Recommendation: Effective absorbers for every budget

T.BONE MICSCREEN XL

Anyone who has ever recorded vocals or instruments in a home studio knows that the reverberation of the recording room is usually clearly audible, as is annoying noise such as the hissing of the PC fan. Compact microphone absorbers can help here. The t.bone MicScreen XL has five segments that can be opened and closed in different positions. The further the wings point inwards, i.e. enclose the microphone, the less space it captures. The transportable absorber and diffuser can be mounted on a tripod or placed directly on the tabletop. The closer the microphone is to the absorber, the lower the recorded room component.

The MicScreen XL allows effective attenuation of the room component in a recording, even in problematic environments. It also scores with a well thought-out design, solid workmanship and a reasonable price. However, due to the rather high weight, you should plan a heavy tripod.

www.thomann.de | Price: 79 euros

MARANTZ SOUND SHIELD

The Sound Shield from Marantz is a portable rear sound absorber for microphones. This can be mounted on standard microphone stands or placed on a table thanks to its three feet. It features a solid stand and five absorption walls covered with pyramid-shaped EVA acoustic foam. The walls can be aligned for focused recording, effectively reducing noise such as echoes and room reflections. You can fold in two of the walls for transport. Since the absorber is quite heavy, a solid tripod is also a must here.

With its Sound Shield, Marantz proves that high-quality reflection filters for vocal recordings do not have to be expensive. This not only looks appealing, but also works reliably. Disturbing background noise is effectively reduced. If the singer is standing close to the microphone, the proximity effect is enhanced even more - an insider tip for particularly voluminous vocals.

www.marantzpro.com | www.inmusicbrands.com | Price: 119 euros

KAOTICA EYEBALL

The Eyeball reflection filter is designed to prevent an acoustically suboptimal environment from introducing unwanted sound reflections or other background noise when recording with a microphone. The microphone is pushed into the black foam ball, and the round opening facing the singer is then closed by a striking blue two-layer pop shield. Eyeball is available to match various large-diaphragm microphones with cardioid characteristics. The results in the test were quite convincing. Negative effects on the sound were limited, at least with inexpensive microphones. And room components were indeed effectively removed, the recordings sound very direct.

Eyeball is rather unsuitable for high-end applications; too much characteristic detail is lost with expensive microphones in a good-sounding room. In the desktop studio, however, the reflection filter serves its purpose. The recordings of vocals and speech sound direct and dry even in acoustically difficult environments, which makes post-processing easier and also encourages experimentation.

www.kaoticaeyeball.com | Price: 138 euros