Integer Audio · GroundControl Nodal Series
Every small studio has the same untreated problem: bass modes below 60 Hz that ring for over a second after the music stops. Broadband panels can't reach them. The Nodal 30 is built specifically for that range.
Every rectangular room resonates at specific frequencies determined by its dimensions. Bass bounces between parallel walls and builds into standing waves — room modes — that make certain notes ring audibly after the music stops. Your monitors go silent. The room keeps playing.
Standard acoustic treatment such as broadband panels, foam corners, mineral wool work above 60 Hz. In the sub-60 Hz range, passive porous absorbers are physically incapable of meaningful absorption without impractical thickness.
In a typical untreated residential studio, the room is still ringing at 35 Hz for over a second after the music stops. Every bass decision you make is filtered through that resonance.
The Nodal 30 uses tuned resonant absorption via a diaphragmatic piston mechanism to address this specific range efficiently at 241 mm total depth. It works where panels cannot, and works alongside them where both contribute.
The Nodal 30 and broadband panels are complementary by design as they cover adjacent frequency ranges with minimal redundancy. Together they address the entire bass problem range. Separately, each only solves half of it.
Tuned resonant absorber. Targets the axial room modes your room dimensions produce at 20–60 Hz. Corner-mounted where modal pressure is highest. The only passive tool that addresses this range at practical depth.
Fills a gap with a better solution.
4-inch panels (α=0.43 at 63 Hz, 0.62 at 80 Hz, 0.97 at 125 Hz). At 30% room surface coverage, panels fully address everything above 60 Hz and contribute meaningfully through the 60–80 Hz transition zone.
Source material: Owens Corning ISO 354 published data.
A sealed-cavity Tuned Diaphragmatic Absorber: a Richlite membrane with compliant bonding to a Baltic birch frame, acting as a decoupled rigid piston. When bass at the target frequency strikes the membrane, it resonates and dissipates acoustic energy as heat through the Owens Corning 705 cavity fill. Q=1.0 is the impedance-matched operating point for this membrane mass and cavity depth — maximum integrated absorption with no over-damping penalty.
Deep Bass Modal Absorber · Richlite + MLV · Q=1.0 · corner-optimised
Q=1.0 is not an arbitrary choice. At this membrane mass (13.7 kg/m² with MLV) and cavity depth (215 mm), Q=1.0 is the radiation-damping impedance match — the operating point where integrated absorption across the 20–60 Hz range is maximised. Lowering Q reduces both peak alpha and total absorption work. Raising Q narrows bandwidth without proportional gain. The model confirms this analytically.
The −3 dB points at Q=1.0 span 20–52 Hz, covering the first and second axial modes in typical studio rooms (4.5–8 m length range).
The physics of room modes means energy is highest at corners — pressure antinodes where all three axial mode families reach maximum amplitude simultaneously. Placing an absorber there multiplies its effective contribution by a factor of four compared to mid-wall placement.
All axial room modes have pressure maxima at room boundaries. At a corner, three mode families intersect — the corner is the highest-pressure point in the room. G_corner = 4.0: a unit here does four times the work of the same unit in open space.
The Richlite + MLV membrane resonates at 35 Hz. As it vibrates, it dissipates energy through the OC705 cavity fill as heat. The membrane is the absorber — the cavity fill controls damping. This is what allows meaningful absorption at 215 mm where porous materials need 500+ mm.
Stack up to four Nodal 30 units in each corner. The model accounts for sub-linear stacking efficiency (1.0 / 0.9 / 0.82 / 0.75 per unit) — 4 units contribute 3.47× not 4×. The acoustic heatmap simulator projects exactly how many units your specific room needs to hit target T60 at each mode frequency.
The built-in REW waterfall import workflow computes T60M at every mode frequency from your actual measurement. Import your before waterfall: the model calibrates to your room. Install units. Import after: the model validates predictions against measurement with percentage residuals per mode.
Nodal 30 units stack vertically in a corner — one unit per corner for most rooms, two or more for larger spaces or deeper treatment. All units are identical. Step through the assembly and drag to inspect from any angle.
Enter your room dimensions, construction type, and broadband panel coverage. The acoustic heatmap simulator predicts T60 at every axial mode frequency before and after Nodal 30 placement — including REW waterfall import to calibrate predictions against your actual measurements.
Enter room dimensions, wall construction, and broadband panel coverage (%). The simulator computes modal frequencies, predicts T60 pre and post treatment, and projects how many Nodal 30 units are needed to reach target at each mode. Import a REW waterfall to calibrate predictions to your specific room.
Free. No registration required. Export results as JSON or PDF.
Not everyone is comfortable reading REW waterfall plots. The Live Energy Decay Meter is a browser-based tool that plays bass tones through your monitors and measures how long they ring in your room — no software to install, no learning curve. Run it before you install Nodal 30 units to confirm you have a problem, and again after to see exactly what changed.
Enter room dimensions and short bass tones (based on your room modes) are played through your studio monitors, then measures how long each one keeps ringing in your room. Before installing Nodal 30 units, you'll see decay times well above the professional target. After installation, those numbers drop — and the tool shows you the exact improvement at each frequency.
Free. Runs in your browser. Exports a before/after PDF report.
Before you open the tool:
1. Turn on your studio monitors or subwoofer and connect them to your computer.
2. Place a microphone at your mix position — where you sit when you work.
3. Keep the room quiet while the test runs (no fans, no HVAC if possible).
The tool will ask for microphone permission when it opens. Allow it to begin.
Opens in a new tab · Monitors + mic required
CNC-cut 15 mm Baltic birch plywood frame with a clear hardwax oil finish. Richlite membrane finished with Hardwax Oil to an obsidian matte black. A 6 mm birch ply reveal borders the membrane on all four sides — airtight seal, acoustically neutral frame.
The Nodal 30 is currently in pre-production. Register your interest to be notified when units are available, receive pricing information first, and get access to the full technical guide.
© 2026 Integer Audio LLC · Specifications subject to change pending prototype validation