Sound diffusers are often the most underrated form of acoustic treatment, especially by newer producers. And while it can be easy to understand why sometimes, it’s a shame that even I didn’t start seeing the benefits of sound diffusion in my music studio until recently.
Newer producers often tend to gravitate towards sound absorption, which can be vital to treating a room or studio. But that’s the thing; they are only one piece to a much larger puzzle.
This is why diffusion is just as critical, if not more so, than absorption.
And after reviewing one of the custom pieces from Audomod, a company specializing in making quality and approachable diffusers, I decided that I’m never mixing in a room without diffusion again (at least if I can help it).
Check Out Their Entire Range Of Diffusers Here.
How Do Sound Diffusers Work?
In the same way that mirrors and reflective surfaces block and breaks light waves, diffusers help do the same to sound. While a straight beam of light may be powerful, once it is dispersed by a reflective surface or sparsed through a crystal-like substance, the waves become less potent.
This is what diffusers do to a sound wave.
Sound diffusers use the depth and angles of an object (the diffuser) to help scatter the sound coming out of your speakers and break it into a thousand different directions. The curves, edges, and grooves in a diffuser like Audamod’s are specifically designed to create as many other angled surfaces and edges to provide as many points as possible for the sound to diffuse against.
Because the wavelengths of different frequencies are different (lower frequencies are longer whereas higher frequencies are shorter), the best diffusers have different depths of their pockets and angles to ensure that frequencies from across the spectrum are adequately diffused.
Because the sound is still active, instead of dropping dead as it does with absorption, having a couple of diffusers in your studio, placed at the correct places around the room, keeps the sounds alive and leads to a much more lively sound in your room. This is why diffusion isn’t necessarily better or worse than absorption since both are necessary to treat a room, but both are essential pieces of the puzzle.
Is An Audamod The Best Diffuser?
Every studio space is different, just as every producer or engineer is different. This means there is never a simple answer to which sound diffuser is the absolute best. That being said, this is where Audomod as a company truly shines.
Because you can buy diffusers from Etsy or Amazon, but they are essentially what-you-see-is-what-you get. But Audamod prides itself on delivering some of the best custom diffusers you could ask for.
So while they offer a range of standard diffusers that would sound amazing in your home studio, you can also have them build custom setups for you.
Is Audamod A Budget Option?
The short answer here is no, but sound diffusion is rarely a cheap investment unless you’re buying throw-away treatment from Amazon (that doesn’t even work at the end of the day).
But the build quality, the improvement it makes in your sound, and more are all worth the benefits of buying one of these diffusers.
Should I Buy An Audamod Diffuser?
As I mentioned above, a quality diffuser is one thing that I wish I had invested in earlier in my career. The lively quality of the sound that it adds to the room while simultaneously treating the sound is pretty night and day to me.
And while the custom diffusers that Audamod offers might be a bit pricey, they provide a handful of options you can snag that are priced for less than a pair of entry-level studio monitors, which makes these diffusers an easy recommendation for producers and engineers at almost every level.
Oh, and note that they look beautiful. Acoustic paneling and absorption scattered around your walls might look cool to your fellow producer friends but can be offputting to people who don’t know what it’s used for. The same cannot be said about these excellent diffusers. They look like a work of art, and mine gets more compliments than any other piece of art I have in my whole house.
Learn More About Their Diffusers Here.
Are Audamod Diffusers Easy To Install?
So if I had a single gripe about my custom diffuser, it would be this. On paper, they should be straightforward to install. It was delivered with its wall-mount rack on the back for ease of installation.
But this is where things got tricky, as this unit weighed much more than I expected. Considering what felt like 40-50 pounds, I can call in some reinforcements to help get this thing hung up on the studs in the wall at the rear-facing end of the studio. Kudos to my burly friends for the help, as I could not have done this alone.
Learn From The Best: Audamod Shares How To Get The Best Sound From A Diffuser
Will Vance is a professional music producer who has been involved in the industry for the better part of a decade and has been the managing editor at Magnetic Magazine since mid-2022. In that time period, he has published thousands of articles on music production, industry think pieces and educational articles about the music industry. Over the last decade as a professional music producer, Will Vance has also ran multiple successful and highly respected record labels in the industry, including Where The Heart Is Records as well as having launched a new label with a focus on community through Magnetic Magazine. When not running these labels or producing his own music, Vance is likely writing for other top industry sites like Waves or the Hyperbits Masterclass or working on his upcoming book on mindfulness in music production. On the rare chance he's not thinking about music production, he's probably running a game of Dungeons and Dragons with his friends which he has been the dungeon master for for many years.
