatment strategy change between these two environments?

Acoustic Treatment In Control Rooms

Control rooms should usually be pretty dead with little to no character. The goal is to monitor the audio in the most accurate way possible, and any room acoustic characteristics will affect the way in which the sound waves are heard.

That being said, a bit of liveliness won't ruin the monitoring environment.

50-80% coverage is typical in control rooms, with a focus on absorption. Some TV mix rooms and those where jazz and classical music are mixed are a bit more lively with 30-60% coverage and a good amount of diffusion.

After all, the final “consumer” of the audio will likely be listening in an acoustic environment (unless they listen through headphones), so it's useful to have a room that offers some acoustic reflection. Of course, the less character, the better, and control rooms should practically always be treated more than live rooms.

Acoustic Treatment In Live Rooms

Live rooms vary tremendously in their shape, size, and acoustic treatment. Some of the world's finest live rooms are designed with a specific acoustic character and require only the most sparing acoustic treatment.

Live rooms can have less than 20% coverage if their natural acoustics are particularly stellar. However, it's common to see up to 50% coverage with an about-even mix of absorption and diffusion.

In the worst-case scenarios where the live room is resonant and reflective (like in some home studios), a higher coverage percentage could be required to reduce unwanted reflections and resonances.

Acoustic Treatment In Isolation Booths

Isolation and vocal booths benefit from 80% coverage or more since they are designed to be acoustically dead. These rooms are often small, and any flutter echo could ruin the recordings done within. The acoustic treatment in these rooms is focused on absorption rather than diffusion, and bass traps typically aren't needed.

Back to the Table Of Contents.

Acoustically Treating The Room

Now that we have a solid idea of how acoustic treatment works and the main components of good acoustic treatment, let's discuss the practicalities.

As discussed, acoustic absorption and diffusion should be used in tandem, though not necessarily in a 50/50 split.

It's also worth noting that 50% coverage is often sufficient. As was discussed above, unless you're opting to treat a vocal/isolation booth, 50% can work in nearly all situations. Sometimes more is needed and sometimes less.

In terms of the key areas for acoustic treatment, left untreated, the trihedral corners will cause the most issues, followed by the dihedral corners, and finally, the flat surfaces (namely the walls and ceiling).

As the name suggests, the trihedral corners are where three surfaces come together (two walls and the ceiling or two walls and the floor). I'll restate that these areas are prime for bass accumulation and are best treated with bass traps.

In fact, if you have a very small budget, I'd recommend treating these trihedral corners with bass traps before anything else.

Next are the dihedral corners (where two surfaces meet). The floor-wall corners are typically left alone, but the wall-wall and wall-ceiling corners can be treated if need be. Larger bass traps can be used to cover these corners.

Alternatively, we can bend acoustic foam to fit neatly in the corner. Leaving a bit of open air between this foam and the corner can also be left to enhance low-end attenuation.

Finally, the flat surfaces are where acoustic panels and diffusers go to handle much of the mid and high frequencies.

When mapping out your room, consider the current setup. Ask yourself if there is any particularly reflective furniture and how many windows are in the space. Next, determine the objects in the room that are already offering absorption and diffusion.

Listen to the room as it is and try to identify any resonances. Walk around the room with music playing and notice if there are any specific locations where the bass drops out or increases in intensity. When the room is silent, clap your hands and listen for flutter echo.

With the rough idea of 50% coverage, plan what bass traps, acoustic panels and diffusers you may need.

Once you have all the components of the acoustic treatment, take your time to measure and plan their placement. Remember the adage, “measure twice, cut once.”

Use proper adhesive and carefully apply the bass traps, acoustic panels and diffuser into place. Enjoy your newly treated room!

Back to the Table Of Contents.

Reflection Filters & Gobos

Reflection filters and gobos are particularly useful for recording, especially if you plan on recording in an untreated room (like in your rented apartment where you can't mount/glue treatment to the walls).

A reflection filter (sometimes referred to as a vocal shield) is a physical absorptive acoustic treatment barrier that is generally placed just behind a microphone that typically extends around to the sides of the mic. These filters are best positioned at the same height as the mic.

We can capture a more direct signal by providing an absorptive barrier just behind the microphone and singing/speaking or otherwise directing sound toward the microphone. The sound waves that would pass by the microphone, reflect off of surfaces and return to the microphone capsule are instead absorbed by the reflection filter.

Gobos are essentially portable freestanding acoustic panels. These acoustic barriers are typically used in live rooms to achieve more separation between musicians and their microphones. These gobos have the benefit of improved acoustic isolation without the burden of having different musicians in different rooms or relying on overdubbing. They allow the performance to happen all at once while improving isolation.

Back to the Table Of Contents.

A Note On Soundproofing

Soundproofing is closely related to acoustic treatment in that it will effectively change how sound reacts in and around a room's environment.

While acoustic treatment is great for reducing echo, reverb, resonance, and overall muddiness in the listening environment, it's insufficient in soundproofing spaces.

Soundproofing is the process of blocking sounds from entering or escaping an acoustic environment rather than affecting the acoustics within the environment.

Good soundproofing is dependent on two main factors: the density of the room's outer boundaries (walls, floor and ceiling/roof) and the gaps between the layers of such boundaries.

The denser the material in the walls, floor and ceiling/roof, the less sound will travel through. Note the distinction of density rather than thickness. For example, a thick wall made mostly of insulation will provide less soundproofing than a thick wall made entirely of concrete.

That being said, air gaps between the exterior surfaces of a room also play a role. This is especially true if the gap eliminates any physical connection and resonance between the layers. This factor has made “floating room” isolation booths rather common in home and commercial studios.

These floating rooms are designed to fit within a room without touching the room's boundaries and to be placed on isolation pads that mechanically isolate the booth from the floor of the outer room, thereby reducing mechanical noise transfer.

So thicker walls and double walls (along with floors and ceilings) will influence soundproofing more than any acoustic panels, diffusers, or bass traps ever could.

Back to the Table Of Contents.

This article has been approved in accordance with the My New Microphone Editorial Policy.

Acoustic Panel Sizing Guide – How Big Should They Be?

If you’ve made the commitment to get the most out of your speaker system, then you know you’re going to need acoustic panels. But figuring out all the details can be intimidating. You might be considering making your own panels, or buying them ready-made, but what about the size of the panels themselves?

Although the size and shape of a room can have a big impact on the effectiveness of acoustic panels, a good rule of thumb is to target covering around 20% of the wall’s surface area with panels that are 2ft by 4ft, and at least 2in thick.

There’s a lot to unpack there. How do you know what 20% of your wall’s surface area even is? And can you get away with panels that are thinner than 2in? You can check out our other articles on how acoustic panels work and how effective they can be, but for now, let’s talk about the size of the panels and how you should distribute them based on the details of your room.

Common Sizes for Acoustic Panels

As far as acoustic panel sizing is concerned, there are a few details you need to be aware of. There are some loose standards around the height and width of panels, though you can build custom panels or, indeed, special order them in any size. Then, there’s the thickness to think about.

Height/Width

The standard height/width of acoustic panels varies across the market. There are plenty of 2ft-by-4ft panels like the ATS Acoustic Panel (on Amazon) that are designed to get you a really good bang for your buck when it comes to wall coverage.

But there are plenty of smaller options on the market as well, like the DEKIRU Acoustic Foam Panels (also on Amazon) that comes in packs of 1-foot-square panels. These are nice because you have a little more flexibility in deploying your sound absorption if there are lots of speakers in the space. We have a separate article on how to think about acoustic panels vs. foam, so be sure to check that out if you’re trying to pick.

You’ll most likely want to get 2x4ft panels to cover the most surface area you can, with a few smaller panels scattered around to match irregularly shaped walls. Or, if you end up building your own panels, you can obviously set whatever size is right for you. But if you do want to make your own panels, be sure to reference our guides on how to pick the right insulation and fabric covering for the job.

Thickness

The thickness you need is based on the type of sound you need to treat your room for. Deeper wavelength sounds require thicker panels, but that’s not the whole story: placement matters too. Bass traps are typically put in the corner, but panels are mounted on the walls and/or ceiling.

The wall panels are typically there to address higher frequency sounds, like the dialogue in a movie, or music with lots of female vocals and a higher frequency sound in general. These panels are typically 2in deep, and that’s enough to get the job done.

But if you have a really nice sound system with one, or even more than one subwoofer, you’ll definitely need thicker panels to capture those longer wavelength sounds. This can be especially important if you’re considering your panels for a home theater system (our guide).

Bass traps can be much thicker, well over 2in. At their deepest point (they’re usually triangular in shape) it’s not strange for bass traps to be over a foot deep. And the placement: bass traps usually end up in corners, which match their wedge shape.

Things to Consider When Sizing Acoustic Panels

When sizing acoustic panels, there are a few things you need to consider. Below there are details about how the size and shape of your room, and how the purpose of your home theater setup can influence your decision. Ultimately, the amount of wall space available will drive some of your decisions here, especially about how large the panels ultimately need to be.

Room Size and Shape

The size and shape of the room have a big effect on the effectiveness of your acoustic panels. Not only can irregularly sized rooms complicate placement, but sloped ceilings, and/or light fixtures can be interesting to workaround if you’re putting in ceiling panels. You may also have furniture or artwork on the walls that limit where you can put acoustic panels.

For a “normal” square or rectangular room, the placement of acoustic panels is very straightforward. You’ll want some in the front, back, and on the sides, pretty much wherever you can put them. Even coverage on every wall should be your goal, with at least three panels on all the walls except for the one with the screen. And if you have a subwoofer, put a bass trap in one of the corners.

For much longer rooms, or a room with high ceilings or an open concept, things get a little messier. There will be some obvious surfaces opposite the speakers that need to be covered, but there will also be areas that you can’t really address. In cases like this, you’ll need to do what you can by addressing the space, maybe with ceiling panels.

The way you should think about this, though, is that wherever there are flat surfaces in the room, the sound will bounce off of it, and you don’t want that to happen. So even if the room is shaped in a way that you can’t get a panel right across from the speaker, it will still help to just start putting panels on flat surfaces. 

Do the best you can by putting panels in the “right” spots, across from speakers, then put a few more up, and add even more if you’re still not happy with the sound. And double-check your plan against our placement guide for the best results.

Purpose of the Room

The purpose of the room should play into the logic behind your acoustic panels a lot. We have a separate article on when to use acoustic panels, but the basics are pretty simple.

If you’re primarily thinking of managing the sound in the room to get the most out of your home theater system, then you need at least a couple panels across from all of your speakers. But unless you’re going for the full theater experience, that’s probably where you can stop. Add a bass trap and call it a day.

Now, if you’re really going to emulate the full effect of a home theater, to the point that you have multiple subwoofers and a speaker system that is running Dolby Atmos sound, it’s probably going to be worth your money to add a few more acoustic panels.

Specifically, another bass trap and even ceiling panels should be on your mind. And if you’re worried about lights, don’t worry–you can cut ceiling acoustic panels to match your lights without reducing their effectiveness much. And we have a guide on installing acoustic panels on your ceiling if you’d like to try it.

However, if you’re in a studio space, or trying to acoustically treat a room to the point that you can do high-quality sound recordings or music production, then you’re in the next tier: you need sound absorption all over the place. This isn’t the 20% coverage that we mentioned as a rule of thumb for home theaters, it’s as near to 100% as you can get.

As you can see, the scale of how much acoustic treatment you need begins to slide up quickly based on the purpose of the room. Think of it in terms of the percent of your wall that’s covered: you could even choose to start at 10% and see if that is good enough for you, adding more panels as needed. But the purpose of the room should be considered when you’re deciding where to start.

Available Wall Space

Lastly, the amount of wall space available will heavily limit the number of panels you can hang. This is good in a way: less wall means less surface for sound to bounce off of.

But if you can’t use a panel because you have a picture on the wall, that’s bad news. The picture is still a flat surface that will reflect sound, and it’s limiting your ability to acoustically treat the room in the right spots.

So, you should consider how much of your wall is available, and how much you’d like to give up to acoustic panels because you can’t mount anything on top of them. We have another more in-depth write-up on how many panels you’ll need, if you’re trying to plan this number in detail.

The one other option here is that you can squeeze more acoustic treatment into the space by mounting acoustic panels on the ceiling, but these serve a somewhat different purpose: they’re not directly across from any speakers, so they’re not going to give you as much bang for your buck when it comes to sound absorption.

If you lack wall space because of furniture and decorations that are blocking where you can put panels, that’s just the way it’s going to be. You can likely still fit a bass trap somewhere, but short of moving speakers so that they’re aimed at “open” spaces of wall, you’re not going to be able to get much more sound quality out of the space.

Do Larger Acoustic Panels Absorb More Sound?

Larger acoustic panels will absolutely absorb more sound. The way an acoustic panel works is to trap sound within it, absorbing it by allowing the sound waves in, but never letting them out. So it stands to reason that the deeper a panel is, the more sound-absorbing material you have, and the better it will trap sound within because it has more room to get trapped in.

But it’s not just thickness that affects this, the overall size or surface area of the panel has an effect as well. A 1ft by 4ft panel that’s 1in thick will absorb less sound than a 1ft by 4ft panel that’s 2in thick, but a 2ft by 4ft panel that’s 2in thick will be better than both of them.

So how do you know? Since you can always add more surface area of panels (by adding more panels in the room), we recommend starting out with panels that are at least 2in thick. If you start too slim, you may end up having to replace those panels with thicker ones. But if you start with a decent thickness, you should always be able to “scale up” by adding more panels, not replacing the ones you already have.

What Now?

Maybe now you understand a little more about what goes into the question of how big your acoustic panels should be. There’s a surface area to target–at least 20%–but there’s also a thickness that you need to think about. 

And the unique configuration of your room may give you some limitations, but if you consider the purpose of your room and the goals you have for it, figuring out where you should start with acoustic panels should be a breeze.

Contact us to discuss your requirements of Acrylic Sheets Supplier. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.