Acoustic Blanket for TV

Someone DM'ed me to suggest I try a furniture moving blanket. 

So I am now trying out a $20 moving blanket from HomeDepot. I have folded it a few times to gain additional absorption.  So far it sound good.

When I tired a wool blanket, the sound changed for the better.
Good old Army-Navy Surplus.

All the best,
Nonoise

A little bit of a surprise for me is that my Convolution DSP is now altered with this TV and blanket. I will need to redo the acoustic measurements to create new Convolution files. It actually seems like I need to turn of the DSP. However, I have already contacted the DSP expert I have do this for me and I will let him fix the sound. I am sure it will be better than turning it off.

One Owens Corning 703 panel 2'x3'x1" will do the job, cost little, and be light as a feather. You may want to cover it with some fabric. But it will be so light and easily moveable, you could also just hide it behind the TV and only hang it in front when listening to music. 

The thing about fabric, the outer layer has as big or bigger effect as the whole thing. Like nonoise got good results with a wool blanket the surface of which is rather porous. A thick moving quilt might seem better but the tight weave outer shell actually reflects more of the high frequencies we want to absorb. So keep this in mind if you do go with OC703 and select an open weave porous fabric similar to speaker grill cloth for your covering.

Thanks guys. I have the benefit that I do not care what it looks like in my office. Trying the Owen Corning or a Wool blanket is cheaper than redoing my DSP. So I will give that a try first and see if that works with my existing Convolution files.

I just ordered an Owen Corning panel from these guys, 48" x 24" x 1". It has Guilford of Maine acoustic fabric.

https://www.acoustimac.com/

Spacing the blanket a bit off the face of the tv panel might improve lower frequency absorption. It still won't be very low. 

thanks yyz santa - I have the exact same issue, TV to the side, ordered two of the 4x2 panels so I can experiment with some other trouble spots while putting my grandmothers hand quilted wool comforter over the TV while doing my tests, like behind the speakers and over the mirror in back of my listening position.

It almost seems that the natural place to have the TV would be on top of the bookshelf, more or less where the "wheels of Life" picture is.  Then connect TV audio to your stereo and you are good to go.

@jeter You are correct if I wanted to be rational. However, I now have 2 sources of amplification in my setup. I made the mistake of listening to the RAAL S1a ’earphones’ and have now been on a mission to find the perfect amp for it. The KRELL K-300i integrated is the chosen amp for the SR1a. My Thiel CS3.7 will be driven by an all Benchmark stack. I could not part with BM stack to have the KRELL drive both the CS3.7 and the SR1a. I have an amp interface switch from RAAL to make that possible. I would also need to put my source components in-between the speakers if I used the KRELL. That is a non-starter.

I will be watching the TV (my Leafs and Jays) on the TV using the SR1a earphones. It is almost the same experience as with the CS3.7 speakers. Maybe better because I can watch late at night without disturbing anyone.

I did try a broken down 40’ TV in-between the speakers (resting on the floor) last week and it was a nightmare. The side positioning with the moving blanket over the TV is what I am listening to as I type this. It is just a tiny bit fatiguing and the sound overall is a little messed up. That is the reason to try the panel I linked above.

If all fails I put the TV back in the garage with my exercise bike.

@yyzsantabarbara  Must be very nice to have the CS3.7 speakers how you like them. Besides everything else, what a sweet looking pair of speakers.  

@jetter The Thiel CS3.7 have been my second favorite speaker of all-time. There is something about the sound that just felt right to me. The KEF Blade is my fav.

I never had the space for it in the past nor now, but I was able to use DSP with ROON Convolution files to make the sound fit perfectly into the room. Adding this TV has messed that up a bit and I have contacted the sound engineer who created the Convolution files to redo them once I settle on the TV issue.

I bought the Thiel CS3.7 in Oct 2020 from a local-ish seller. The speaker turned out to be in very bad shape. One of the COAX drivers was wired both out of phase and the mid was connected to the hi and the hi to the mid, a catastrophic outcome for the COAX. So I ended up buying 2 brand new COAX’S from the former Thiel Service Tech out in Kentucky. Over the course of about 2 months, he helped me remotely rebuild the speaker.

- I had to re-thread a screw in the ’good’ COAX since the speaker was no longer air sealed
- fix a broken connection in the crossover
- check all the wiring with a meter to verify proper current levels
- paint the speaker black (due to my screw up)

The end result is a speaker that sounds brand new and has new COAX drivers and 2 year old bass drivers. So I think this speaker will outlast me, at least in my office.

Initially I was thinking of using the Yamaha NS5000 in the office but the Thiel had a nostalgic connection for me and I could not be happier with the result. When I was re-building it I was worried about the end result it all turned out well.

The guy at Acoustic Curtains got back to me today. 
https://www.acoustic-curtains.com/curtains/acoustic-curtains/

Our custom made sound absorbing curtains are pleated with 2x fullness using fabric Destiny, Nova Suede or Visa Velvet. Hooks are installed on the back side and the curtain comes ready to hang.

These fabrics and curtain construction were tested at independent acoustical labs and are rated at .65 NRC (this means 65% of the sound that comes in contact with the curtain will be absorbed in the fabric and curtain folds and not reflected back into the room, significantly reducing echo and reverb.

Your Quiet Curtain, 48” wide x 30” high, unlined, costs $275.00.

The panel I got seems like the better solution for the TV. However, I have 2 windows that may benefit from these curtains. 

Another option this time from GIK Acoustics that was recommended to me by the guy who did my GIK panels.

If the problem is only the TV I have had success with using Alphas as they diffuse and absorb. The thicker the better.


One of these:


6A Alpha Series Rectangle with 2D Scattering @ $198.00
https://www.gikacoustics.com/product/6a-alpha-panel-diffusor-absorber/

4A Alpha Series Bass Trap Diffusor/Absorber (Rectangle) with 2D Scattering @ $138.00
https://www.gikacoustics.com/product/4a-alpha-panel-diffusor-acoustic-panel-bass-trap/

An Update:

I received the https://www.acoustimac.com/ panel that was previously mentioned. I am impressed at the ability of this panel to absorb the sound and make the TV doable in-between the speakers. I also have the moving blanket over the TV and then the panel resting against the blanket. So a double shot of solutions.

However, there is still a bit of hardness on the sound that was not there before the TV went in-between the speakers. I think I said I was going to keep the TV to the side of where I sit. It looks like that is what I will do. I wanted to see if the in-between the speakers setup would work.

Prior to trying the blanket and the panel the sound was awful with the TV in the middle. With these 2 I feel it has improved about 90% but that is not good enough.

Thanks OP

The reflections off that TV are not much different than the reflections off a solid wall maybe just 0.2 ms earlier. Your first impression was right. Put the TV between the speakers and re program your filters. They will handle any change made by the TV. Where you have it now is right smack in the way of the most important 1st early reflection. Move it and there will be no need to cover it with anything.

I thought about this a little more last night and decided to dump the TV to the garage and make the sound as good as before the TV went in. The TV I have in the garage is on it's last legs and the office TV will go there. 

@mijostyn Not sure about the wall being the same as the TV with respect to reflections because of what I hear with the TV in-between the speakers. Fatigue or headache is easy to identify. Not like bigger soundstage or blacker background.