Mastering Voiceover Recordings with Acoustic Treatment

Hi, I’m Lenny B, an audio engineer passionate about helping voiceover artists, actors, and content creators achieve professional-grade recordings from their home studios. In my latest video, I dive deep into the often-overlooked key to great-sounding voiceovers: acoustic treatment. Whether you're recording audiobooks, video game voiceovers, animations, or marketing content, the quality of your audio can make or break your connection with your audience. Let’s explore how proper acoustic treatment can elevate your recordings and boost your confidence as a creator.

Why Acoustic Treatment Matters

When recording in a home studio—whether it’s a spare bedroom, closet, or dedicated space—your microphone doesn’t just capture your voice. It also picks up reflections, those pesky sound waves that bounce off walls, ceilings, and floors before reaching the mic. These reflections arrive at slightly delayed intervals (think milliseconds), creating a hollow, boxy, or tubey sound that can muddy your recordings. The secret to crisp, professional audio? 💡Maximizing the direct voice while minimizing those reflections.

In the video, I use a simple model to illustrate this. Imagine recording in a typical bedroom with a cardioid microphone. Your voice travels directly to the mic (the good stuff), but it also continues past, hits the walls, and bounces back. While the mic’s rejection side blocks some reflections, others sneak into the sensitive pickup area, causing phase issues and degrading your audio quality. Compare this to recording in an open field with no walls—your mic captures only the pure, direct voice. The goal of acoustic treatment is to recreate that open-field clarity in your recording space.

The Power of Absorption Panels

To achieve this, absorption panels are your best friend. But not all panels are created equal. Common solutions like foam panels or moving blankets often absorb only high frequencies, leaving low and mid-low frequencies to reflect back and muddy your sound. For professional results, industry-standard materials like mineral wool (e.g., Rockwool Safe and Sound or Owens Corning 703/705) are the way to go. These dense, porous panels—typically 5 inches thick or more—effectively absorb a broad range of frequencies, including those resonant low tones that can plague voice recordings.

In the video, I showcase panels from Gik Acoustics, a company I trust for my own studio. Their 242 panels (3.6 inches thick) excel at absorbing high and mid frequencies, while their 244 bass traps (5.25 inches thick) tackle even lower frequencies down to 60-80 Hz. The thicker the panel, the better it handles those tricky low-end reflections that cause boxiness.

Hearing the Difference: A Real-World Example

To demonstrate the impact of reflections, I created a model comparing two audio tracks: one capturing the pure voice and another simulating reflections with low frequencies and a slight delay (0.9 to 3.8 milliseconds). When combined, these reflections create phase issues, resulting in a hollow, less bass-heavy sound. You can hear it for yourself in the video— the pure voice sounds clear and full, while the combined track sounds thin and unnatural.

This brings me to a real-world case study featuring my client, Albert Lee, a voice actor from Mississauga, Ontario. Albert was recording in a walk-in closet lined with foam panels, door closed, but his audio had that telltale hollow, boxy quality. Why? His setup trapped low-frequency reflections, which bounced back into the mic. By repositioning his microphone to face out into a larger room with the closet door open, we reduced those reflections significantly. The larger room allowed sound waves to diffuse, and the mic’s rejection pattern blocked most of the weakened reflections. The result? A warmer, fuller raw recording with less need for corrective processing.

Listen to Albert’s before-and-after clips in the video. The original closet recording sounds constrained, while the reconfigured setup delivers a more balanced, professional sound. With my custom processing applied, Albert’s recordings now have a spacious, polished quality that matches his skill as a communicator.

Practical Tips for Your Studio

You don’t need to cover every inch of your room with expensive panels to get great results. The key is optimizing the ratio of direct voice to reflections. Here are some actionable tips from the video:

1. Understand Your Mic’s Pickup Pattern: A cardioid mic rejects sound from the back and sides. Position it to minimize reflections from nearby walls.
2. Use Quality Absorption Panels: Invest in mineral wool panels for broad-frequency absorption, especially if you’re hearing boxiness in your recordings.
3. Experiment with Room Configuration: Like Albert, try repositioning your mic or opening up your space to diffuse reflections naturally.
4. Test and Listen: Record a sample and listen for hollow or tubey sounds. Adjust your setup to prioritize direct voice capture.

Take Your Recordings to the Next Level

Great audio isn’t just about the microphone or plugins—it starts with a well-treated recording space. A balanced raw recording requires less EQ and corrective processing, letting you focus on sweetening your sound to stand out. As Albert shared, the right setup gave his recordings a “spaciousness” that finally matched how he wanted to sound, earning him praise for a “very professional” performance.

Want to improve your voiceovers? I’ll analyze it for free, offer tips to enhance your setup, and, if your raw audio is solid, send you a sample of my custom processing tailored to your voice. Let’s work together to make your recordings sound as good as your talent!

Check out the full video for a behind-the-scenes look at acoustic treatment and hear Albert’s transformation for yourself. Your audience deserves to hear you at your best—let’s make it happen!

👉 Submit Your Voice For A Free Custom Processed Demo

👉 Lenny's Acoustic Treatment Training Course

👉 Professional Sound Treatment