2. misc-audio
  3. 153468-1880

Would this room treatment be worthwhile?

I have a 63" wall mounted plasma TV between my Rockport Mira 2 speakers.  The Rockports are 11 feet apart and 3 feet from the back wall.  I'm thinking of designing and hanging some sort of heavy fabric cover over the entire surface area of the TV when I'm listening to music in hopes of improving SQ (i.e. absorption, imaging).  Have any of you tried this with positive results?  If so, what do you recommend the cover consist of?  My wife is pretty handy with a sewing machine so I could fit fiberglass insulation between two blankets or comforters if need be.  Other ideas would be appreciated.

My floor is carpeted and I already have 6 RPG "BAD" panels mounted at various positions around the room so this is not my first attempt at room treatment.  The room is in the basement and dimensions are 20'W X 25'L X 9'H  with the system along the 20' wall.
I know I could just go ahead and try something but I wanted to see if others already had before I put my wife to work!
shoff
15 responses Add your response
slaw's avatar
slaw
21,402 posts
 
I’ve experimented for years in my room. Before putting your wife to work, go find some dacron. It’s available at upholstery vendors in various sizes. It can be halved by carefully separating/splitting it, for experimentation. In large rolls, it comes mostly as 3/4 oz or 1 & 1&1/4 oz thicknesses. I use is currently behind my thin curtain on the front wall covering my center window. I just hang it with zip ties to the curtain rod. Experimenting with different thicknesses is very enlightening.
Good Luck!

IME, going heavy, sucked the life out of the music.
fertguy's avatar
fertguy
303 posts
 
When I listen to music in bed the 80" mirror on my headboard caused lots of reflection.  I installed a sound absorbing window blind.  Works great.
david_ten
5,480 posts
 
@ebm  A Stillpoints dealer is bringing a few of the Aperture panels for an in home demonstration. I'll reach out via message for more details on your experience. Thanks.
ebm
9,311 posts
 
Stillpoint Apature Acoustic panels are the best by far.They make a noticeable difference in acoustics in any room.
david_ten
5,480 posts
 
Identifying a single data point is attribution, not causality. There is no way for you to know of "contributions" from other variables. For example (being cheeky) one might say it was the lightning surge that "treated" the room or (being cheekier) your power cords. : )

You need to test and retest to be certain. And yes, that means putting the new TV back on the wall and removing it, and putting it back on. It’s wise, smart and educational to confirm or eliminate.

A "four" to "six or seven" jump (your measure) is a 50% to 75% jump in system performance.

If my stereo was a four on a scale of one to ten it suddenly became a six or seven without the TV present.

kingharold
304 posts
 
Coincidentally, I had a sixty-five inch flat screen between and just behind the plane of my speakers.  A lighting surge took out the TV several months ago.  If my stereo was a four on a scale of one to ten it suddenly became a six or seven without the TV present.  The replacement TV has been sitting in our foyer in the box for at least two  months.  The stereo is immensely better without the big reflective TV there.  Even my wife can hear the huge improvement in the stereo to the extent that she hasn't pressured me to set up the new TV.
shoff OP
133 posts
 
Ok, so I tried eric_squires' suggestion and hung a large down-filled quilt over the entire surface of the TV.  I invited my audiophile, musician friend with excellent hearing over to listen.  We played several pieces of classical, jazz and rock with and without the covering.  After several with/without, with/without back and forth, the verdict was unanimous.  Voices lost their luster and instruments lost their realism with the covering in place.  Go Figure!  I might try other solutions but now I'm wondering if there is really a problem!
ddude003
161 posts
 
@audiozenology is correct... Any diffusion or absorption is better than nothing... I would look at putting a 2 inch thick wideband absorber over the surface of the plasma TV and some diffusion above and to the sides if there is room... I use a GIK Art panel my self with a custom image I supplied... Sure you will have to rig a custom padded bracket to hang the absorber over the TV with but it will be worth it... Use REW to "see" what is going on in your room... I would guess you might need more bass trapping also... Good luck in your quest for audio nirvana...
audiozenology
362 posts
 
Front wall between the speakers one would be more inclined to use diffusion as opposed to absorption, but given your limitations, anything will be better than nothing.


A blanket as suggested is going to work over too limited a frequency range. Heavy pleated curtains may work well as the first wave from the speakers will be at a sharp angle and hit multiple pleats.
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,417 posts
 
+1 Erik. If you like the way your system is currently tuned, this mild absorbion will improve the focus of the image by removing the reflections from the TV.
 



erik_squires
16,056 posts
 
I suggest you try this out on the cheap and see if it's worth it. :) Throw a blanket over the TV to experiment. If you feel the improvement is worth while then you can move onto other solutions, such as curtains, etc.
twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,318 posts
 

A pair of these

https://www.gikacoustics.com/product/freestand-acoustic-panel-gobo/

sitting somewhere approx. between the edges of the flatscreen and the inner back speakers, at an angle (experiment) (i.e. neither parallel nor perpendicular to the wall behind) will work wonders. Depending on the amount of space, you may not even have to move them to watch TV.

rego
378 posts
 
You want absorption!
If you don't you will have diffracted reflection on a panel on the wall.
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,417 posts
 
You don't want to go too heavy or you'll be creating an absorbion panel. This will affect imaging and other sonics. 
I use a cotton blanket, my flat screen is also between the speakers. Or use something light and porous as suggested above.

rego
378 posts
 
Sounds 'just right' ... maybe some polyfill instead of glass fibre.
Light / porous enough for air to flow in.
Should be available at a fabric outlet.
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