John Darko
On the hunt for acoustic treatments for your listening room that won’t break the bank and can be tucked out of sight when not in use? IKEA’s new range of office furniture might have you covered. The new MITTZON series features an acoustic panel that measures 8cm deep x 70cm wide x 157cm tall — but put away that drill because it’s free-standing. Price? €179.
Need one that’s a little wider? The 8cm x 90cm x 157cm version goes for €199. And while these MITTZON panels won’t do anything for bass problems – they aren’t thick enough – two of them placed on either side of the room could weaken many of the nasty first reflections that contribute to room reverb in the midrange and treble. Another three could sit behind the loudspeaker plane to mitigate front wall reflections. And how about another two or three along the rear wall behind the sofa? Each panel weighs 23kg and features an in-built plastic clamp system that allows two or more to be joined at the shoulder and knee. As a neat bonus, the covers are removable and washable.
Translated to English from the IKEA Germany website: “Efficient sound insulation thanks to a solid wooden core with a foamed wood fiber filling on each side, covered with a thick wool fabric.”
But wait, there’s more.
The MITTZON range also features another free-standing acoustic panel with a washable cover. It measures 85cm wide by a whopping 205cm tall but at 5cm deep it won’t go quite ‘as low’ in its frequency coverage. However, the four castors mean the 22kg structure can be moved around more easily. Price? €249.
IKEA Germany’s website also shows that the MITTZON range features several acoustic panels for the back of desktops. However, loudspeakers tend to fire mostly low frequencies to the rear and I doubt these desk backs would do much for sound quality. IKEA intends these models to improve intra-desk isolation in open-plan office environments.
MITTZON isn’t a complete solution but it’s a step (or two) in the right direction. Remember: the room in which our speakers sit has a far greater impact on what we hear than, say, a DAC or phono stage.
Further information: IKEA DE
