Acoustic Curtain for listening area

I'm putting a curtain in front of my TV.  I'm just planning to pick a heavy and soft material but I'm going to follow this thread for better suggestions.  thanks.

You could consider using thick fabric vertical blinds. You can angle the fabric faces to absorb/prevent reflections, still see thru at an angle when partially swivelled open, and partially draw them open to pass between rooms if needed.

Or, sliding panels rather than many small pivoting vanes

they have velvets under wools and blends

many vertical blind companies exist, just the 1st one that popped up.

I'm confused. I assume you have a 'wall' (read reflective) on the right side of your audio room and yet want a "heavy non reflective" curtain on the left. 

Seems like a mismatch?

Quietcurtains, See below:

Mike

@david_ten yes , not ideal listening situation , but it’s all I’ve got as of now....right side is a wall (which I might treat as well... left opens up into big living room / dining room (reflective)....was thinking close me into a sound listening box to kill reflection...

also been looking at black moving/sound blankets

thanks

Years ago, I bought heavy black velvet finish curtains from a theatrical supply house-I think they were even fire retardant. These were not marketed as acoustic material so the tariff was far less. Don't know if the OP is in a city that has a supply house like this- often, theatrical stuff is sold in the reuse market as well. 

Worked great for my needs at the time-- I wanted to black out a large room for use as a home theatre. Looked good too! 

Remember that they will need to be broken in before they will exercise the most beneficial sound dampening. At least a week of hanging and be sure to hang in the right direction. 

@jpwarren58 

  Should they also have dedicated 20amp breakers? 

Audimute.com They are a great company with great products. I have used their stuff in both my music studio and my home. 

I dealt with much the same situation and thought I'd end up having to do something like this. I overcame it through the simplified Sumiko method of speaker placement. In this method your speaker near a side wall is the anchor. Once you get it placed you start moving the other speaker out away from back wall incrementally until it 'locks' in with the other speaker. 

+1 for Quiet Curtains
I have them in my listening room and they definitely work.

@desert38 @ditusa

I checked out Quiet Curtains and got a (with due respect) a ridiculously high quote that went upwards of $2000+ with a track...

thank you though !

@discopete 

Thanks buddy - those look nice , might give it a whirl...some of those sound blankets online look like they'll make my room feel like a service elevator...😵‍💫

Don’t be so quick to rule out “cheap” IKEA  stuff. I helped a friend build his room and the heavy black out curtains are well made and did the trick , unless you insist on spending thousands.

@birdfan 

2 kids in college, I've reached the starving musician status...

thanks! 

Not sure of the cost or availability, but probably worth looking into.

Good luck.

https://www.architonic.com/en/collection/offecct-acoustic-panels/3100220/3000322/1

Thank you all ...I decided to pull the trigger on the Audimute.com , I'll report . 

Great. Can you share which of their product(s) you went with?

I've also used Acoustic Curtains in my family room to cover floor-ceiling/wall-to-wall glass sliders.  The curtains are extremely effective acoustically.  They're also a step above Amazon and other cheaper options in terms of cosmetics.  And they're great for blacking out sunlight and for temperature control.

I would have likely tried saving money with the Amazon option, but my wife and I both agree that the custom measurements and overall quality of the QC curtains was worth the money.

@david_ten 

I went with Full Black Sound Absorption Sheets - 

I plan to pull them down on non listening nights.

Ease of use ....quick hanging knob / screws....look nicer than the packing blanket look ...

@tommypenngotti   Thanks. Looking forward to your report.

@jpwarren58, LOL! 

OP, ff you want what the pros use:

I'm sure that your soundstage, top, bottom, midrange, wife, cats etc. will all sound better.

I used portable panels instead of curtains:

Well.....It sounds like it's curtains for @tommypenngotti ....

Oh, stop the groans....even the obvious pun has it's limits.....

I've hung  a 3'x5' Navaho rug over the TV ( for God's sake it's only to read blu-ray/dvd-a menus ), a very course weave, of the sort recommended by R. Vandersteen for 1st reflections. 

So, course weave is worth trying.

@vonharaland 

I know...the dreaded tv...I like to run vids of bands that correspond to the LPs when listening....might have to just deal w some reflection on some occasions and other times cover it...thanks 

OP,  curtains can help and I do not know the product you have ordered but would like to point out that the smaller the room the more you need absorption and that absorption needs to be broad-band in performance.

Usually 4" thick frames are used to house 2" thick fiber panels with a 2" air gap behind. Curtains will absorb over a much narrower band and therefore not as effective. Perhaps you can use what you have in conjunction with some more curtain.

What I have done for some, especially those with wife with scowling face, is to use a multi-track curtain-rail system that allows to hang 2 or preferably 3 curtains. This will look the same although be a little more bulky. The fact that they are physically separated will broaden their frequency of absorption.

It would help further if you placed some absorption on the opposite wall if possible.

@lemonhaze 

thanks , yes planning on adding more absorption to opposite wall...thanks for the info ...

@tommypenngotti,
Before you spend a lot of money, why don't you try hanging some differing materials.

Say, start with a large bed sheet, move on to a blanket/duvet. Then an area rug.

Each one will display differing reflective/absorptive characteristics. I think you will not only be surprised, but end up learning things you that will allow you to make a 'better' decision.

Bob 

@gdnrbob 

yes good point , did a bit of that last month , very good advice to follow . Thanks ! 

yes good point , did a bit of that last month , very good advice to follow . Thanks ! 

@tommypenngotti  , reading this got me to thinking that my listening room might benefit from treating the left & right perimeters.  After you conducted the above experiment, what conclusions did you arrive at?

@immatthewj 

I just threw up a blanket over a beam that goes across my living room listening area and it blocked/absorbed a bunch of reflection...so I'm going with treating both sides , haven't decided on right side because it's a wall ...more likely to throw up some absorption panels there ....

Prepping a room is no small expense.  I haven't seen any spectral absorption curves on any of these sites.  That is what it's all about isn't it?  Curtains face a tough challenge for room effects midbass and below.  Solid panels need to be suspended from the wall about 4".  Manufacturers supply acoustic studies, but oddly this most important parameter has not been addressed.  No secrets or snake oil here.  Review Armstrong's products and Acoustimac Eco-core particularly before anyone else takes the plunge. 

The best room treatment, in my opinion, is to treat a room as a room that you live in.-Bookshelves, Art on the walls, Window treatments, etc..

In other words, lots of stuff. That creates multiple/random points for sound waves to disperse/absorb within a room.

You can get anal about making a room sonically 'flat', but that is usually the worst thing you can do.

Just put up a blanket where you think you need some absorbtion, and listen.

The time you take to learn how seemingly simple adjustments to your listening area, will help you learn what you like/dislike.

YMMV

Bob

was about to pull the trigger on these panels in link (I like the look)...so strange , multiple sellers from Ukraine, the shipping is fierce and one seller had "Free shipping" but he marked up the panels so high it equaled the exorbitant shipping , I give up 😒....I think it’s all the same guy trying to lure posing as different sellers

You might be able to stop higher frequencies this way but not anything below 250 Hz. It would have to be very heavy light blocking and layered. Your best bet is to have them custom made. If you go to your local fabric store to pick out your fabric they will have a list of seamstresses they recommend. You can get ceiling tracks from a number of sources.  

I use the black out curtains in my listening room. I have them behind the speakers. Listening chair and side walls. 

Report : 

The Audimute sheets are very nice and work extremely well to absorb sound , what a difference ....

@tommypenngotti 

I’m happy that your happy Tommy. The products from them are outstanding for the price point. Audimute is the soundest investment I’ve made. No pun intended. And again I am not affiliated with this company in any way. Just a happy customer. Now to building my system here in Thailand. Accuphase seems to be the way to go in this hemisphere. Cheers.