Key takeaways
Acoustic treatment and soundproofing are different jobs. Panels and soft furnishings stop echo inside the room, but they do not stop traffic, neighbors or a loud computer from being heard.
Pick the smallest, quietest, most furnished room you have, and a closet full of clothes is often better than an empty office.
Put absorption where sound first bounces off the walls near you, which you can find with a mirror, before worrying about corners or the ceiling.
Panels need real thickness to work. Two to four inches of mineral wool or rigid fiberglass does far more than thin foam.
Getting the mic closer to your mouth is the cheapest improvement of all, because it raises your voice above the room.
What you need
A room you can close off, ideally with carpet, curtains and furniture already in it.
Blankets, duvets or moving blankets, plus anything to hang them from.
A small mirror and a helper, for finding reflection points.
Headphones, so you can hear what the mic picks up.
Optional: a few fabric-wrapped absorption panels, 2 to 4 inches thick.
Step 1: Choose the right room
Start with the space that's already quietest and softest. Bedrooms, with a bed, curtains and a carpet, usually beat kitchens, bathrooms and empty home offices, where hard parallel walls bounce sound back and forth. A walk-in closet full of hanging clothes works well for voice, since the fabric soaks up reflections all around you. Avoid rooms on a busy street side of the house or next to a laundry room or boiler.
Step 2: Cut the noise at the source
Treatment won't fix noise coming from outside the room or from your own gear, so deal with it first.
Close windows and doors, and record at quieter times of day if traffic or neighbors are a problem.
Turn off heating, air conditioning and ceiling fans while you record.
Move the computer away from the mic, or put it behind you, and silence phone notifications.
Unplug or switch off anything that hums, such as a fridge in an open-plan space or a desk fan.
Wear headphones and listen to the mic with nobody speaking. Anything you can hear there will be in every take.
Step 3: Do the clap test
Stand where you'll record and clap once, sharply. In a good room the sound dies away almost immediately. If you hear a ringing, buzzing tail, that's flutter echo from sound bouncing between hard parallel surfaces such as bare walls or a wall and a window. Clap in a few spots around your recording position, and note where it sounds worst.
Step 4: Find the first reflection points
The surfaces that matter most are the ones that bounce your voice straight back into the mic. To find them, sit in your recording position and have a helper slide a mirror flat along each side wall at head height. Wherever you can see the mic in the mirror, mark the spot. Do the same for the wall in front of you, and for the ceiling if it's low.
Step 5: Add absorption where it counts
Cover the marked spots first, then the wall you face and the wall behind you.
Use thick, porous material. Fabric-wrapped panels of mineral wool or rigid fiberglass, 2 to 4 inches thick, absorb across most of the voice range. One inch barely touches the lower frequencies, and thin foam mostly takes the edge off the highs. Egg cartons do nothing useful.
Leave a gap. A 2-inch panel mounted an inch or two off the wall works almost like a thicker one.
Use what you have. Heavy duvets, moving blankets and thick curtains hung behind and beside you cut a lot of the echo on voice, and a bookshelf full of books breaks up reflections too.
Don't overdo the corners. Bass traps matter in music rooms, but for speech they're only worth adding after the walls are covered, and mainly for deep voices.
Step 6: Set up the mic and your position
Sit a few feet from the nearest wall, and keep out of corners. Face into the treated area, so the soft surfaces are behind the mic and around you. Then get the mic close, within a hand's width or two of your mouth for most dynamic mics. A closer mic picks up more of your voice and less of the room, and that does more than any panel.
Step 7: Record a test and room tone
Record a minute of normal speech and listen back on headphones. Your voice should sound close and dry, without a hollow or boxy quality. If it still sounds roomy, add more absorption at the reflection points or move the mic closer.
Before each session, record 30 seconds of silence in the room with everyone still. This room tone gives your editor clean background sound to fill gaps between cuts and a sample for noise reduction software to learn from.
Step 8: Light the room if you're on camera
Face a window, or place it to one side of you, so daylight is your main light. A window behind you will turn you into a silhouette.
Turn off overhead lights, which cast shadows under the eyes and nose.
Don't mix daylight with warm indoor bulbs, since the two color temperatures make skin tones look off. Use one kind of light, or add a daylight-balanced lamp to match the window.
Check what's behind you. A tidy, softly lit background with some depth looks better than a flat wall.
Common mistakes
Treating the room before fixing noise. Panels won't hide a fan or traffic.
Covering walls in thin foam. It kills the highs and leaves a boxy, muddy sound.
Recording in an empty room. Bare walls and floors make the strongest echo.
Sitting against a wall or in a corner. It adds boominess and early reflections.
Keeping the mic too far away. Even a well-treated room sounds worse than a close mic in an ordinary one.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make a room better for recording?
Pick a small, furnished room, switch off noise sources, hang thick absorption or blankets at the points where your voice first bounces off the walls and get the mic close to your mouth.
Is acoustic treatment the same as soundproofing?
No. Treatment absorbs reflections inside the room so recordings sound less echoey, while soundproofing stops sound getting in or out, which needs mass and sealed gaps. Panels won't block outside noise.
Do foam panels work for recording?
Thin foam takes some harshness out of the high frequencies, but it does little for the rest of the voice range. Panels of mineral wool or rigid fiberglass 2 to 4 inches thick are far more effective.
Can I record voiceover in a closet?
Yes. A closet full of hanging clothes absorbs reflections well, which makes it a good space for voice. Keep the door closed and the mic close.
What is room tone?
Room tone is a short recording of the room with nobody talking, usually about 30 seconds. Editors use it to fill gaps between cuts and to help noise reduction software remove constant background sound.