[THROWBACK]

Like many of you, I'm sure, I have a large (75") flat-screen Sony TV mounted on the wall directly over my equipment cabinet behind my speakers. I keep hearing (no pun intended) that this arrangement is doing bad things to my imaging. The cheapest solution, I guess, would be to go to Goodwill, buy an old Army blanket, and drape it over the screen for listening sessions. A more elegant solution would be to mount a motorized, roll-down, audiophile-approved, remote-operated acoustic screen above my TV. No muss; no fuss.

A coupla questions:
1. Does anyone make such a gadget?
2. Is it (or even an Army blanket) worth the trouble?
3. Are there better solutions?

Thanks, Chuck

[TomS]

I use 2 RPG 2x4' diffuser panels, just set them up on my cabinet in front of the TV, then move them down on the floor to each side when watching TV. It works very well in my situation. A blanket (or drapes) really doesn't help much acoustically, at least according to experts at GIK, Realtraps, etc.

[Mariusz Uszynski]

I threw a big blanket over my 85" Sony (wall mounted) for about 10-15 min.It's hard to say, if I felt the difference with the blanket.Face of my speakers is 4ft from the front wall.Tom's, on his picture looks like at least 5ft.I wonder, how far are your speakers from the front wall Mr.Throwback?Good topic.One thing I forgot to mention, at the time of my lil' experiment, I was listening to metal cd.

[WGH]

I use a Mexican blanket, it makes a noticeable improvement by attenuating high frequencies - focus and depth is enhanced. I have a pair of ATS acoustic panels that were temporarily installed in front of and then on each side of the TV to see what they would do and they completely deadened the sound. The Mexican blanket has the perfect mix of absorbed and reflected sound.



More ideas:
How to Treat an 85" TV
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=175028.msg1846123#msg1846123

[THROWBACK]

Good references, WGH. Thanks.
A Mexican blanket is considerably heavier that the ordinary wool blanket. Did you try others?

[WGH]

This Mexican blanket is lightweight. I haven't tried others, they would be too ugly.

[tull skull]

If you like the way your system sounds then don't fret.

 As long as the screen plane is not in line with the speaker faces you are ahead of the curve.

Anything occupying that space is undesired in my book.

 

[Rob Babcock]

The blanket doesn't look bad!

[THROWBACK]

If you like the way your system sounds then don't fret. (Tull Skull)

I confess: I am a fretter. I'm always looking to make my system sound better. And I suspect the same is true of everyone on this forum. I mean, why else be here?

Here's a (slightly dated) picture of my system. (Not shown is a 7' Steinway grand in the back corner.)

I'm lucky to have an indulgent wife.

[Mariusz Uszynski]

If you like the way your system sounds then don't fret. (Tull Skull)

I confess: I am a fretter. I'm always looking to make my system sound better. And I suspect the same is true of everyone on this forum. I mean, why else be here?

Here's a (slightly dated) picture of my system. (Not shown is a 7' Steinway grand in the back corner.)

I'm lucky to have an indulgent wife.

And you were worried about your flat screen.Really???That indulgent wife of yours, does she have a sister?

[dpatters]

I have 86” tv. I don’t bother.



Don P.

[Charles Xavier]

Google moving blankets

[Jan_Mc]

I LOVE the RCA dog statue.  The rest of your system looks great too but the statue really makes it.

[tull skull]

Honestly I was trying to be non confrontational but since you are trying to improve then I am going to say it. A big flat surface is likely to be a negative and so is a big flat slightly softer surface. You have already done a great job so experiment man! (That's a beautiful room).

See if anything makes a difference to you with some makeshift treatments and then decide if you want to get more serious.

Check out what the guys have done with their fireplaces. That's a tougher fix than a screen because it isn't going anywhere!

[Tyson]

You could put a motorized shelf that raises the TV out of the way.  But a better approach might be a motorized piece of room treatment that can drop down in front of the TV, for music listening, and the pulled out of the way by the motor when you are watching TV.

[tull skull]

Tou could make a Quadratic or binary diffusor that you could hang off your tv. Paying attention to weight and materials which unfortunately can compromise their effectiveness but let's face it, you being in the room compromises the sound.

Here is a binary diffusor built for the front wall.

[THROWBACK]

Thanks for the comments. I still like my idea of a motorized drop-down cover (like a movie screen, but with more suitable material). But first, I'm going to experiment with a throw-over blanket of some sort.

[Saturn94]

Thanks for the comments. I still like my idea of a motorized drop-down cover (like a movie screen, but with more suitable material). But first, I'm going to experiment with a throw-over blanket of some sort.

Definitely experiment before spending $$$.

I tried a heavy blanket over my 60” TV and was surprised the sound was worse; sucked a bit of life out if the sound.


 

[mick wolfe]

I've arrived at the same conclusion, at least with my set up. From my experience, covering the entire flatscreen with a blanket or similar yields worse results than no covering at all. I just hang a single 24" x 24" combination absorbing/diffusing panel centered up on the screen and call it a day. Maybe a case where less is more, but as always, really depends on each individual situation.

[ctviggen]

I used a thin (2 inch thick?) Realtrap on a stand for a while.  I liked it, but it also was away from the TV by at least a few inches.  Maybe that helped?