Most home studios live in a bedroom or spare room, and small rooms have real acoustic challenges – but smart setup choices make a big difference. Here’s how to get the best from a small space.
Position your desk correctly
Face into the room from the centre of the shorter wall, with your setup symmetrical left-to-right. Symmetry gives you a balanced stereo image; sitting off to one side skews everything.
Mind the bass
Small rooms build up bass in the corners and make low end hard to judge. Pull your desk and monitors a little off the front wall, and put absorption or bass traps in the corners – see acoustic treatment.
Treat the key points
- Absorb the first reflection points on the side walls and ceiling.
- Add corner bass trapping for tighter low end.
- Use a rug and soft furnishings to cut flutter echo.
Lean on headphones too
In a tricky small room, good reference headphones are a reliable cross-check – mix on monitors, verify on headphones. See monitors vs headphones.
Position monitors last
Once the room is set, dial in monitor placement – the equilateral triangle, tweeters at ear height, away from corners. Placement is free and transformative.
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