Clearsonic Sorbers Reduce Audio Reflections

I recently purchased four Clearsonic S5-2L panels. These 66-inch high panels (Called Sorbers by Clearsonic) weigh 19 pounds, are 1.6 inches thick, four feet wide and fold in half for easy transport. The panels are free-standing relying on a hinge that allows you to move them to any angle.

I bought a total of four panels. One to shield my computer so that noise from the hard disk drive platters wouldn't hit the mic and one to deaden the back wall of my room. The other two were configured around my mic like a vocal booth.

Here's an important trick to remember for those who are on a tight budget. The key to acoustic treatment in your studio is working on absorbing sound not treating the walls. Lots of companies sell solutions that you have to stick up on a wall. What happens when you want to reconfigure your studio or move? Sorbers are portable, don't require any installation and can be reconfigured any number of ways. You can take them with you if you move. Since I am in the middle of expanding and possibly moving my studio, I didn't want to invest in a solution that wasn't portable.

By isolating problem areas like noisy computers or highly reflective surfaces, you can improve your sound. I've built studios with fancy room treatment. I spent thousands of dollars and In my experience, you can make almost the same sonic improvements by isolating problem areas with something the Sorber.

Even though I like the Sorbers, I still advocate using bass traps in the corners. But once you have the bass handled, the Sorbers will generally do the trick.

You can also buy the clear acrylic panels that work with the Sorbers to create a genuine vocal booth. I will eventually test that solution but for now, I am convinced that the Sorbers alone will do a very effective job in 95% of the situations I encounter.

My two favorite things about these panels are their portability and flexibility. They're easy to move around. They have a sturdy carry handle attached to the hinge and Clearsonic also sells specialized carrying cases that help protect the panels when being transported.

I can put two of these monsters into my little Chevy Impala Super Sport. That gives me the ability to set up a small vocal booth almost anywhere I go.

I also like the fact that if I want to sit down and record a live guitar part, I can spend about 30 seconds reconfiguring the panels and I have a nice little sound room for my guitar amp, perfectly shielded from the noise in the rest of the room. 30 seconds later I am back to my vocal booth. It sure beats gluing and ungluing sound panels to the wall.

Clearsonic uses FedEx to deliver the Sorber. Because of the size and weight of the pieces, the delivery costs can seem to be high. I found out that the shipping charges for four panels were roughly the same as the shipping charges for two panels, so if you think you might need more than two panels, order them all at once to save money.

I know that in a review I am supposed to say something negative about the product to balance the presentation but frankly, I just can't find anything to complain about. Call me a fanboy if you will. But the Sorbers are probably the best idea in studio acoustic treatment I've seen.

Other Specs:

NRC ratings 90% or better
Class A fire rating
MSRP $144 per panel direct from Clearsonic (plus shipping)

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