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covering up in-wall speakers

post #1 of 7
10/5/12 at 11:07am
Thread Starter 
Hi, new to the forums first post!

So my wife is not so keen on home theatre, but I always have been and need to find middle ground smile.gif I need surround sound, so I bought in-wall speakers to keep the wires/mess to a minimum. The speakers showed up today, and they are a bit bigger than I had hoped. And, the speaker grills on the walls are not too aesthetically appealing to her.

So, I'm trying to come up with some ideas for covering the speaker grills, something that looks like wall hangings or something else decorative, but not compromise the audio quality.

Could I hang curtains in front of them from a fabric that allows the sound through? Are there picture frames/mats that are made for this? Other ideas/thoughts?

TIA
mohrt
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post #2 of 7
10/5/12 at 11:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mohrt View Post

Hi, new to the forums first post!
So my wife is not so keen on home theatre, but I always have been and need to find middle ground smile.gif I need surround sound, so I bought in-wall speakers to keep the wires/mess to a minimum. The speakers showed up today, and they are a bit bigger than I had hoped. And, the speaker grills on the walls are not too aesthetically appealing to her.
So, I'm trying to come up with some ideas for covering the speaker grills, something that looks like wall hangings or something else decorative, but not compromise the audio quality.
Could I hang curtains in front of them from a fabric that allows the sound through? Are there picture frames/mats that are made for this? Other ideas/thoughts?
TIA
mohrt

Curtains would definitely not be good. One option would be to paint the grills the same color as your walls. There may be some acoustically transparent fake pictures out there too, but would have to research this more..
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post #3 of 7
10/5/12 at 11:23am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ack_bk View Post

Curtains would definitely not be good. One option would be to paint the grills the same color as your walls. There may be some acoustically transparent fake pictures out there too, but would have to research this more..

Yes painting the grills helps, but they are still a glaring artifact on the walls. I was trying to find other ways to make them more "transparent" but had not come up with much.
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post #4 of 7
10/5/12 at 11:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mohrt View Post

Yes painting the grills helps, but they are still a glaring artifact on the walls. I was trying to find other ways to make them more "transparent" but had not come up with much.

What about something like this:
http://www.wafer-art.com/canvas
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post #5 of 7
10/5/12 at 11:30am
You could also make frames or hang curtains using acoustic cloth, but I am not sure that's any less a visual problem than the speakers themselves. Could it be her turn to compromise? smile.gif
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post #6 of 7
10/6/12 at 7:08am
Tear it out and use another room as a deducted home theater where she has no say on the decor or tell her if she wants sound then this is as good as it gets as far as hiding the speakers.

You could also show her a few pictures of some of the setups that the guys here have. She might be a bit more forgiving once she sees some of those.

I almost forgot about these ones by Triad:

http://www.hometheater.com/content/triad-ds500-wall-speaker-system

You put tape and mud over them, and then you paint over the top. It just looks like a regular wall.

Pretty pricey though.
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post #7 of 7
10/6/12 at 10:19am
No covering is acoustically transparent. It's physics. However, you can cover them with something that may be mostly transparent.

If you were to drape something over them, it would need to be something like sheer curtain material, but depending on the overall color of the speaker, you may still see them.

The thing is, this may be a losing battle for you if you don't make some kind of compromise. You have to ask her what is acceptable for her and you have to state what you want as well. One method to reveal to her the reason for nicer speakers would be to play music she likes to listen to before you go to make a compromise. And at that time, if you two ever dance together, that would be a good time to sweep her off her feet to one of her favorite songs. Then talk about the situation.

I know that isn't really what you were asking, but if you are to keep the speakers in that room, you both are going to have to meet 1/2 way. Oh, and stop playing xbox or watching sports with the sound cranked ! tongue.gif:p:p
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