A Guide to Soundproofing Existing Walls

A Guide to Soundproofing Existing Walls: Best Products of 2022

If you live in a noisy area with a lot of external sources of sound like construction, traffic, or noisy neighbors, you might want to soundproof your rooms to get some quiet time. On the other hand, if you're a musician, you might want a soundproof wall and doors to make sure that you do not disturb the people around you.

While there aresimple DIY ways for soundproofing existing walls, they might not always be completely effective. In this article, we talk about the best products available today that can help you with your soundproofing efforts.

In a hurry ? Here are our top picks

Quick Guide

If you’re in a hurry, here are our top picks for the best solutions for soundproofing existing walls based on different requirements.

Best Overall: Xin&Log Acoustic Foam Panels

“I’ve seen these in the background of quite a few YouTube videos and decided to try them myself. I must say, they are all they’re cracked up to be. Easy to install, fun to look at, and have definitely dampened the sound in my room by well over 60%!! I would highly recommend these to everyone!”

Best Budget: Xin&Log Acoustic Foam Panel Wall Tiles

“We ordered 92 of these and made our basement really soundproof for rehearsing. It’s amazing how much better it sounds and how quiet it is outside the house now. We won’t be bothering the neighbors with rehearsal anymore!”

Best For Large Areas: HPKL9999 96 Pack Soundproof Foam

“They expand to what I see as an average thickness for sound foam. Great price and loved the ability to order just under 100 pads for just under $100. Great buy for the person who needs many on an economy budget.”

Best For Small Areas: Jardeon Decorative Acoustic Panels

“These really cut down on outside noise in our bedroom. Perhaps it’s not the intended use, but we put these on our glass sliding doors to keep outside noise down, and I’d say it cut down the noise we hear by at least 50-75%. It was a great investment for us and our sleeping!”

Best in Design: Dekiru 12 Pack Acoustic Panels Soundproof Padding

“This worked very well for a project I had sound deadening a door to my laundry room. It looks great and combined with a sound deadening mat behind it, this thing is sound for breakfast!”

1. Dekiru 12 Pack Acoustic Panels Soundproof Padding

Coming in a black color and hexagonal shape, these acoustic panels from Dekiru offer sound dampening and can be used in both offices and homes. The hexagonal design ensures that the panels fit well with each other in six different directions, and the finished product will also look great because of the design.

The panels are also easy to cut with a knife. If you want to cover an entire wall and are worried about the gaps left by the hexagonal design, you can easily cut up some parts and fix them in the open area for a complete soundproof experience.

The panels come in an odorless, non-toxic, and flame retardant design, making them a great choice for indoor use. They are made out of polyester fiber, making it safe to breathe near them or touch them. This makes it safe for use around kids and pets, as well.

The panels are of excellent quality and can be used for professional studios, rehearsal rooms, concert halls, podcasting, and other voice or music based venues that need proper soundproofing.

The panels have a cotton body on the inside containing lots of holes. This means that the sound enters the body and is absorbed easily. This can also help prevent echoes and similar problems.

The panels are available in a lot of different colors, as well. According to a verified Amazon user, “I bought these because of their sleek, low profile design, and white color. The white color panels look fantastic on my white ceilings. Mission accomplished there.”

Specifications

  • Brand: Deriku
  • Color: Black
  • Panel dimensions: 7 inch edge
  • Number of panels: 12
  • Shape: Hexagonal
  • Package dimensions: 14.37 x 12.87 x 4.8 inches
  • Item weight: 3.52 pounds

Pros

Pros
  • Hexagonal shape of the panels ensure aesthetic and decorative looks as well as proper fitting in multiple directions
  • Easy to cut with a knife, making it easier to cover large surfaces more thoroughly
  • Cotton body with air holes ensures proper absorption of sound
  • Quality construction and polyester fiber material used ensure that it is safe for kids and pets

Cons

Cons
  • Sound absorbing, not completely canceling, as suggested by reviews
  • Do not come with surface adhesive, so you will have to incur extra costs in purchasing it separately

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2. Xin&Log Acoustic Foam Panel Wall Tiles

Coming in a rectangular shape and made out of foam, these tiles from Xin&Log come in a pack of 48 rectangular black tiles that can be used to cover up all sides of a room for a great soundproofing experience. This makes them great for studios, vocal boots, and control rooms, where noise from external sources can be a problem.

Another reason why these products are great for soundproofing existing walls is because of their high overall noise reduction that helps absorb mid to high range frequencies and diminish echoes effectively.

The construction of these tiles is made from high quality sound absorbing foam with a cell structure that helps flutter echoes and reduces excess reflections and reverberation. It also improves the vocal clarity and acoustics of your room.

The shape of the tiles lets you cover your walls and doors completely as an effective wallpaper without having to cut anything out.

These tiles come in a vacuumed package to save space. A verified Amazon user has said, “They leave instructions to open the package to take them out and let them sit 24 hours to re expand fully and holy crap do they expand. It only takes a few seconds to expand back to size, but overnight is better to let all the small nubs straighten out.”

Specifications

  • Brand: Xin&Log
  • Color: Black
  • Panel dimensions: 12 x 12 x 1 inches
  • Number of panels: 48
  • Shape: Square
  • Package dimensions: 11.02 x 11.02 x 3.94 inches
  • Item weight: 3.56 pounds

Pros

Pros
  • Proper squared shape of each tile lets you cover up all surfaces as required
  • Product comes with 48 panels for a complete experience and coverage
  • Foam construction ensures effective noise cancellation of airborne noise because of the high noise reduction coefficient

Cons

Cons
  • You will have to wait for the tile to completely expand before setting it up. If it does not, you will have to put it in water and wring it out for a better experience.
  • Some tiles might not be cut straight and will have to be stretched to fill in the gaps.

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3. HPKL9999 96 Pack Soundproof Foam

This pack of 96 soundproof foam tiles can be used to give a professional sound quality experience to the rooms in your house. They’re excellent options for recording studios and vocal booths because of their sturdy construction.

The square shape of the panels also makes them perfect for use on corner walls and ceilings. The soundproofing materials used in the construction of these tiles is made out of high quality foam.

Because they’re made of foam, you might see some dust collecting on them over long term exposure. Light dusting or vacuuming will get rid of this problem.

The quality of the tiles is according to the price point, and a verified Amazon user has suggested that you should not expect too much out of them. Another user has claimed, “This product works as advertised. I used it to cover the walls in my music room as opposed to repainting. It was much easier, neater and faster than painting.”

The tiles also come in a vacuum packed package, which means that you cannot use them straight out of the box and will have to wait for 12 to 24 hours before they can be put up.

Specifications

  • Color: Black
  • Panel dimensions: 12 x 12 x 1 inches
  • Number of panels: 48
  • Shape: Square
  • Package dimensions: 8.27 x 8.27 x 0.39 inches
  • Item weight: 11.3 ounces

Pros

Pros
  • Excellent for studios and recording rooms because of its sound absorbing properties
  • Square shape ensures that corners and entire walls can be covered properly
  • Comes in a large pack of 96 tiles to help you cover larger areas

Cons

Cons
  • Light vacuuming and cleaning might be needed after long term exposure
  • Cannot be used right out of the box

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4. Xin&Log Acoustic Foam Panels

Coming in a large pack of 96 panels, this set of tiles from Xin&Log will help you not only get a proper soundproofing experience but will also give you an aesthetic appeal because of its red and black sets. With 48 tiles each of red and black color, you can create designs on your wall by alternating these colors while setting them up.

The foam construction of the tiles ensures that you get a high noise reduction, while the square tiles ensure that covering up entire walls and ceilings is an easy task.

This makes it suitable for audio recording and playing venues like vocal booths, control rooms, and studios. The tiles come in a compressed state out of the box, which means that you will have to wait for 12 to 24 hours before you can set them up. During this time, the tiles will slowly decompress and reach their full size.

If they do not, you can put them in water and wring them out to help them reach their full size and achieve the highest possible sound absorption properties.

As mentioned by a verified Amazon user, “I had to soak most of them in water and manually un-squish the edges because they were so compact from shipping the edges and corners were basically solid, but in the long run I am very happy.”

Specifications

  • Brand: Xin&Log
  • Color: Black and Burgundy
  • Panel dimensions: 12 x 12 x 1 inches
  • Number of panels: 96
  • Shape: Square
  • Package dimensions: 11.02 x 11.02 x 7.87 inches
  • Item weight: 6.93 pounds

Pros

Pros
  • High quality foam construction that gives you an excellent noise reduction coefficient for maximum sound absorption
  • Double tone black and burgundy colors let you decorate your wall in better styles than a single color
  • Ideal for use in recording studios and home theatres as well as karaoke rooms

Cons

Cons
  • Product does not ship with an adhesive or green glue, make sure you buy it separately
  • Will absorb most sound of medium to high frequencies but will not provide complete soundproofing

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5. Jardeon Decorative Acoustic Panels

Available in a clean white color, among others, these decorative acoustic panels for soundproofing existing walls come in a square shape with a 12 x 12 inch size and 0.4 inches of thickness. They are quite lightweight, weighing in at just around two and a half pounds.

The material used in these panels will absorb any type of noise that you might experience in your soundproofing projects, and can absorb up to 80% of the sound insulation board.

If you decide to cover up an entire wall or a door with a sound barrier, for example in music studios, these tiles will reduce noise, eliminate sound impurities, and improve speech intelligibility, making it a great fit for venues where you might want to record an audio clip or some type of music.

The panels are also quite environment friendly and come in a formaldehyde free construction, making it safe for your home or office. The tiles do not come with an adhesive, so you will have to buy some yourself, but it can easily be set up on your walls using double sided tape.

The lightness of the tiles will also ensure that the paint on your wall does not get damaged while putting them on or taking them off.

One thing you might want to keep in mind is that the white color on the tiles might be susceptible to stains and impurities if touched frequently. According to a verified Amazon user, “DO NOT, under any circumstances, touch the white ones. Wear gloves, wash hands, etc. Two of mine are completely unusable due to very mild contact with other surfaces. I have tried to scrape and wash the spots. no luck.”

Specifications

  • Brand: Jardeon
  • Color: White
  • Panel dimensions: 12 x 12 x 0.4 inches
  • Number of panels: 6
  • Shape: Square
  • Package dimensions: 12 x 12 x 0.4 inches
  • Item weight: 2.43 pounds

Pros

Pros
  • Clean white color of the tiles can give your studio an aesthetic look
  • Foam construction offers superior soundproofing capabilities
  • Can be used not only as a soundproof blanket for internal noises but can also prevent external noises from disturbing your peace and quiet

Cons

Cons
  • At 0.4 inches thick, these tiles are not the thickest options available on our list. However, if you’re looking for a lightweight option, these can be an excellent fit for you.
  • The package only comes with 6 tiles, so if you want to cover a larger area of your room, you might want to order more than one package.

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Buyer’s Guide

While it is important to know the specifications, pros, and cons of all the options for soundproofing existing walls on this list, it does not help you choose which of these items will be the best fit according to your requirements.

So, based on the best qualities of each of these products, we have put together a comprehensive buyer’s guide to help you figure out which of these options will work out best for you.

Best Overall: Xin&Log Acoustic Foam Panels

The Xin&Log Acoustic Foam Panels are our favorite choice on our list as they give you a good balance between functionality, price, and design.

Best Budget: Xin&Log Acoustic Foam Panel Wall Tiles

If you’re looking for something within a budget that will give you the most bang for your buck, the 96 tiles present in this Xin&Log package will be an excellent choice for you.

Best For Large Areas: HPKL9999 96 Pack Soundproof Foam

If you have a studio or recording room that you need completely covered, just getting a pack of 6 or 12 panels will not do the job. If you have a large area you need to soundproof with an additional layer of acoustic tile, this option of 96 tiles from HPKL9999 can be a great fit for your needs.

Best For Small Areas: Jardeon Decorative Acoustic Panels

Not everyone needs to cover up an entire room with an extra layer of acoustic tiles. If you just need something that you can use behind your TV or sound system to prevent reverberation and echoes, this product from Jardeon can be a great fit for you.

Best in Design: Dekiru 12 Pack Acoustic Panels Soundproof Padding

Square tiles can look out of place and ruin the aesthetic of your house. If you want something that can absorb unnecessary sounds while also providing you with visually appealing decorations, these hexagonal tiles by Dekiru can be a great fit for you.

FAQs

Q: Do I need soundproofing tiles?

A: If you work in a place that requires high quality of audio input, yes. These tiles absorb reverberations and echos, cleaning out the quality of sound. If there is a microphone input, they will also filter out static and feedback caused by echos.

Conversely, if you live in a high volume area, these tiles can help you block out noise like traffic and construction and give you a better environment to study, sleep, or work in.

Q: How do soundproofing tiles work?

A: The construction of soundproofing tiles, which is usually made from foam or cellulose, absorbs extra noise and prevents it from transmitting or echoing. This gives you a quiet environment for your audio needs.

Q: What kind of adhesive should I use to put the tiles up?

A: Since most tiles do not ship with an adhesive, you will have to buy your own. Make sure that you use something that does not damage your paint or leave marks on it when it’s time to switch the tiles out. Double sided tape is an excellent way to put up these soundproofing tiles.

Q: How often do I need to clean my tiles?

A: Like every other surface in your house, these tiles might see some dust building up on them. The good thing is that these foam tiles, especially the ones that come in darker colors, are quite easy to clean. Some light dusting or vacuuming once every week or twice a month can help you keep them clean and in good shape.

Q: How effective are these acoustic tiles?

A: You cannot achieve professional level studio environments with acoustic tiles alone. Complete soundproofing is a very complicated and expensive task, but these options will help you block out over 80% of background noise to give you a good experience.

Final Word

A large number of people need their homes or office spaces to be soundproof, but you cannot always expect the conditions outside your control to work out in your favor. If you want products for soundproofing existing walls, acoustic tiles are the best options you can go for.

We hope that this review has helped you pick out the best option for you based on your requirements. If you’re interested in similar topics, feel free to check out our other articles, as well!