Fabric Screen

[pandon]

My local HT store is suggesting a fabric screen for my install and placing the fronts and the center behind this screen. I have a dedicated light controlled room, and B & W Fronts and center with a Panny AE700. I would like to not see the speakers or go through the expense of built in's, but has anyone experimented with this? Any sound degradation from the speakers? Greatly appreciate any input.
P

[Brandon B]

More detail on what they mean by "fabric" would be good. Many screen manufacturers make perforated screens intended for use in front of speakers, and they work quite well. These have an array of tiny punched holes, as opposed to a fabric that is an open weave and might not perform well as a reflective screen.

BB

[Burke Strickland]

Of course, putting any "fabric" in front of speakers will attenuate the sound somewhat. If it is just some cloth you buy off the bargain bolts from Jo Ann's Fabric, it will probably be a disaster -- muffled sound and lousy projected image as well. However, if it is a screen material with microperforations designed specifiically for this purpose, it should work fine -- a little calibration (primarily volume boost) should put the sound back in balance and, assuming that light in your room is properly controlled and your projector is set up with the correct geometry (at the appropriate distance and angle), and you are seated at the right distance (at least far enough away that you don't see the perforations) :>) the picture should look fine as well.

I would suggest, if possible, to get a demo either at the dealer or at someone's home with a full sized screen using the fabric they are recommending in use with your Panny AE700 (maybe not YOUR actual machine, but one like it). That way you can be reassured that the projected image will be suitable to your taste before you make the (probably irrevocable) imvestment in your own HT.

Good luck -

Burke

[Chris D]

I would stay away from the idea of using just "fabric". Like Burke said, if it's normal fabric, it will destroy your speaker performance. If you use "sound-transparent" fabric like Guilford of Maine, then it's much too loose and you're going to get a bad picture.

Like Brandon said, companies make acoustically perforated screens for this very purpose, although it adds a significant cost to the screen. I personally am going to use this. (see Stewart screen's website for details) It lets the sound pass very well, and still gives an outstanding picture. You do lose some brightness too. But My screen wall is a false wall with the Guilford of Maine fabric on it, except where the screen itself is.

The other advantage of using a screen like this, is that you can put the center speaker DIRECTLY in the middle of the screen. For sound imaging, you can't beat this, as dialogue from the center channel comes directly from the screen, where your brain tells you that it should be.

[pandon]

Thank you!

Thank you all for your concise replies. I am indeed referring to fabric that has been developed for this specific home theater use. I did look into the stewart and vutec micro-perfs, however my local store was about 40% cheaper and had a very similar gain. I did view (and hear) it in store on a similar machine (LCD, Sanyo PV2), and was very impressed. It will be installed on Saturday.

Thanks again for the advice.

[Chaz7]

Pandon-One small caveat on perf screens. On fixed pixel projectors they can have a negative impact. One company, Screen Research, says they have licked that problem. I do know screens that are THX certified will have no discernable effect for audio, and one that is ISF, should offer excellent picture quality. Chaz7