{"id":117768,"date":"2026-08-10T18:08:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T16:08:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hofa-akustik.de\/?p=117768"},"modified":"2026-08-14T15:57:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T13:57:17","slug":"why-thin-absorbers-arent-enough-in-the-studio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hofa-akustik.de\/en\/blog-en\/why-thin-absorbers-arent-enough-in-the-studio\/","title":{"rendered":"Why thin absorbers aren’t enough in the studio"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Or: The carpet is a poor absorber!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyone looking to improve the room acoustics in their studio usually starts with the right basic idea: \u201cI need soft material in the room to absorb the sound.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next step, however, is choosing the right material for the room and its intended use. Materials that are too thin \u2013 such as acoustic foam with a convoluted surface, large areas of carpet, or thin curtains \u2013 can be problematic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After adding materials like these, the acoustic result is often disappointing: reverberation at high frequencies is now excessively damped, while the rest of the frequency spectrum has barely improved at all. Boomy bass and overly prominent mids can then dominate the sound of the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Poor acoustic solutions: carpet, thin curtains, acoustic foam<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The problem caused by absorbers that are too thin can be explained by the frequency-dependent absorption coefficient of acoustic absorbers. In this article, you\u2019ll learn what this means, why broadband absorption is essential for professional studio sound, and how selective sound absorption can noticeably improve the accuracy in your studio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The theory: what is the absorption coefficient \u03b1?<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The absorption coefficient \u03b1 (alpha) is a measure of the effectiveness of an acoustic element. It is a factor and has no unit of measurement, meaning it is independent of the absorber\u2019s surface area, and describes the ratio of incident sound energy to absorbed sound energy on a scale from 0 to 1: <\/p>\n\n\n\n