I've been reading this subreddit for a while and have seen a ton of posts about 'should I get X, Y, or Z monitors?'. I've been there, gearlust is real.
I recently decided to spend a little bit of time researching DIY acoustic panels since almost all of the 'should I get X monitors' threads had at least one person talk about treating your space. If you have a drill, a staple gun, live near a home depot / lowes and some form of a fabric store you can build functional and attractive panels for about $20 each (more or less depending on your taste in fabric).
There are a ton of tutorials online, but I used Roxul Safe n Sound since it comes in pre-cut pieces to fit between studs in a house and built wooden frames to fit. I offset the insulation panel in the frame by about ~1" to create a pocket behind the panel for additional lower frequency absorption. I stapled some burlap in the belly of the frame to help hold the Roxul in place, and then tightly wrapped the entire thing in a fabric of my choice and stapled the perimeter of the backside of the frame. I'd guess each one took about 1.5-2 hours to make, but I'm not super handy and am a complete perfectionist. You can also find a lot of free information online about acoustic panel placement (and you should read about it if you're going to spend the time making them).
The results were astounding. I recorded the 'wet' room before hanging the panels with a single mic and then re-recorded the same track with the panels hung in the 'dry' room. I couldn't believe how much of a difference it made, turning what was basically a 9'x9' boomy echo chamber into a pretty decent space. Hell, it even passed the wife and in-laws test (who both were a little skeptical of me spending so much time making these things), so I know it's not placebo.
For what it's worth, I didn't build or buy corner bass traps but I'm very happy with how clear and crisp my room sounds when producing or listening to bass-heavy genres with the setup I have now.
TLDR; Before you go out and spend $700 bucks on HS8s spend the time to treat your room otherwise you're likely doing yourself a disservice. You'll see your mixes come together easier and might find your existing monitors aren't as bad as you thought.
Submitted June 01, 2017 at 04:53PM by sound_of_muzak https://www.reddit.com/r/edmproduction/comments/6epae5/psa_room_treatment_is_worth_every_penny_and_can/?utm_source=ifttt