# Ikea's New Sound-Absorbing Curtains



## Darrell (Nov 4, 2021)

For bedroom studio producers here you have bedroom studio gear from Ikea.

*** *** ***
_Ikea GUNNLAUG: Sound absorbing curtain ($49.99).

GUNNLAUG sound absorbing curtain has many functions. It is stylish, filters out light and softens sound caused by everyday activities like clattering of dishes, clangour of cutlery or screeching from chairs being moved around.









The fabric absorbs sound which can reduce echo and reverberation in medium and high frequency waves, for example clattering of dishes or clangor of cutlery.

The curtain has been verified according to ISO 354 and has 50-100% greater absorption of medium and high sound frequencies than other fabrics with similar quality and weight.

The combination of the chenille yarn and the special weave construction of the fabric makes the curtain sound absorbent.

The curtains lower the general light level and provide privacy by preventing people outside from seeing directly into the room.

The curtains can be used on a curtain rod or a curtain track.

...

*** *** ***
_
More information (click 'Product details'):









GUNNLAUG Sound absorbing curtain, white, 57x98" - IKEA


GUNNLAUG Sound absorbing curtain, white, 57x98" GUNNLAUG sound absorbing curtain has many functions. It is stylish, filters out light and softens sound caused by everyday activities like clattering of dishes, clangour of cutlery or screeching from chairs being moved around.




www.ikea.com


----------



## Markrs (Nov 4, 2021)

They look like the could be useful in reverberant rooms. Sadly not in stock in the UK









GUNNLAUG Sound absorbing curtain, white, 145x250 cm - IKEA


GUNNLAUG Sound absorbing curtain, white, 145x250 cm GUNNLAUG sound absorbing curtain has many functions. It is stylish, filters out light and softens sound caused by everyday activities like clattering of dishes, clangour of cutlery or screeching from chairs being moved around.




www.ikea.com


----------



## Crowe (Nov 4, 2021)

I don't believe for a single second that this is going to be enough to treat a room. Might be nice as a bit of _extra fluff _but it won't replace a square inch of actual treatment.

I'm quite interested to see some actual numbers on the effect of these curtains on sound and if they actually do more for sound treatment than egg cartons*.


*egg cartons don't do _anything._


----------



## Jdiggity1 (Nov 4, 2021)

yeah i mean, if you're wanting curtains, by all means get sound-dampening curtains.
If you're wanting treatment, don't get curtains.


----------



## Patrick Aylett (Nov 4, 2021)

Don't waste your money, these won't keep sound out or in.


----------



## Sunny Schramm (Nov 4, 2021)

"...and softens sound caused by everyday activities like clattering of dishes, clangour of cutlery or screeching from chairs being moved around."

Not for studios/musicians at all imho


----------



## Dietz (Nov 4, 2021)

If it's made of heavy molleton/mollitan, then the damping effect can be quite perceptible in the upper frequency range. There's a reason why this material is used on theater stages around the world. 

... but it's nothing that will make a studio out of your bedroom, that's for sure. These curtains have absolutely no effect in the lower frequency range, especially not in the most problematic area between 50 and 150 Hz.


----------



## Loïc D (Nov 4, 2021)

Thick curtains have a great benefit though : you can walk naked in your studio.


----------



## Zanshin (Nov 4, 2021)

And block light when you are trying to sleep until noon.


----------



## youngpokie (Nov 4, 2021)

Dietz said:


> If it's made of heavy molleton/mollitan


It's not - it's a cheap polyester thread that's made thicker than normal (chenille yarn) and then weaved in a close pattern to block light. Notice how they are comparing its sound absorption rate to "zero" of the regular lightweight polyester and still give themselves a huge range. And that's why this sentence from IKEA appears to be written by a lawyer packing it with weasel words.

_"The curtain has been verified according to ISO 354 and has 50-100% greater absorption of medium and high sound frequencies than other fabrics with similar quality and weight." _


----------



## easyrider (Nov 4, 2021)

Bass trapping first….then you early reflection points.


----------



## quickbrownf0x (Nov 4, 2021)

I've stapled up two of my old tiger print onesies on one of my side walls and it works, although I did forget to wash them beforehand. So now my studio smells like ass and dried up Cheetos all the time. But you know - better to kill a bird with two stones before you count your chickens in the bathwater. Or whatever. Something like that.


----------



## gives19 (Nov 4, 2021)

I had an issue years back when I was in a condo, that had an open area to a bathroom and a sliding door. Bob Hodas tuned my room and of course we had all the treatments in place, but he recommended getting a heavy curtain to go in front of the bathroom sliding door which was directly behind the mix room, which was a bedroom. I really helped with that splash of that door or reflection. That's all I have on this, but figured I would offer that as a solution for some folks.


----------



## timbit2006 (Nov 4, 2021)

Just put 24 of these in your window instead like a real pro engineer

There are actual genuine proper acoustic curtains which have a section of pleating and insulation between the two curtain panels. You can either buy them for 400+ or buy the roll of acoustic treatment+the curtain panels and get your mom to sew it for around 200 or so. You can sometimes get industrial "Sound Abatement Panels" on sale too at your local industrial supply house.


----------



## devonmyles (Nov 4, 2021)

Sunny Schramm said:


> "...and softens sound caused by everyday activities like clattering of dishes, clangour of cutlery or screeching from chairs being moved around."
> 
> Not for studios/musicians at all imho



Although, the curtains could come in useful when using Embertones deep sampled 'The Kitchen'.
👍


----------



## Nico5 (Nov 4, 2021)

these curtains might be a nice topic for the Snake Oil guy


----------



## MarcusD (Nov 4, 2021)

Go full Turok and Cover the walls with reindeer lichen too. Apparently it's pretty good...


----------



## Markastellor (Nov 4, 2021)

Blocking sound is really tough. Truly sound proofing a studio requires extremely dense expensive material beyond the price range of almost everybody. Absorbing some of the high frequencies is fairly easy. What they are saying in the pitch above is probably true if you read it carefully, and these curtains could be used if you needed to deaden some of the upper frequencies and knew what you were doing. Walk into your living room after you have taken down the curtains, removed the furniture and removed the carpet and listen to the change. Most of us have had that experience when painting or remodeling. The Fletcher Munson curves suggest our ears are the most sensitive to upper mid frequencies, so if you want to sleep later in the morning and don't want to be disturbed by "dishes or cutlery" clanging (which are both mostly in the upper mids), these curtains might actually help a little. But, treating a studio is an art. Read up on it before you attempt it. You probably want a little random reflection on the wall behind you when mixing. The wall behind the speakers should be treated more. The problem is always the really low frequencies. You need really thick things to absorb that. You need to strategically tune the room for best results. This is not just for mixing down...also for recording tracks. After acoustically treating several home studios, I am now looking for a quiet place in the country with a silent heating and ventilation system...cheaper to get a new house sometimes than to fix the wrong one for music.


----------



## Dietz (Nov 4, 2021)

Markastellor said:


> cheaper to get a new house sometimes than to fix the wrong one for music.


For truly soundproof room-in-room constructions, there are quite sophisticated system solutions, nowadays. I got one of them just in time before the pandemic (*phew!*) : 

-> https://www.boxysystem.com/en/

It is a completely self-supporting construction with perfect ventilation, daylight through large windows and great acoustics inside  It costs only a fraction of a new house, and it can even be dismantled and rebuilt elsewhere (by a skilled worker).


----------



## Nico5 (Nov 4, 2021)

Markastellor said:


> cheaper to get a new house sometimes than to fix the wrong one for music.


and remember to tell the building inspectors, that you’re building a raquetball court


----------



## synthetic (Nov 4, 2021)

These look cool. Of course not enough to treat a room, but I've been looking for something to treat windows and these look cool. Much too long for me but I guess someone could hem them. 

I also saw someone make curtains out of army blankets, that could also work well. Just thick wool.


----------



## Markastellor (Nov 5, 2021)

Dietz said:


> For truly soundproof room-in-room constructions, there are quite sophisticated system solutions, nowadays. I got one of them just in time before the pandemic (*phew!*) :
> 
> -> https://www.boxysystem.com/en/
> 
> It is a completely self-supporting construction with perfect ventilation, daylight through large windows and great acoustics inside  It costs only a fraction of a new house, and it can even be dismantled and rebuilt elsewhere (by a skilled worker).


Pretty cool...still looks expensive though. I live in an area in upstate New York, where you can get decent farmhouses for $65K...I'll bet it's competitive.


----------



## porrasm (Nov 5, 2021)

Zanshin said:


> And block light when you are trying to sleep until noon.


I can do this without *trying.*


----------



## Michael Antrum (Nov 5, 2021)

Sound proof bedroom curtains.......hmmmmm......sounds a bit racy to me.

I'm not sure that home studios were the designated target market for this product.....


----------



## Zanshin (Nov 5, 2021)

porrasm said:


> I can do this without *trying.*


Good skill to have!


----------



## RSK (Nov 5, 2021)

Folks, you're all missing the point. Sound absorption ("treatment") and sound isolation ("soundproofing") are two completely different subjects. Nothing but mass works for isolation, like building a 6-inch concrete wall or two 2x4 walls with a small air gap between them. IKEA isn't claiming these curtains are useful for that. What they are saying, and from what I can tell it's an accurate claim, is that these curtains would be good for controlling high-frequency reflections in a reverberant room. Got a window on your left that causes imaging problems because your highs are reflecting off it? Use these curtains.


----------



## Dietz (Nov 5, 2021)

Markastellor said:


> I live in an area in upstate New York, where you can get decent farmhouses for $65K...I'll bet it's competitive.


Oh! I see. Properly sized flats are at least ten times that price where I live (... and are considered "cheap" then), so you might be right.


----------



## gsilbers (Nov 5, 2021)

reminder time..

*Sound Proofing and Sound Absorbtion are two different things

Sound Proofing and Sound Absorbtion are two different things

Sound Proofing and Sound Absorbtion are two different things

Sound Proofing and Sound Absorbtion are two different things

Sound Proofing and Sound Absorbtion are two different things

Sound Proofing and Sound Absorbtion are two different things*


----------



## bill5 (Nov 5, 2021)

Yeah, we get it, I think everyone knows that. Just a little misuse of the terms here and there.  

Also I don't think these are being touted as all you need to treat a room, no idea where people are getting that. That said, I question if they would do much more than most ordinary curtains of similar thickness.


----------

