[toobits]

Hi all.


I've been searching through trying to locate this information and either my search technique is subpar, or i'm using the wrong terms.


We're going to build a wall in front of an existing external wall in order to mount a 50" monitor and recess a single soundbar that's roughly 42"x5"x6".

the wall is small, being 51"w x 105"h. we'll probably end up making it slim at 8-10" deep. the monitor will be mounted on the wall, and not recessed.


is there a prefab box we should be acquiring for the speaker, or will we end up fabricating our own?


if we end up fabricating, are there any tips in terms of lining the box?


We'd also like to have an acoustical screen masking the box, so that it's flush with recess, and seated entirely within the box (so there is no frame visible around the box). We'd also plan on painting the screen to minimize the appearance.


i'm at a loss for finding any information on materials, but again, i'm either not using the correct terms or need to broaden my search.


any suggestions or pointers to information would be greatly appreciated.


thanks.


-tom

 

[jdanforth]

You'll probably have luck searching for the term "false wall" on this forum. Sounds like a cool project! I would suggest not building an enclosed box for your soundbar... just build an open-backed shelf instead.


In terms of acoustical screen I would search for "acoustically transparent" fabric. The term thrown out a lot around here is "GOM" which is code for Guilford of Maine, a fabric company that makes acoustically transparent fabric of all styles. The most popular, arguably, is GOM 701 which is plain black speaker grille cloth.


edit: I haven't purchased from them (yet) but many of the members have found fabricmate.com to be a good source for GOM. Guilford of Maine will ship you free samples from their site.

 

[toobits]

Thanks for the quick reply.


given the location in the home, i won't have the luxury of covering the "false wall" in fabric. It will have to finished like any other wall (dry wall). Thanks for the terminology, though - i'm getting better reference posts. I'm basically going to extend the current wall and allow for the speaker recess and cabling to a high closet / series of shelves below the wall, under the floor.


i'm also assuming (perhaps incorrectly) that by an open shelf, i should not enclose the speaker recess with drywall but rather use GOM as the backing for the shelf / recess that will hide the speaker bar?


thanks for the suggestions on materials - i'll have a look.

 

[jdanforth]

You mentioned that you wanted to hide the soundbar behind fabric so that's the only reason that I brought up the GOM.

I meant that you should not build an enclosed drywall cubby hole for the sound bar if you can help it. Have you seen those big holes that builders put above fireplaces for TVs? When you put a TV in there the sound is terrible. It echoes and sounds... honky. I'm worried that enclosing the soundbar in a sealed cubby will give you the same result.


edit: something like this (seen from back)?

 

[toobits]

Wow - That is frighteningly accurate.

Thanks for doing that.


originally, i was hoping to have exactly the setup per your render. however, now taking the construction into consideration, recessing the TV won't be possible. rather than try to explain, i just decided to post a picture of the wall in question.

as you can see, the space is *very* tight on either side. we're able to build that existing wall straight out (toward the camera), but extending in either direction will cause some other issues i'd rather not address. so i believe the monitor will have to be flush mounted but there is room to create anything needed for the soundbar. the furniture pictured is ~24" deep, so we're trying to maximize the floor space and hoping to get away with building out the wall only 8" to 10" tops.


but, yes, i'm hoping to minimize the impact of the soundbar with the aesthetic of the wall - so ultimately i'm hoping to find a material that can get us most of the way there. i had assumed (incorrectly) that i'd be able to exact match the color of the wall to the acoustic fabric / GOM, but looks like we'll have to order some samples and see which is a closest match.


i think you're right about the sound - just trying to figure out how to keep the sound shelf from sounding wonky. i was under the impression that we'd have to treat the area for the soundbar in some material to help it absorb if it were to be a drywall cubby, but am open to other options.


Thanks so much for the help.

 

[jdanforth]

The photo helps a ton!

It looks like you're on an exterior wall so you're right, recessing that puppy isn't going to work without a lot of, erm, dust.


I'm not a big fan of giving up square footage if I can help it. I can see that having that big hunk o' furniture right there can be annoying.


How deep is the sound bar?


The way I see it you've got a couple of options (not that I endorse any of them, necessarily):

1. Ditch the soundbar (HA!)

2. Get a slimmer sound bar

3. Build out the wall floor to ceiling as mentioned with an off-white GOM covering the hole for the sound bar

4. Cut an in-wall speaker in there

5. Embrace the depth of the sound bar, bring the LCD out to match, and put the sound bar on a simple shelf. This might not work since I don't know what you use for sources. All I use is an Apple TV so I just throw it behind the flat panel.

6. Do something a little atypical...


(something atypical)

This could easily be crafted with some veneered plywood and a basic frame. Make the thing a showpiece that takes zero floorspace, yaknow?


I know I'm not giving you quite what you ask for but I get the sense that you're shopping for ideas.

 

[toobits]

Thanks for the ideas. if it were a different spot, something like your latest rendering would work nicely. the issue is trying to minimize the appearance/footprint so the wife is happy...


The soundbar is about 6" deep. i'm not completely opposed to ditching it, but then i have another issue in terms of speaker placement given the room's multi-use. one of these days i'll take over the basement and create a proper HT.

the buildout of the wall can be 50.5" inches wide, max. The LCD now is 48", so recessing it might be an issue given construction. It can hang less then 2" off the wall (total), so the notion of just building out a shelf might look odd. i then also have the issue of hiding the wiring - which is relatively simple: HDMI and power to the monitor. cabling to speaker.


the equipment is going to sit in a shelving system that is ceiling high in the stairwell to the left (if you can make out that those are stairs at all). So the external wall is creating issues with getting the cables from high up on the wall form the proposed mount site, to below the floor. thus, thinking a complete buildout of the wall would work the best.

then it's just an issue how to best conceal the soundbar within the buildout.


maybe i'll look at different sound solution, but i think getting any proper center channel sound will be difficult given the layout.


thanks again for the help.

 

[BIGmouthinDC]

Looking at the picture I would just hang the TV and the sound-bar directly flush to the wall. Get rid of the furniture. They do make wall mounts that hold TVs and a sound-bar.


Anything else is going to look strange.