Auralex - The Studio Essential

Since we're busy giving our Auralex range a fresh coat of paint and planning to add some super-new acoustic treatment to the already extensive selection, we thought it was about time we gave these studio essentials a little screen-time. Anyone who's busy building a pro-grade home studio might overlook the important effect that adding a few Auralex panels will have on the quality of their productions, so let's put that right.

Auralex - For More Awkward Spaces

Even if you have a set of the best studio monitors going, if the space you're mixing in is not well designed, it's going to have a direct effect on the sound. Since it's not always possible for everyone to build the perfect studio space from scratch and high-end studio gear has shrunk considerably over the years, most home studios are built in the corner of a room, a spare bedroom, or tucked away in the attic. Since these spaces weren't exactly designed to house a recording or mixing studio, the quality of sound will only be enhanced by the help of a few wall-mounted Auralex panels.

The Devil is in the Detail ... and the Reverb Tail

If you're surrounded by stone walls, you're going experience reverb or sound reflections while mixing. And, if you get used to this extra 'reverb', then your mix will sound weird when you play it back in a dryer sounding room. It's also important to notice that different kinds of walls and textures can distort the audio image by warping the entire frequency range, and that this distortion is particular to every space. If you don't have this problem at all, then you're incredibly lucky and can stop reading. If you do have unwanted reflections in your studio space that you need to overcome, then Auralex design precisely the kind of gear that can counter it. Using a few strategically placed absorbers, any reflections can be dramatically limited, immediately improving your mixing experience and, to take it to the next level, you could even add some bass-traps to balance out the lower frequencies.

An Extensive Selection

Auralex offer an almost overwhelming range of acoustic treatment panels. The standard wall panels they produce also come in various, fetching colours (purple, dark red, and dark grey), so you can pick something out that best suits your decor. There are also different wall panel constructions and sizes including saw-tooth or pyramid textured panels alongside purpose-designed bass-traps, diffusers, and more - all of it made to create the most optimum listening space possible. Yes, you might have the most expensive audio interface you could get your hands on, but if you're fighting with bad sound because of a bad space, your interface will start sounding cheap. So, a little Auralex treatment is an undeniable studio essential.