Placement matters almost as much as quantity. A panel in the right spot removes a strong reflection; the same panel in a corner nobody hears may do very little. In lecture halls, start here:
- the rear wall, which causes the slap-back echo
- upper side walls towards the back
- leave the front of the room reflective to help the voice carry
Spread them out
Absorption works best spread across several surfaces rather than all on one wall. Treating two facing walls stops sound bouncing between them (flutter echo). If you only treat one of a pair of parallel walls, alternate panels on each so no strip of bare wall faces another.
Height
Mount wall panels so their center is roughly at the height of the people in the room: about 48 in for seated rooms and 57 in for standing rooms. Higher placement is fine where furniture or impact is a concern.
Wall or ceiling?
For lecture halls we suggest roughly 70% of the treatment on walls and 30% on the ceiling. Walls are where reflections reach listeners first, so they get most of the treatment.
Try the 3D layout builder to arrange panels on your wall before you order.