Acoustical Solutions, Inc.: AlphaSorb Fabric Wrapped Cloud

My control room has an open "A-Frame" ceiling with a single steel beam forming the horizontal element of the A. When we designed the room, not only did we choose to keep the ceiling open, but we wanted to highlight the ceiling with upward-pointing flood lights to make the room feel more spacious, (The control room is the only room in the building without windows.) But we also knew we'd have problems with the sloped ceiling focusing first reflections at the listening position, causing anything but a "focused" sound. So I spec'ed out AlphaSorb acoustic clouds from Acoustical Solutions. I ordered four 2'' thick, 6 ft x 2 ft clouds with the lower face and edges wrapped in Guilford fabric and with brackets (suspended-ceiling runners) attached to the upper (hidden) face. Using a system of steel angles, C-clamps, and 20-gauge steel wire, I installed these below the aforementioned steel beam. I angled each cloud to minimize reflections at the listening position. (It took me one evening to install the clouds by myself.) The clouds are just wide enough to treat the listening position while still leaving enough open space around them so the room doesn't feel smaller. Sonically, they do exactly what I'd hoped they do. All the usual words come to mind-tight, accurate, focused-without the room sounding too dead. (For photos and measurements, see www.kimcheerecords.com/articles/studioacoustics/.) The clouds, which are easy to dent, came via a contract shipping company. They were well-packed and arrived in perfect condition. See Acoustical Solutions' website for fabric choices, custom sizing, and sound-absorption coefficients.