People often face problems of echoing sounds clashing in studios and big apartments. This hinders verbal communication and any work in general. In order to avoid this from happening, you can use acoustic wall panels.
You can see this kind of panel in recording studios and commercial buildings.
Acoustic panels are soft furnishings strategically placed in the room to avoid echoing and maintain sound quality. They absorb, mitigate noise and reduce reverberation. They can be highly effective even with few panels if placed in the right areas.
To understand how effective these panels are, you need to understand their function.
How do these panels reduce sound waves?
The panels are made of dense foam, wool, fibreglass or denim that absorbs sound and doesn’t let it out. These fabrics may not always be aesthetically pleasing, so homes and commercial buildings cover them with more eye-pleasing coats.
The bare foam panels have pointy triangular shapes on top. These geometric shapes act like a funnel for the sound waves. It helps the sound bounce back and forth until the foam absorbs it.
When placed strategically, the sound panels swallow the waves once they are produced and heard by you before they can bounce off the objects or walls.
Since placement plays a vital role in this, let us look into why the placement matters.
Why does placement matter?
To understand why placement matters let’s look into these points.
- When you are using a speaker, it is directed towards you, but the problem is the other side of you. The sound will bounce off behind you; thus, placing it on that wall is the solution.
- If you have a subwoofer, you will need a bass trap to put it in one of the corners. The thing with bass sound is that it is not very directional, so any corner works. You can add more panels later if you like but put them in the places where sound bounces the most.
- You can put your panels on the ceiling if you have an incredibly huge sound system and no room for adding acoustic panels. It will absorb all the bouncing waves and produce a clean sound.
Are they effective?
Yes, they are very effective in absorbing sound waves. They eliminate all the unwanted sounds automatically. Here’s how to make sure they are effective.
- First, get thick enough panels to trap the sounds. The proper thickness for the right amount of sound plays a significant role. Consider using at least two-inch wide panels.
- Get the right shape and surface area covering panels. This is important because of the size of the wall and how much you want to cover.
- You will require a different number of panels based on the purpose. If it is only for your room or commercial building, you may not require as much, while a studio will need more.
To sum it up
Acoustic wall panels are helpful sound trapping materials. They make your audio recording crystal clear, and for apartments, they make it echo-proof, so you hear clearly through the halls.
But the effectiveness may vary if you do not know how to cover the right spots and use the right amount of thickness. Thus, knowing where to place them exactly will help you maximise their use.
