Collection: Recording & Music Studios

No — and this is the most common mix-up among home studio buyers. Acoustic panels absorb sound inside your room to reduce reflections and reverberation, making your recordings cleaner. They don't block sound transmission to other rooms. If your neighbours can hear you (or you can hear them), you need soundproofing — typically mass-loaded vinyl, decoupled wall construction, or a room-within-a-room build. Panels and soundproofing solve different problems and most serious studios need both.

The highest priority is first reflection points — the spots on side walls and the ceiling where sound from your monitors bounces directly into your listening position. To find them, sit at your mix position and have someone slide a mirror along the side wall; wherever you can see the speaker in the mirror is a first reflection point. Treat those first. The wall behind your speakers, the rear wall behind your seat, and the ceiling above the mix position are next priorities. Bass traps in corners come last for most home setups but are essential for serious mixing accuracy at low frequencies.

Standard acoustic panels (typically 25-50mm thick) absorb mid and high frequencies effectively but become much less efficient below around 250 Hz. Bass traps are thicker absorbers (typically 100mm+ or air-gap-mounted thinner panels) designed to handle low-frequency build-up in corners. For podcasts, voiceover and most home recording, panels alone are usually enough. For mixing music with bass content, you'll get more accurate translation if you also treat the corners with bass traps or Class A panels mounted with a substantial air gap. SilentSpace fabric-wrapped panels at 40mm with a 50mm+ air gap behind them perform reasonably well at low-mid frequencies — a practical compromise for many home studios.

A typical home studio (10-15m²) needs 6-12 panels for good first-reflection control plus front and rear wall treatment. A small project studio or vocal booth might need 8-16 panels for more comprehensive treatment. A serious mix room benefits from 20+ panels plus bass traps. Cover roughly 25-35% of total wall and ceiling surface as a starting point. The acoustic calculator gives you a more tailored figure based on your specific room dimensions.

They'll dramatically reduce it but not eliminate it entirely. With panels at first reflection points and on the rear wall, vocals and instruments record much closer to the dry signal — clearer transients, less boxy mid-range, less obvious "in a room" colour. For voiceover and podcast work, that's usually all you need. For dry vocal recording (where you want zero room sound on the source), even treated rooms benefit from a vocal booth, reflection filter, or close-miking technique to fully isolate the source. Panels reduce the problem; mic technique manages what's left.

Most panels in our range fix with adhesive, hangers or snap on mounting systems. SilentSpace and Autex panels are light enough for adhesive on plasterboard. For removable installation (rented properties, temporary studios, future relocation), velcro mounts or French cleat systems lift off without damaging walls. Most home studio installs take an afternoon. Studio booths and ceiling clouds need slightly more planning — happy to advise on layout for a specific room.

For a typical 10-15m² home studio, expect £400-£1,200 on materials depending on panel type. Autex Cube and ReFelt panels at the lower end (around £40-80 per panel), SilentSpace fabric-wrapped at the mid-range (£100-200 per panel), bespoke and printed designs at the higher end. Compared to budget acoustic foam (the egg-crate stuff at £30 for 12 tiles), proper panels cost more upfront but deliver substantially better absorption — particularly in the 125-500 Hz range where vocals and instrument body live, and where foam performs poorly. Foam is fine for a temporary podcasting setup. For anything you take seriously, proper panels are worth the difference.

Yes — and increasingly studios use panels as design features. PET felt comes in 25+ colours. Fabric-wrapped panels can be specified in Camira, Maharam, Kvadrat or Gabriel finishes. Printed panels can carry artwork, photography or band branding. BAUX wood wool brings warmth and visual texture. The era of utilitarian beige fabric panels is mostly over for home and project studios — most product ranges now hit a design bar that matches the rest of a considered creative space.