Acoustic foam is a lightweight material made from polyurethane (either polyether or polyester) or extruded melamine foam. It is usually cut into tiles. One surface of these tiles often features pyramid, cone, wedge, or uneven cuboid shapes. Acoustic foam tiles are suited to placing on sonically reflective surfaces to act as sound absorbers, thus enhancing or changing the sound properties of a room.
This type of sound absorption is different from soundproofing, which is typically used to keep sound from escaping or entering a room rather than changing the properties of sound within the room itself.
Acoustic foam panels typically suppress reverberations in the mid and high frequencies. To deal with lower frequencies, much thicker pieces of acoustic foam (often in metal or wood enclosures) can be placed in the corners of a room and are called acoustic foam bass traps.