Do I Really Need Acoustic Treatment in My Studio?

If you’re working with audio—whether you’re recording, mixing, or both—acoustic treatment isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s often the difference between a mix that translates everywhere and one that falls apart the moment you leave your room.

In most setups, there are two main spaces you need to think about:

1. The Recording Space

If your recording room is small, your best bet is to make it as dead as possible. That means minimizing reflections and creating a “dry” sound. Why? Because a dry recording gives you complete control—you can always add artificial ambience later, but you can’t remove a bad-sounding room from a take.

That said, for acoustic instruments, size matters. A tiny room just won’t produce a flattering natural tone for something like a string section or an acoustic guitar. If you’re after a natural, roomy sound, you’ll generally need at least 40–50 square metres to get there.

2. The Control Room

The control room is where you make critical mix decisions. If the room misleads you, your mix won’t translate well to other systems.

Throwing up cheap foam panels only kills the high end—it won’t fix boomy low-mids or the standing waves that plague small rooms. You might end up with a space that sounds dull, but still inaccurate.

The biggest enemy in small control rooms is modal distortion—certain frequencies will either boom or vanish depending on where you sit. No EQ or plug-in can fully fix that. Proper acoustic treatment—especially bass trapping—is essential, and you’ll often need to measure and correct your room’s response.

Software like Sonarworks, ARC, and advanced virtual monitoring systems can help, but they don’t replace good room acoustics.

Setting Up a Better Control Room

Here are some practical tips:

• Avoid square rooms – they create the worst standing waves.

• Choose a rectangular space – position your speakers and listening spot about one-third into the length of the room, keeping everything symmetrical.

• Go nearfield – nearfield monitors increase direct sound and reduce the impact of room reflections.

• Think triangle – your head and the two speakers should form an equilateral triangle, with speakers aimed at your ears.

• Get ear-level – speaker tweeters should be at ear height, or angled up towards your ears if they’re on a desk.

• Treat first reflections – thick acoustic panels or heavy curtains placed 20 cm from the side walls can reduce flutter and comb filtering. Consider a ceiling panel above your mix position and treatment on the front wall.

• Tame the low end – bass traps in the corners can help control those stubborn low-frequency problems.

One Room for Both?

If you don’t need a separate control and recording space, you can do everything in one treated room. And yes—you could technically skip treatment entirely if you work only on headphones and don´t need to record anything.

But here’s the catch:

• Headphones can get uncomfortable during long sessions.

• If you need clients, producers, or directors to hear your mix, you’ll still want accurate speakers in a treated space.

DIY vs. Professional Treatment

On a budget? You can make significant improvements with DIY panels and smart positioning. But if you want a truly reliable space, it’s worth consulting an acoustic specialist—especially if you’re doing commercial work.

Bottom line: Good acoustic treatment isn’t just about making a room sound “nicer.” It’s about making sure what you hear is the truth—so your mixes sound great everywhere. New to audio production? Grab your free copy of Sound in Media Production and start creating better sound today!