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Covering a TV behind your speakers?

I just read on another site a guy asking what difference it would make covering his TV while playing music. His picture shows a decent system but it must be in the basement. It can't be more than 12' wide. No sound treatments to be seen. I'm going through a divorce and will have to move to a much smaller one person house. I've been lucky for 30 years having my expossed basement listening room, 20' x 24', naturally almost perfect as far as sound goes.  I have been reading here and other sites trying to learn about treatments. Never heard the TV thing before. A few people responded to the guy's post that they hang drapes over the TV. I would think since current TV screens are not glass but whatever they are made of now they wouldn't cause a problem. Looking forward hearing from the experts here.

golden210
erik_squires
16,063 posts
 
Hey there,

Yes, flat reflective surfaces behind the speakers are bad, and diffusion is better.  Curtains work, but so does treating the rest of the room.

If you can't or don't want to treat one space, you can make up for it by treating other areas. The important thing is the overall room balance.

For professional advice, talk to GIK.

Best,

E
baclagg's avatar
baclagg
151 posts
 
I cover my 55” tv with a thick blanket. I have a deeper sound stage when covered. My friends made fun of this obviously ridiculous pre listening ritual and I defended it with a couple of friends and a test removing and returning the blanket in a blind test. They are believers now. The blanket did improve the depth and in other ways, the overall quality of the sound.
mfinch
16 posts
 
Like a lot of people, due to space restrictions, I have my 75 inch tv between my speakers. I have a window covered with drapes behind the tv and I cover my tv with a fluffy blanket from Wal-Mart when I am listening to music. I believe it really helps. For $20 for a blanket, what do you have to loose. If nothing else, you can use it on chilly days.
ebanksms
92 posts
 
I keep a fluffy 50"x60" throw blanket handy for both my systems/TVs.  My significant other hates when I do this, for reasons I'm still unable to ascertain. 

Mark
bkeske's avatar
bkeske
5,597 posts
 
#1, I refuse to have my TV between the speakers. I just won’t do it. My TV is off to the side. But it seems most feel the need or impulse to dampen the area between the speakers, which may not be the best solution to maintain the full and detailed center image. I have diffusion panels between my speakers (over a fireplace opening). I tried both and the diffusion panels vs absorbtion really provided a much better soundstage, for me. Just a thought.


Edit: I see Eric brought up the same / similar comment.


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