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During a full home remodel, T.U. engaged Acoustic Frontiers to design a dedicated home recording studio that could function as a flexible, high-performance creative environment. Rather than focusing on a single use case, the studio needed to support multiple workflows—including DJ performance, electronic composition, critical mixing, and mastering—within the same room.
The space was required to accommodate a primary mixing and mastering desk with full-range reference speakers, a dedicated DJ desk for performance and live mixing, and a modular synthesizer station central to the client’s electronic music workflow. A large outboard gear rack also needed to be integrated, placing additional demands on room layout, electrical planning, and acoustic control.
Audio routing needed to be equally flexible. Depending on the task, playback had to be routed to a single or multiple speaker pairs, or switched instantly between configurations without disrupting workflow.
All of this needed to be achieved within the constraints of a compact room—where consistent, controlled bass response is particularly difficult to achieve. In small rooms, low-frequency behavior can change dramatically with even minor shifts in listening position. Introducing multiple listening locations typically results in significant frequency response deviations under 100Hz due to spatial variation caused by room mode resonances, making accurate decision-making difficult without careful system-level design.
Room layout, acoustic treatment, and subwoofer placement therefore became critical design variables.
The studio was designed around multiple optimized listening positions, including a primary mixing and mastering desk, a DJ workstation, and a modular synthesizer station—each oriented differently within the space. The room layout was engineered to support these different perspectives while maintaining consistent performance throughout the room.
Low-frequency performance was addressed through detailed modeling and the implementation of a four-subwoofer system. By adding four subwoofers and placing them in carefully selected locations, modal behavior was significantly improved, resulting in a flatter, more usable low-frequency response across all workstations. This approach reduced low-frequency variation <70Hz to approximately +/-3 dB throughout the room—an especially meaningful improvement in a space of this size.
Custom-designed acoustic treatment was applied throughout the room using Acoustic Frontiers products exclusively. Dedicated tuned metal plate bass trapping was employed to control low-frequency decay, while broadband absorption using our POLY and WAVE diffusion was used to manage reflections and maintain clarity without over-damping the space.
Electrical design and low-voltage wiring were planned in parallel with the acoustic and layout strategy. Acoustic Frontiers performend the low voltage pre-wire, custom wallplates & termination, audio equipment and installation (speakers, subwoofers, amplifiers, ceiling mounts), control system & programming, acoustic treatment materials & installation and calibration.
A custom touch-panel control system was programmed to allow instant muting and unmuting of different speaker pairs, enabling the client to switch between listening configurations or combine multiple systems without re-patching cables. This preserved workflow efficiency despite the room’s complexity.
This project demonstrates what’s possible when a studio is designed as a unified system rather than adapted from a single-use template.
By addressing room layout, acoustic treatment, low-frequency behavior, electrical infrastructure, and control systems as an integrated design problem, the finished studio delivers:
The result is not simply a recording studio, but a precision creative environment—engineered to accommodate unique setup requirements while remaining adaptable as the client’s needs evolve.
"This space sounds incredible, and working with Nyal has been a joy. It’s the best-sounding space I’ve ever been in, aside from professional studios like those at Universal Audio."
See more project photos here.
Learn how early home theater design, layout, and acoustic treatment improve performance in new home construction.
This media room was intentionally designed to feel like part of the home—not a separate, tech-heavy space. Through careful acoustic planning, equipment integration, and final calibration, we achieved a room that is both beautiful to live in and immersive to experience.
"No other subwoofer system I’ve owned even comes close to what this room delivers. Reaching out to Acoustic Frontiers was one of the best decisions I’ve made—I highly recommend working with them if you want to get the most out of your theater."
Nyal Mellor, Founder, Acoustic Frontiers
Nyal Mellor
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