The Details

Poly Absorber Description

Cut-to-size POLY absorbers are an Acoustic Frontiers exclusive product. The raw material is made for us in New Zealand and is cut-to-size in the USA.

POLY is a thermally bonded absorber made from polyester, including over 60% recycled material. It exhibits the same acoustical performance as rigid fiberglass, the industry-standard absorber. Unlike rigid fiberglass, however, it is free from toxic formaldehyde and other nasty volatile compounds. It’s also dust-free and pleasant to work with and install, unlike alternatives like cotton or rockwool.

Because we cut this product to size, we can custom make any size up to 4’x8’. The most common sizes we sell are listed as options for purchase. If you do not see the size you want please contact us for a quote.

Poly Absorber Story

At Acoustic Frontiers’ we strongly believe the POLY absorber is THE best material to use in your home theater, listening room, or home recording studio.

1. POLY does not off-gas formaldehyde. The most commonly used material for absorber panels is a rigid fiberglass material such as Owens Corning OC703. These materials normally use formaldehyde as part of the Phenol Urea Formaldehyde Resin mix that binds the glass fibers together…by weight the binder can account for 10%+ of the product. In acoustic applications, the absorber material is exposed to the air in your home, and anything off-gassing from that material goes directly into the air you breathe. Recently formaldehyde has been added to the Living Building Challenge Red List of worst-in-class materials used in construction that pose serious risks to human health. The International Agency for Research on Cancer and the State of California also classify formaldehyde as a known human carcinogen. Common health effects at low levels of exposure to this volatile organic compound include irritation and sensitization, and the compound also acts as an asthma trigger. 
2. POLY exhibits the same or better* acoustical absorption per inch as rigid fiberglass, rockwool, and cotton. So you might think, “Hey, I’ll just use foam,” but know that you need two inches of foam to equal the performance of any of these materials. *The absorption coefficient of 4" POLY is 0.65 for the 125Hz octave band, relative to 0.51 for OC703 fiberglass and 0.60 for OC705 fiberglass.
3. POLY is black and non-reflective and is therefore ideal to use behind stretch fabric or acoustically transparent projection screens in home theater applications. On the other hand, rigid fiberglass is yellow, rockwool is tan, and cotton is blue. None are ideal colors.
4. POLY does not release fibers, flakes, or dust, unlike rigid fiberglass, rockwool, and cotton. Most of us have experienced itchy skin after handling fiberglass or coughing due to airborne fibers and dust at installation time. All of that is avoided when using POLY.
5. POLY can be used exposed, without a fabric covering. All other absorptive materials require extra fabric wrap or fabric stretch to prevent the absorber from releasing fibers, flakes, and dust.