... I put my speakers behind an acoustically transparent false wall, but don't have an acoustically transparent screen?

OK. That was a bit general. The screen I was looking at was a good AT screen, but the maximum gain I can get is 1.2 with a woven screen. A lot of people are jumping to HP (High Power not Hewlett Packard) screens with 2.5 - 2.8 gain. While I don't think that I want to go that high due to view angle issues, something around 2.0 would be great. Of course, nothing acoustically transparent is that high.

So that is one piece.

The next factor is that I really WANT a false wall to hide the two subs and front speakers. Nothing against my Axioms at all, I just am going for a certain look. If I put the front L-C-R speakers behind acoustically transparent material to the sides (Left and Right) and below (Center) this would be the same placement as if they were in front of the screen. The concern is that sound could end up bouncing around behind the screen since it can't "get out" from that part of the wall.

The real wall (vs. false wall that will hold the screen) will be treated with bass traps in the corners and acoustically absorbent material everywhere else. So maybe it isn't so much the sound "bouncing around" behind the screen, but simply that it can't get out from there and is blocked.

I am going for a "clean" front wall look like this:


Here is a "behind the scenes" view...


My "false wall" would be more minimalistic that this with more space to the sides and below the screen for the speakers to be placed.

Can your false wall be a couple feet wider? You can always keep your L & R to the sides of the screen and your center below it but pointed up towards your ears.

That isn't my room, here is why my room currently looks like:



My target goal is to have the visible screen be about 3" in from the ceiling soffits. So with frame, that is probably right at that inner mark. That leaves about 19" from the sides of the screen to the wall. I am sure that if I put the fronts of the speakers close enough to the back of the false wall, the main sound will probably be just fine, but with speakers with ports in the back, sound will fire towards the (treated) real wall and if it isn't absorbed, it could bounce around behind the screen. I also have 2 subs (not small) to fit back there... Maybe it is just a bad idea.

I don't know, Nick. I'm dubious.

Since I don't completely understand the installation, I might be way off here. What is immediately to the sides of your speakers in this scenario?

Also, what kind of maintenance is that acoustically transparent material going to need? I know your kids are older now, but personally, I don't want to vacuum any more grill cloth than absolutely necessary.

Normal AT screen and AT wall would mean that the speakers would go behind the screen itself, and the area around the screen (sides, top, bottom) would just allow everything to breathe and for sound to flow. If the screen wasn't AT, then the speakers would need to fit into that space around the screen (looking at my "drywall" picture, that would be under the soffits for the left and right) and then under the screen for the center. The subs would also need to fit back there, so they would probably end up behind the screen. The subs are downfiring with a single port pointing upward.

All this to get a higher gain screen and will go AT. Without a false wall to hide everything up front, the subs become a problem...

As for the screen maintenance, I will be building a small stage. Big enough to look nice, but small enough that people won't stand on it. That should help keep fingers away. The GOM or whatever AT fabric I use for around the screen will, of course, get dusty over time, but it should be pretty minimal. Just think if I built my room with fabric panels everywhere like some people do (floor to ceiling anyway)...

I guess I was wondering about the proximity of the framing for the AT material to the speakers. If you have some framing "close" to the front/sides of the speakers, it seems like you'd lose some dispersion or imaging compared to just having the speakers out "in the room".

I'm sure it will be lovely.

I've basically decided to never do a theatre room after seeing how hard you're working and how perfect you are. Bastard.

Would it be an option to hide the subs in a false wall but put the L C R in front of it?

Not sure. That would sort of defeat some of the purpose of the false wall. Sure, it would hide the subs, but that "clean front" look would be lost. Maybe I should just go AT like originally planned and if I run into issue, just start opening up the iris on the projector. I don't plan on 3D... Ever... Don't want it, don't care about it. Maybe, in 15 years when they have a viable "no-glasses" 3D for a reasonable price, but by then I will have gone through a few other projectors and with my luck won't be in the same house anyway.