With two opposing reflective surfaces of a room (parallel wall to parallel wall or floor to ceiling) there is always a possibility for flutter echoes. Successive, repetitive reflections, equally spaced in time, can produce a perception of a pitch or timbre coloration of music and a reduction in the speech intelligibility within the room.

Flutter echo can be reduced in one of two ways, with the use of sound absorption or sound diffusion. Flutter echoes can be acoustically treated with careful placement of sound absorption materials such as foam or wall panels on the walls or ceiling tiles, baffles or banners in the ceiling. The idea here is to absorb the sound wave at one or both surfaces and keep that sound wave from reflecting of the surface back towards the noise source.

Flutter echoes can also be acoustically treated with the use of sound diffusers. Sound diffusers are multi-faceted, slotted or curved materials that are reflective in nature and are designed to scatter or redirect sound waves. The sound diffusers can break up flutter echo within a room by taking the sound waves and sending them in different directions and eliminating the repetitive reflections caused by reflective, parallel surfaces.

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