TECHWEEK
Swedish furniture giant Ikea has introduced a series of mobile acoustic panels called Mittzon . The Mittzon series panels come in a variety of sizes and installation methods and appear to be primarily designed to reduce noise in work areas. The panels can also be used for other purposes, such as as a partition in a large room.
At the same time, Ikea’s Mittzon acoustic panels can be used not only to reduce noise in office spaces, but also to combat annoying reverberation in a listening room. The panels are covered in removable, washable covers. If the room has a lot of hard surfaces, clever placement of such acoustic panels will help combat numerous reflections of sound waves.
Ikea has freestanding models in the Mittzon series that can be used to divide a space. There are also models that can be placed behind a table or on a wall. The panels are not very thick, so you shouldn’t expect much in terms of low-frequency damping. Mittzon panels mainly dampen mid- and high-tones, and in some cases this can be useful.
Ikea’s Mittzon series panels do not claim to be a complete solution for acoustically preparing a listening room, but they can be a first step in the right direction. After all, even a fantastically expensive audio system can be powerless in a reverberant room. Acoustic panels or other acoustic treatment of the listening room can have a greater effect than replacing system components or cables.
