# Baffle wall, screen wall or open front



## yourgrandma (Oct 29, 2007)

Hi all,
Im closing on my new house in a couple weeks and im planning on getting the basement/theater finished up as one of my first projects. Ive actually aready done a fair amount of work on the basement as Im buying the house from my father. So i have the rough construction done, wiring done and most of the sheetrock done. It was my first time drywalling anything so im going to have my work cut out for me with taping. 

Things have changed since the initial build out. It was originally intended as a bit of a basement apartment built into a theater. Now since Im buying the entire house, its going to be a theater/lounge with a bar and whatnot. As such, Im considering a more elaborate front end. I was planning on a plain wall with a painted screen and as much absorbtion as I could afford. Now that the use is narrowed Im considering an AT screen with a false wall and speakers and subs behind the wall/screen.

Now, one complicating factor is that I built a rough opening for my equipment rack in an area that would be covered by the screen wall but thats a pretty minor issue as I could use IR repeaters etc to control the system. Im also not sure I could ever run a wide enough screen to make this worthwhile. The front wall of the room is 21 feet. 

What I guess im looking for is a bit of discussion on the benefits of either approach from a sonic, picture quality and aesthetic standpoint. I tend to like to see/show off my speakers but im starting to like some of the builds I see with hidden speakers. An AT screen and fabric false wall would also let me use less visually appealing means to more effectively damp the front wall. Rather than expensive OC703 I could just use unfaced fiberglass batting held in place with cloth or whatever. I havent really dug into the cost/benefit of this approach but it would seem I could buy a bunch of insulation on sale and add to it til it sounds good rather than trying to build something that looks good and functions well. 

A baffle wall would be accompanied by a diysg Elusive 1099 LCR build. 

Can a false wall in a basement be used to alter the acoustic "effective" shape of the room to help with acoustic issues? Or do the concrete foundation walls pretty much determine that unless you build the false wall very strong?


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## Owen Bartley (Oct 18, 2006)

If you want to show off the speakers, but want the benefits of having them perfectly placed behind an AT screen, and also add a cool "feature" to your room, what about adding some behind the screen backlighting on its own switch? Then you could have that on for music/lounging or pre-show, and turn it off for the actual movie.


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## willis7469 (Jan 31, 2014)

Cool pic. 


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

I am planning on lighting up the behind my screen too...great for showing off speakers when you listen to music.

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