Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo A TV stand baffle board experiment

As a minimalist, I appreciate the streamlined look of sound bars. I researched the heck out of them until I realized they couldn’t provide the musical fidelity I was looking for. So I went with a traditional AVR + 5.1 loudspeaker setup, with all the clutter and complexity that entails.

I’ve been happy with the audio performance now that everything is dialed in. But I really don’t like staring at the equipment clutter. So for 2023, I decided I would build a blocker panel using a baffle board to hide the electronics. Because I use radio remotes and HDMI-CEC, I only need infrared to make the occasional AVR adjustment.

This is my current configuration. The TV stand is open on 3 sides. Since my summer 2022 gallery post, I upgraded the TV from a 52” 1080p occupying a 30º field of vision to a 65” 4K HDR at 40º. I can relocate the left and right channels to 60º when I’m in the mood, but it’s not a significant improvement.

https://i.postimg.cc/grgjkJVB/IMG-0040.jpg

I bought a 20” x 30” black plastic corrugated sheet and a roll of adhesive/magnetic tape at the local arts and crafts store. The uncut panel blocked the entire TV stand, and looked much nicer.

https://i.postimg.cc/RVLnDCHt/IMG-0039.jpg

So I switched the AVR to 4.1 and 2.1 and had a listen. Not only was it an obvious difference, but the baffle board negatively impacted imaging, spaciousness, and tonality. This is nothing new, and Mr. Welker even warned of the deleterious effect of locating audio racks next to loudspeakers:

https://youtu.be/vmIRlqoLxl8

I continued my original plan of blocking just the electronics.

https://i.postimg.cc/n9hLGbJk/IMG-0041.jpg

I restored the AVR to 2.1 and 3.1 and had a listen while my son flipped the blocker panel up and down. I concluded that the blocker panel continued to have a perceptively negative effect on stereo performance but to a lesser degree, and a slightly negative but almost negligible effect in 3.1 audio.

Conclusion

As an N=1 anecdote, I think stereo speakers need room to breathe to sound their best; it’s probably less important as you add channels. Looks matter, so I'm keeping the revision.

But considering that sound bars are placed on top of cabinets, I wonder if they’re doomed to forever suffer from the same colorations I experienced when I blocked the entire TV stand.

If you really want to do this …
I’d suggest trying some acoustically transparent material to block the electronics

That's a possibility. I'd rather look at a blank panel than look at a center channel. And if I ever get a VP160, dismantling the middle shelf and mounting the speaker on top of the AVR with spacers won't look so ridiculous.

But then I'd have to research where to buy the fabric, and gather the tools I'm missing to build a frame. It took me 7 years of staring at the tobacco and water stained walls before motivating myself to spend the 15 hours to actually paint over it.

In a few years, auto-correcting soundbars will be available. The auto-correction will not only room EQ; it will include motorized drivers for optimum beam-forming. The tech exists; the complete algorithm to EQ and beam-form does not.

Easiest way to get some AT fabric ..
Go to a fabric store and find some material which you can easily breath/blow through

I would not hold my breath on this one

I have to give Daniel hope. With his set-up, all he's doing is teasing himself.

Now that I've lived with this setup for a day, I didn't realize just how bothered I was by the clutter of the electronics. I have some frosted glass adhesive sheets I can use to laminate the tempered glass shelf to hide the nest of wiring behind the AVR.

From what I've gleaned from reviewers, even Samsung, Sonos, and Bose's flagship configurations are no match for the Sennheisser Ambeo Max with an external sub for music. You can't DSP your way out of needing larger drivers and cabinet volume. The Axiom Epic Mini should have more than a fighting chance of coming out on top.

Just beautiful!

To the untrained eye, it looks like a mess. But to the highly trained EMC engineer, it is a work of art!

With regard to physics, you need box volume below 100 Hz. A sub can take care of that. The rest can be taken care of with multiple, motorized drivers 6.5" and smaller, aligned along the front, back, top and sides of a horizontally-oriented cabinet. And DSPs with room-adaptive algorithms. And amps for each driver.

Sounds like you need to start your own business … first 10,000 $1000 kickstarter donations will get a free autographed photo of Mojo tanning himself on the beach’s of Bali