Speaker Cloth 2.0 - water-repellent

Sound transparency and water repellence are not mutually exclusive!

Our Speaker Cloth 2.0 was developed to protect your valuable speakers from splashing or dripping water. It is therefore ideal when speakers are to be used outdoors. It is also extremely useful in a wide range of other outdoor applications where protection against the effects of liquids and maximum acoustic transparency are required.

Permanently water-repellent and washable
Speaker Cloth 2.0 achieves its water-repellent properties through a special finish using a complex plasma process. Plasmas are ionised gases that contain ions, free electrons, excited molecules, radicals and molecular fragments. The excited particles bond permanently with the fibre during treatment so that the water-repellent properties are not lost through wear (e.g. friction) or cleaning (washing, ironing, brushing). This distinguishes it from textiles in which the water-repellent agent is only applied to the surface.

»The Spheres« is a recording studio and events space in Pescara-Montesilvano (Italy) on the Adriatic coast, offering state of the art audio and video equipment as well as an active concert calendar. Without doubt, the studio, which also offers mixing and mastering services along with outstanding recording opportunities, can be considered one of the finest recording studios in northern Italy and even beyond – especially for classical, jazz, and world music. It is available to all labels, engineers, projects, and artists who want to benefit from the extraordinarily high levels of acoustic and technical standards that characterize the studio throughout.

The studio was designed principally for acoustic music, but is versatile and welcomes all genres. It was rapidly constructed inside an adapted warehouse between November 2016 and May 2017. Planning and acoustic design was by producer, sound engineer, and studio owner John Anderson. The classical pianist, who runs the record label Odradek Records, holds two performance degrees from the Accademia Musicale Pescarese and a degree in musicology from the University of Oxford. 

Having had a look at samples of our Acoustic Cloth 2.0, John decided to use this stain-resistant, liquid-repellent, and B2 fire-rated fabric for the numerous wall and absorber covering purposes in the recording rooms and the control room of his studio. Altogether, 160 square metres of Acoustic Cloth 2.0 and 250 metres of our adhesive hook fastener tape were used in the construction of »The Spheres«.

The main room offers 135 square metres of space and a diffuse sound field that is achieved with eight 2D QRD »Skywalker Sound« replica movable diffusors/gobos, and a further 144 2D QRD »BBC style« diffusors mounted on the walls. Every corner has a wedge bass trap from floor to ceiling, a column of 115kg per cubic meter dense rock wool covered with Acoustic Cloth 2.0, which help control the room’s bass build-up and modal distribution. The dropped ceiling is sound absorbent. The floating walls are insulated and isolated via rubber decouplers from the structural walls behind. The result is a silent, world class lively ambience with no boomy bass build-up confusion and silky-smooth highs with no harsh flutter echoes.



The control room features 48 square meters with four-metre ceilings and has a separated machine room. It is a Tom Hidley »non-environment room«-inspired design with vertical and horizontal wave guides angled to capture incoming sound from their opposite side monitor. Sound is trapped by eight cm of dense rockwool behind. Unabsorbed energy is directed away from engineer’s listening position to create a reflection free space, ensuring accurate monitoring. The waveguides are completely covered by Acoustic Cloth 2.0 for an elegant finish.



If you want to get a more detailed impression of the construction process as well as the finished studio, have a look at their amazing construction book and visit the studio’s website.