BEHIND THE BUILD

Why a 50mm Panel and a 100mm Trap Are Not the Same Product Twice

What changes in the workshop when the acoustic job changes

It would be convenient if making a deeper acoustic panel simply meant building the same thing twice as thick. The workshop would certainly be easier to explain.

In reality, depth changes the job of the product, and once the acoustic job changes, the material choice, frame construction, mounting and proportions need thinking about too.

That is why our 50mm broadband panels and 100mm wall bass traps are not just shallow and deep versions of exactly the same thing.

The 50mm Panel Has a Different Priority

A 50mm panel is primarily there to control broadband reflections and improve clarity. It works well at first reflection points, around recording positions and in places where a relatively slim absorber needs to do useful work without taking over the room.

For that reason, we use a denser mineral wool core in the 50mm format. The aim is to get effective absorption from a shallower depth while keeping the product practical on a wall or ceiling.

The frame can also remain visually light. At this depth, proportions matter. Make the surround too heavy and the panel begins to look more like a piece of furniture than something intended to sit quietly on the wall.

At 100mm, the Priorities Shift

Once you move to 100mm, the absorber can work more effectively lower in frequency, particularly when it is mounted with an air gap.

That changes the mineral wool specification we favour. A deeper porous absorber does not simply need more of the densest material available. Airflow resistance has to suit the depth, which is why we use a lower-density core in the 100mm wall trap than in the 50mm broadband panel.

This is one of those details that rarely makes it into a product photograph, but it matters more than whether the backing fabric looks especially neat.

We still make the backing neat, obviously. There are limits.

The Frame Starts Doing More Work Too

A deeper product puts more demand on the frame. It carries more material, projects further from the wall and needs to stay square through handling, transport and installation.

That is one reason we care about the furniture-grade plywood surround rather than treating it as a decorative afterthought. The frame has to be rigid enough to do its structural job while still looking clean enough to belong in a home studio or listening room.

Mounting changes too. A shallow panel can be relatively forgiving. A deeper trap benefits from a mounting method that feels deliberate and secure, especially if an air gap is part of the acoustic plan.

This Is Why Product Ranges Need Different Tools

It is tempting to think of acoustic treatment as one product available in a few sizes. We think it makes more sense to start with the problem.

If the problem is an early reflection, a 50mm panel may be exactly what the room needs. If the problem extends further into the low end, more depth and a different material choice become worthwhile. If the problem is concentrated in the corners, the geometry changes again.

That approach makes the workshop slightly more complicated, but the end result is more useful. Each product has a reason to exist beyond simply occupying a different box on the website.

And from a making point of view, that is more satisfying too. The aim is not to produce the same rectangle repeatedly. It is to build the right absorber for the job it is being asked to do.