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Whether you’re using your space for vocal recording, hosting a podcast, or filming YouTube or online content, a little soundproofing can make a big difference – to both you and your listeners. And it can be cheaper than you think too.
There are now easy ways to soundproof your room, with simple soundproofing products that you can buy online and install yourself in minutes. And a good soundproof setup isn’t just for musicians or content creators either — with more and more people working from home, a few soundproofing panels or noise-dampening drapes could go a long way towards making your home office a lot more efficient — and enjoyable.
How to Soundproof Your Room
Here are a few things to keep in mind when looking at the best soundproofing products for your home.
Setup: Even before you start loading up your shopping cart, there are techniques you can do right now to get ready, and that might even solve a problem you’ve been having. Ideally, you want your two main monitors equidistant: too close, and you’ll just be getting a singular, mono sound, and too wide leaves a gap in the mids.
Placement: Something as simple as the placement of your desk and speakers can cut way down on annoying echo and better utilize the natural shape of the room (which is the one thing you can’t adjust). This helps get your speakers away from the wall, avoiding bass buildup. A square room with low ceilings and parallel surfaces is the worst, since your sound will bounce around until it collides or dissipates, but even if you’ve got a tiny room to work with, there’s still hope.
Acoustic Panels: Low-end buildup in the corners of your room and behind the speakers is an issue, especially in small apartments. Putting up a few acoustic panels can be an instantly noticeable fix. These are generally affordable, and you can even make your own pretty easily with a few raw materials commonly found at any hardware store. Adding a “cloud,” or panel on the ceiling, is a big boost too, and is best for right over where your head will be.
Windows: A window is the most reflective surface when it comes to sound, which presents a problem in a room you’re trying to cut down on just that. An acoustic panel over the windows works, but that’s not always an option. Instead, curtains can do a decent job too — just make sure they’re the thick, heavy kind that theaters use, not just typical bedroom ones. Sound blankets are also great for this too.
Speaker Size: Just because you’ve got giant, powerful speakers doesn’t mean they’re a good fit for a small room. In fact it’s the opposite – in a room that’s too small, it won’t be able to produce the frequency properly and let it complete its lifecycle. Speaker stands also are an excellent addition here too, as it decouples and separates muddy vibrations from the floor or desk surface. Once you can hear bass as it really is, you’ll be more apt to identify issues like decay, attack, and clipping.
Headphones: It’s nearly impossible to make a 100% soundproofed home studio from scratch where every level and waveform is perfect, and that’s where a good set of headphones comes in. Playing your music or audio creation through your monitors will give you a good general idea of the mix, but headphones are like holding it under a microscope. Any lingering problems, and you’ll be more likely to hear them up close.
“For a small room, we usually start by looking at the first reflection points,” says Phil Butera with SoundAssured, a company that makes foam panels for sound studios. “If you’ll be using studio monitors to mix or playback, you’ll be trying to create a Reflection Free Zone at the main listening position or ‘sweet spot” in the room. In this case you would also want some bass traps to help absorb the low end frequencies”.
He continues, “If someone isn’t using monitors, then you focus on the main reflection points of the actual sound source. Most of the time these are people trying to do a gaming stream, podcast, singing/rapping, Youtube, etc. For these situations the focus of the treatment should be on the wall you are speaking towards and the ceiling above you. You would also want a rug beneath you unless you already have a carpeted floor.”
For more ways to build out your home studio and help soundproof a room, check out our recommendations below.
