Slap Echo, Standing Waves, Excessive Room Reverb, BAH!
All of these phenomenon are a result of sound waves bouncing off your flat, hard, parallel walls. These reflections can create unwanted dips and spikes of certain frequencies within the room. If a microphone or a pair of ears are recording or listening within one of these peak/dip zones, then the result is a coloration of the original tone which rubs many audio ethos the wrong way. You can spend hours creating a mix, but if your room happens to create a dip of 80-100Hz of 3db where your noggin is listening in relation to your monitor speakers then your mix is probably going to sound a little too bass heavy in a different listening environment.
Diffusion and absorption can help diminish or eliminate these acoustical pitfalls. You can spend a boat load of cash buying fancy wood paneling or pretty purple foam tiles but there are cheaper alternatives.
These acoustical panels are made of 100% recycled material, are easy to install, and are pretty cheap ($30 for 12 panels). They have a nice bumpy weave pattern to help scatter sound energy and harness the potential harsh transients in your space (especially if you are dealing with higher volumes).
Have I used these? No. Will they perfectly tune your room? No. A lot depends on the room, it's purpose, and volume. You will most likely need to use absorption in addition to diffusion but these panels are a great start for someone wanting to harness their room acoustics on a budget.
MIO Paperform Panels
