Modern recording studios are much different from the studios of the 60s and 70s. Today, we love to have lots of natural light, which means lots of windows. While glass is a decent insulator, it’s pretty reflective, which causes a whole new set of problems, since the best studios closely control those reflections with absorption. That’s especially true in the area around the mixer, and it’s why we create what’s known as a reflection-free zone in that area. But a new kind of acoustic window created by South Korean researchers promises to change all that.The diffraction resonator window increases the isolation of a common double pane glass window by 30dB at frequencies between 200Hz to 5kHz, and 20dB below that. It even allows air inside while keeping sound out. The window is made from an interesting mesh of metamaterials designed as tiny Hemholtz resonators (bass traps).

At first glance it might seem that the increased isolation of the diffraction resonator window is what’s acoustically attractive, which it is. But the other part that’s really cool about it is that you can now have lots of glass in the studio and not have to worry about its reflective properties the way you do with normal glass, since it’s absorbing those reflections while leaving light, and even air, in.

There’s no word on when the diffraction resonator window will hit the market, but they’re supposedly fairly simple to manufacture. That means that we may soon see lots of natural light in future studios everywhere.

If you’re interested in improving the acoustics of your studio, check out The Studio Builder’s Handbook. You can read some excerpts at bobbyowsinski.com.