Whether you want to record clean audio, or you want a quite room to enjoy music in, room treatment is imperative and usually extremely expensive. Costco just brought the price way down.
The Artika Sonolok Sound Absorbing Slatted Panel Kit at Costco, costs only $3/sqft and it's made MDF slats with what appears to be real wood veneers on a soft felt backing. Not only are these shockingly nice looking, but they are also about 1/3 the price of the next cheapest option. I was able to cover an entire wall in my office/studio for right around $300 which is less expensive than hanging cheap curtains in the same space.
On drywall, hanging these would be incredibly simple; just screw the included screws directly through the felt into your wall. Sadly, down here in Puerto Rico I don't have drywall. My walls are made of solid concrete. I attempted to hang these with heavy duty double sided tape. I woke up the next morning after hanging them and already a few panels had fallen down.
I was forced to do what I was trying to avoid, drill pilot holes with a rotary hammer and then screw in each panel one by one. It was messy, but it took less than 20 minutes.
If you're installing these on a portion of a blank wall, you're in luck, you won't have to do any cutting at all. But if you want these to go to the edge of a wall or ceiling, you're going to have to cut them. Vertical cuts through the felt backing are shockingly easy with a boxcutter with a new blade and the kit comes with "end pieces" to cover any imperfections in your cuts. Horizontal cuts (if you're trying to make them sit flush with your ceiling) are going to be far more difficult because you will have to cut through the wood as well. I tried cutting a hole for a power outlet using a battery powered jigsaw and I couldn't get a clean cut. To cut the wood cleanly, you will probably want a table saw.
So, did they work? Yes. These are not real bass traps, and they will not fix my deep 125 Hz room mode, but they did reduce the general echo in my room. Just sitting and talking, the space sounds less harsh, and my voice seems to excite that annoying resonant note a little less.
They also look good. So good that I might actually consider installing these even without the acoustic properties. And this may sound silly but they smell fantastic, like a freshly built piece of wooden furniture.
If you are building a serious mixing room, you need proper, thick acoustic treatment. But if you are a YouTuber, photographer, podcaster, or simply want a quieter room, these Costco panels are an easy, affordable upgrade I can easily recommend. And if you don't have a Costco membership nearby, these panels and many other are also available on Amazon.
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