[Community of A/V Enthusiasts]

Do you have wall treatments in your home theater?

Like most people, my home theater is also the family room. Of course, because I test speakers in there, it is messy most of the time. I would like to add some wall treatments, such as diffusors and absorption panels, but I don't think the spouse would go for that. How many of you use room treatments of any sort in your home theater?

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jim Milton on November 3, 2009 at 5:17am: Behind my towers and the first reflection point on the side walls. Back wall has a tapestry I picked up in Ecuador.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Chris Eberle on November 3, 2009 at 2:27pm: I made several panels from mineral wool covered with burlap. It's MUCH cheaper to make your own that to buy pre-made ones. I also put a layer of rock board and a layer of plywood under the carpet to keep bass from resonating to the room below, very effective. Lastly I sealed the door with weatherstripping and a vinyl sweep along the bottom.

The result is I can crank the volume pretty high without bothering anyone and there is NO sound from outside coming in. I have some room gain around the 80-100Hz point but this is easily corrected with EQ. Since the room is so quiet I hear every detail quite clearly.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Ross Jones on November 3, 2009 at 2:38pm: I also made my own panels, from Owens 705 semi-rigid fiberglass. I have large 2 x 4' panel bass traps in both front corners, smaller panels behind the L/C/R speakers, large panels at first reflection points on the sides and a smaller panel on a drop wall at the back of the room. I dealt with the SAF by letting my wife pick out the panel covering material (making sure the material wouldn't reflect sound); also the panels can be moved out of the room if we have company. IMO, room treatments are the best bang-for-the-buck way to improve sound quality.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Larry V. Hryshko on November 3, 2009 at 11:22pm: My home theater/living room is in desperate need of some room treatments as it is a reverbatorium. Hardwood floors, drywall, glass, and leather furniture. Not a damn thing to absorb any reflections, other than my dog. The problem for me is WAF/SAF. Maybe it's time to start a thread on nefarious strategies that have been successful in gaining such approval? Ross's approach is a good start, but.................; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Chris Eberle on November 4, 2009 at 6:01am: My living room does not have specific room treatment but a large throw rug under the furniture and curtains on the windows help a lot. Our upholstered furniture also does a pretty good job of minimizing reflection.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Chris Heinonen on November 4, 2009 at 8:33am: I was considering some wall treatments in the living room but had the WAF kick in and was going to need to find a way around that. Now, you can get pre-made ones from people like Auralex that will let you print out some artwork for the panel so that it blends into the room better. They are orders of magnitude more expensive than doing your own with a simple cover, but you could take some images that you might want for artwork anyway (I was considering some pictures from a trip to Europe last year) and have those up, but also absorbing reflections.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Larry V. Hryshko on November 4, 2009 at 9:09am: Hmmmmmm......I was thinking more along the lines of having some experts pen articles for Cosmopolitan or Architectural Digest with titles like:

Standing Waves and Cellulite: A Direct Correlation?
Bass Traps Also Eliminate Dust
Room Resonance Causes Premature Skin Aging
The Feng Shui of Acoustic Panels, etc.
Is Boomy Bass Lowering Your Child's IQ?

At present, I don't think my wife would embrace the idea of room panels if Monet were to paint them himself.; ▶ Reply to This