dougdrake Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Just wanted to post the results of my DIY effort to create a screen for my soon-to-be-constructed media room/HT. Following the suggestion of redtop in this thread (thanks, Brad!!!), I picked up the following materials: 122" x 72" Dazian Coated Celtic Cloth (here) 144" x 70" Speaker Grill Cloth (here) 3 1"x4"x10' Boards 30' Shoe molding (kind of like quarter-round) 4 1"x4" rigid angle brackets ... for about $100, and built a 110" wide by 62" tall acoustically transparent screen for use with my Panasonic AE-700u. I could not be more pleased with the results. That screen size will support 120" diagonal in 2.35:1 ("Cinemascope") mode and 126" diagonal in 16:9 mode. It is terrific having a center speaker behind the screen. The speaker cloth is used to provide a non-reflective backing behind the screen to prevent shadows and reflections from being visible behind the screen. The shoe molding is attached to the perimeter of the front of the frame with the rounded edge to the outside. It provides a nice soft edge to stretch the fabric over, and lifts the material off the frame. Until we finish the basement build-out, I have temporarily mounted it on a couple of 2x4 stringers. When the basement is done, it will be installed on a false wall that will be covered with dark, acoustically transparent fabric so all the front speakers and subwoofer will be concealed. I posted this here, rather than in the Architectural forum, so maybe more folks would see it and be encouraged to try something like this, if it fits your environment. Pix follow: Bracket Screen Pic 1 Screen Pic 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedball Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Nice! You made your own screen...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
efzauner Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Hi The web link for the celtic cloth makes no mention that it is acoustically transperent. Did I miss something here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ygmn Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Ahem,......Where are the pics? Never mind....my screen color is off and I did not see them as links... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake Posted January 22, 2006 Author Share Posted January 22, 2006 Yes, its transparency is a well kept secret. The Dazian cloth is wildly popular over on the AVS Forum, if you want to hear more thoughts on it. It's in this forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdm56 Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Thanks for the post, Doug. Front projection and a homemade acoustically transparent screen is probably the only way I'm gonna be able to get what I want: An affordable (cheap[:$]) big screen that does not compromise center-speaker placement or performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCOOTERDOG Posted January 23, 2006 Share Posted January 23, 2006 I've had interest in this stuff but quite frankley I have been waiting for someone to use it that I could trust good feedback. Do you notice any difference in the high frequency response, is there ant dropouts that you notice? I would be interested to know what you think once you get completed. Thanks scooter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake Posted January 23, 2006 Author Share Posted January 23, 2006 Scooterdog - I appreciate your faith in my ear-abilities, but it may be misplaced I may be less of a critical listener than many, but it sounds just fine to me. Of course, my room is acoustically challenged (unfinished basement). You may want to cruise around the DIY Screen Forum at www.avsforum.com (which I'm sure you've already done anyway). I respect a lot of their opinions, and it seems they have also had good results. The other way is to just try it for yourself. The material is so dang cheap, we figured if it was a flop the most we'd be out was $35 for the fabric, or $100 on the whole thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redtop Posted January 23, 2006 Share Posted January 23, 2006 Doug, You are welcome. Just glad to hear that you are pleased with the result...after the effort. [] Scooter, I can add my endorsement to Doug's regarding the acoustic qualities of this screen. I have a custom (HornEd style) KLF-30 as my center. After acoustic room treatment, the front soundstage is seamless and the center required only a +1 db adjustment to nail the the mains (on the SPL meter). Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillbilly Posted January 23, 2006 Share Posted January 23, 2006 That looks amazing. My first time hearing of that method. Right on man!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 And that cloth has no impact on the highs? It doesn't muffle the sound quality at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redtop Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Moon, I far as my ears can tell (and I love detail in the highs) no negative effect. I also tested the room acoustics with RoomEQ Wizard and the response curve is very flat above 700Htz. I wondered if the mains were dominating the test, so I also did a RoomEQ Wizard comparison test between the center and mains. Identical response curves, so I concluded no measureable effect from the screen material. Do I think it is a miracle material????...Nah, just a very good bang for the buck for us cheapskates...[] I will add this...I was advised by two different acoustic gurus over at AVS to give acoustically transparent screens a hard look. They make the room sound nasties(modes and echo decay) easier to treat because you have one less hard surface for the sound to bounce off. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redtop Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Moon, Congrates on your 10,000th post! Looks like I have a way to go reach your lofty perch! [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted January 26, 2006 Share Posted January 26, 2006 Ha... No congrats necessary. 95% of those posts are non audio related pure crap. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted January 26, 2006 Share Posted January 26, 2006 Ha... No congrats necessary. 95% of those posts are non audio related pure crap. [] Haha, like this one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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