Draper Accuscreen Soundscreen fixed AT screen review.

The Draper Accuscreen Soundscreen Acoustically Transparent screen is available in 82", 92" & 106" 16x9 (HDTV) sizes, in High Contrast Grey and Matte White.

I am using the 92" Matte White version.

The big deal on this screen is it's price, about $200 street.

The question is, with most similarly specced screens going for hundreds more, is this thing any good?

I was unable to find many reviews of this, so I'm writing this up to hopefully provide some answers to others.

First, to clear up one issue I've read. Some reviews mention the top and bottom frames being made of two peices that bow in the middle. I can report that the current version comes well packaged in a rigid long box and all the sides are single parts of extruded aluminum.

The nicely velvet covered sides assembled easily, and the screen cloth was simple to attach. The included brackets mounted it solidly on the wall. The instructions were very detailed and well written.

I compared this to my DIY blackout cloth screen, which had served my fully light controlled room and Sanyo Z3000 projector well with it's 1.0 gain and excellent off-angle viewing angles.

Placed side by side with an image projected on both, I was unable to see any difference in brightness, colors or viewing angle, so I can say I'm very happy with the performance visually.

It is a very smooth cloth they use for this, with no visible weave, which I've heard is a problem with some other AT screens.

Sonically, I noticed no difference between the center speaker which is behind it and the side speakers which are not. I only listened to it after using Audyssey XT32 on my Denon 4311ci to calibrate. It looks like it had to bump the center channel up 2db to compensate for the screen, but during critical listening, the screen seems.... acoustically transparent.

In conclusion, I found it to be a great deal with no obvious downsides. If you are in the market for an AT screen in their sizes, it's worth a look. If this had been available a few years ago, I would have forgone DIY. The acoustic superiority of having the center behind the screen cannot be overstated.

I have included some pictures of the screen parts, assembly, and side by side with the DIY blackout cloth screen.

I've never had an AT screen before, just the blackout cloth one. I went to AT after trying to listen to multi-channel music. Having the center speaker sitting sideways above the screen totally ruined the effect for me. The only way bring the center down vertical between the mains was an AT screen. It is a VASTLY superior setup on music, and helps with dialog placement during movies also.

As I said, I noticed no difference in picture quality with my old screen. I see AT screens sold for over a thousand dollars, so I'm assuming they are superior to this in some way, but I will never know, because this does the job for me, and does it well.

And yes, the frame is very well made and worth the price alone. Building a frame is a giant pain in the butt, IMHO.

I just cut a couple 2x4s to space the screen far enough from the wall so I could put the speaker behind it. I thought about doing a whole wall like jpeter1093 (nice job by the way) but this was simpler and works in my room. The only thing to be aware of is bringing the screen closer to you makes it seem bigger, so make sure you don't buy TOO large a screen. I'm 8 feet away from a 92" screen, anymore and my eyes would have to dart around.

Attached are two pictures. One showing the 2x4 frame and the center speaker, and one showing the Accuscreen mounted on it.
It was very simple. Things are still under construction with this upgrade, it will all be patched and painted. The wire in the second picture is going to the ceiling height speakers in my 11.2 DSX setup for testing. They work very well, so I will be running that wire in-wall in the next few days.


I have a 15ft long room, and put my seat close to the middle, so I'd have plenty of distance from the rear wall and rear surrounds. (As others will tell you, having your seat against the rear wall causes major issues) However, as already mentioned, this only allows a 92" screen. No problems though. This Accuscreen has no weave visible and the Sanyo Z3000 projector's screendoor effect is not visible to me at this (8 foot) distance.

There are some threads on here about speaker placement. Some people have all three behind the screen, some (like me) don't. If you can experiment, go ahead. I like having my mains at 30 degrees, but others swear by having them all behind the screen.

Nearfield reflections are a big problem. That is what you get when your ears are close to the rear wall. You also can't have rear surrounds or even a decent rear sound effect. I think there are other issues, but it's generally regarded as a BIG no-no for a home theater if you have any way to avoid it. As previously mentioned, I got around it by getting a smaller screen and moving the couch forward, away from the back wall. You should probably do the same in your new room.