Tried acoustic foam panels vs cheap moving blankets for sound dampening

I spent $200 on those wedge foam panels from Amazon for my 10x12 shed studio and they barely stopped any echo. Then I hung some Harbor Freight moving blankets I already had and the difference was night and day. Anyone else find that budget materials work better than the stuff marketed for studios?

2 comments

2 Comments

casey_campbell15d ago

Honestly, I think you're kind of right but for a different reason than you think. Those foam panels are actually designed to cut down on high frequency reflections, not really for stopping echo in a room that's already kind of live. Moving blankets are thicker and denser so they soak up more of the mid and low end stuff that makes rooms sound boxy. Ngl, I tried a similar setup with some old comforters before I bought any real acoustic treatment and it worked way better than those cheap foam squares. The foam stuff is fine if you're just trying to stop slap echo on a desk or something but for a whole room, you need mass. I'd say you did the smart thing just by accident.

emma_ramirez15d ago

Yeah the whole thing reminds me of how people reach for the cheapest quick fix first but end up stumbling onto something that actually works better for their specific situation. It's like how those budget LED grow lights are technically not as good as the expensive ones but for a small closet setup they do the job just fine. Your mileage may vary but I think half the battle is just getting started with whatever you have.