Is Cork Effective in Room Treatment?

The Cork you mention is non linear and effects only the uppermost frequencies. You're better off using Owens Corning or Johns Manville fiberglass. Both companies make high density products specifically designed for this purpose.

Their materials requires only one inch thickness to be effective well into the lower midrange frequencies. Applications of up to five inches are linear into the lowest bass region, but unless you are really dedicated, one or two inches is sufficient.

Covering the panels has been discussed here many times, begin with acoustically transparent cloth that suits your taste and either cover the entire wall, or begin with just the problem areas.

To find the very first point of reflection, have a friend hold a full length mirror against the side wall. Viewed from your listening "hot spot," and moving the mirror until you see the speaker's reflection. This is the first reflection point.

The two acoustic companies links follow:

http://www.owenscorning.com/around/sound/acoustic.html

http://www.jm.com/wallcoverings/index.shtml

You might want to use Profoam for your primary reflection points if you can manage to ship it cost effectively. I am using Level Ones in my system and am very pleased. I will use drapes and tapestries for the rest of my rental apartment. Try www.audioadvisor.com for RPGs.

I found Profoam to be a MASSIVE joke. What costs less than $5 to produce is sold for multitudes beyond its' true value. My suggestion is to look at some of the various DIY designs if you are at all handy and go from there. They will perform WAY, WAY better and cost measurably less. Much like cork, Profoam is quite non-linear in its absorption ratios and can skew the tonal balance of a system. Sean
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Sonex panels are fairly reasonable also. They come in 24in x 60in x 2in panels. I have found them very effective. I cut some of them into 12in. squares and lined the back wall in a checkerboard fashion and also used them for the first reflection points. I purchased mine from Audio Advisor. Dale