Like many (or most) people, I am using a small non-dedicated living room [11.4 W x 8.0 H 18.4 L] which doubles for home theater and two channel stereo. All too common. My floorstanding speakers are 3’ off the wall. For optimal two channel sound, it is not ideal to have anything between the speakers. I have a TV there.
Despite the TV, I get a fairly good image which seems to come from the top quarter of the TV. Both my speakers and my stereo REL subwoofers disappear. As I don’t want to destroy my decor, I have several GIK Acoustics 4" thick movable freestanding acoustic panels on order. They will arrive sometime before the end of days . I have experimented with diffusing the TV with a thick blanket during critical listening.
Would placing an acoustic panel behind the TV on the front wall, while simultaneously having a panel in front of the TV improve the sound/image?
Just as an FYI, if money were no object, Acoustic Fields solved this pretty well. But this solution is a down payment on a house!
I’m in a roughly 12Wx11Dx16H vaulted space. On the front facing wall behind the TV, I have four flat and corner bass traps behind the TV. They make a noticeable improvement in coherence by dealing with reflections coming off the vaulted ceiling.
In terms of sound, it is holographic / enveloping and the center voices are set a couple feet behind the TV. Height is pretty high given the vaulted ceiling, and I plan to add bass trapping to the vault angle.
I am thinking about turning a heavy acoustic curtain into a removable drape to hang on the TV to see how it improves imaging.
Welcome to the PS Audio Forum. Yes when there is no other option for a flat screen panel placement providing a non-reflective or absorbent cover can be beneficial.
Try if you also hear a difference (after some wait) when you unplugged it. But it might not in your case as you also have all the HF and EMI noise of the rest of the setup in the middle of the soundstage.
. I have experimented with diffusing the TV with a thick blanket during critical listening.
