Does having a LCD/LED television between speakers affect sound?

[kingsap]

As stated in the title. Thinking of getting a TV for my "mancave" and was wondering if actually it will effect the sound of speakers in a bad way? Most high end system i see in pictures dont have a TV behind. Instead its usually carpet or diffusers.

Since my mancave and system is in "process", I dont want to purchase a tv if it would have a large effect on sound quality. Thanks all :rockout: :rockout:

 

[BigH]

As stated in the title. Thinking of getting a TV for my "mancave" and was wondering if actually it will effect the sound of speakers in a bad way? Most high end system i see in pictures dont have a TV behind. Instead its usually carpet or diffusers.

Since my mancave and system is in "process", I dont want to purchase a tv if it would have a large effect on sound quality. Thanks all :rockout: :rockout:

I have my TV between the speakers and it does not seem to be a problem, I have not tried it without the TV doubt it will make any difference as long as its flat, wall mounted maybe better.

 

[p_m_brown]

Most kit is magnetically shielded now anyway so shouldn't make any difference to the TV or the speakers.

like BigH and many others here I suspect, the trade off of living with hifi is one of compromise and quite often you will find TVs with speakers either side, myself included. That said, I prefer my speakers besides the tele for movies anyway.

 

[BigH]

Just tried it, if I move the TV forward it did sound worse, took it off the stand and it was better but sounded a bit dull, put it back and near the wall and it sounded slightly better for some reason, so I would not worthy about it, can you move the speakers around a bit, mine are 18 inch each side from the TV. Big plus if you watch movies or music dvds is you can use the hifi for the sound.

 

[Al ears]

The short answer is No.

 

[davedotco]

The short answer is No.

Ther longer answer is yes.

Any large item with flat reflective surfaces will affect the sound, whether it matters or not is up to you.

Interesting system by the way.

 

[p_m_brown]

Acoustics and reflection points by the sounds of things!

 

[MakkaPakka]

In an ideal world you'd have nothing between your speakers and plenty of space to the rear and sides - something near the speakers will cause the sound to bounce off it and arrive at your ears slightly after the sound from the speakers.

 

[Al ears]

There appears to be little agreement on this post so far, and certainly no definitive science.

My suggestion is you try it and see. If that is where the television has to live then that is where it has to live.

An object placed between the speakers is going to have little or no effect on the sound you hear.

Most of the sound exiting those speakers (in some speakers all of it) is going forwards into the room. It is not going to be reflected off anything placed between the speakers.

 

[MakkaPakka]

http://www.sae.edu/reference_material/audio/pages/Roomodes.htm

 

[steve_1979]

I have a computer desk and monitor between my speakers. When I move them out of the way it does seem to make a small difference but its barely noticable.

 

[Al ears]

http://www.sae.edu/reference_material/audio/pages/Roomodes.htm

Very interesting I'm sure. This implies speakers in use are rear-ported type.

For what its worth I have a rack system atopped by a 37" TV in my set-up. Removing the TV makes a blind bit of difference from usual listening position.

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

The short answer is No.

Ther longer answer is yes.

Any large item with flat reflective surfaces will affect the sound, whether it matters or not is up to you.

Interesting system by the way.

In my experience there's no problem. Might have been an issue back in the days of cathode ray tube TVs when the magnets / coils in the speakers could affect the TV picture tracking and the high voltage CRT could (theoretically) have affected the speakers or if you're playing your stereo at volumes high enough to knock the TV off its stand / wall mounts, but other than that I'd say no.

So long as the screen is behind the front panels of the speaker cabinets and there's at least one or two cabonet widtths between the speaker cabinet and TV screen edges I don't think theyre will be a problem.

Interestingly though, in a small flat I had for a while I had more problems with the el-cheapo microwave knocking out the satellite TV reception every time I warmed up a can of soup than anything else.

 

[MakkaPakka]

Sound radiates from a driver in different ways. Higher frequencies act like a ray and move in straight lines from a point. As you get lower in the spectrum, they begin to radiate more like a sphere. By the time you get below 500 Hz or so, you’re getting pretty spherical radiation. By the time you get to 125, it’s purely spherical.

That said, imagine sound coming from a driver at say 100 Hz that is coming directly at you. There are other waves that are wrapping around the cabinet and bouncing off the front wall and then back at you. When 2 waves of the same frequency meet in this way (one direct, one having bounced off the front wall) there is an interface of the 2 waves (some describe this as interference).

http://gikacoustics.co.uk/speaker-boundary-interference-response-sbir/

 

[Al ears]

I believe the OP's original post quotes 'a large effect on sound quality'.

The short answer is still, therefore, No

 

[MakkaPakka]

I was responding to this comment:

Most of the sound exiting those speakers (in some speakers all of it) is going forwards into the room. It is not going to be reflected off anything placed between the speakers.

and you're welcome.

 

[the record spot]

No difference to mine.

 

[BigH]

As I said before mine sounds better with tv between. I guess if its a problem you could move the TV up higher about speakers tweaters level.

 

[BigH]

Interestingly though, in a small flat I had for a while I had more problems with the el-cheapo microwave knocking out the satellite TV reception every time I warmed up a can of soup than anything else.

Should not put cans in microwaves.

 

[Covenanter]

The short answer is No.

Ther longer answer is yes.

Any large item with flat reflective surfaces will affect the sound, whether it matters or not is up to you.

Interesting system by the way.

I guess you could fit the tv with curtains to stop any reflections. They could even be remote controlled.

Chris

 

[Al ears]

I was responding to this comment:

Most of the sound exiting those speakers (in some speakers all of it) is going forwards into the room. It is not going to be reflected off anything placed between the speakers.

and you're welcome.

That statement still holds true.

Think nothing of it!

 

[Overdose]

Adding or removing anything, anywhere in a room will affect the accoustics to some degree, but that is not to say that you will have a noticeably reduced experience and so, nothing to worry about.

Electrically, it is unlikely to be a problem either, as all of todays necessary electronics will be magnetically shielded.

I like the idea of the remote controlled curtains, very old schol cinema, a touch Austin Powers and very 'man-cave'.

 

[busb]

Oh no - I'm going to have to remove all three windows in my sitting room! No I won't - I'll just pull all the curtains - phew!

A TV in one's listening room - how low-brow! I switch my plasma off for serious listening: it buzzes - one of the few advantages of LCDs is that they don't!

 

[Cypher]

Not to offend anyone but when I saw the title of this topic I never thought this was a serious question.

That people think about this stuff...........

 

[BenLaw]

Sound radiates from a driver in different ways. Higher frequencies act like a ray and move in straight lines from a point. As you get lower in the spectrum, they begin to radiate more like a sphere. By the time you get below 500 Hz or so, you’re getting pretty spherical radiation. By the time you get to 125, it’s purely spherical.

That said, imagine sound coming from a driver at say 100 Hz that is coming directly at you. There are other waves that are wrapping around the cabinet and bouncing off the front wall and then back at you. When 2 waves of the same frequency meet in this way (one direct, one having bounced off the front wall) there is an interface of the 2 waves (some describe this as interference).

http://gikacoustics.co.uk/speaker-boundary-interference-response-sbir/

http://gikacoustics.co.uk/speaker-boundary-interference-response-sbir/

This is true. But, assuming the OP's is an untreated room, I don't see any practical problem. With no TV there will be reflections back to the listening position from the front wall in any event. Reflections, if any, from the TV will just come back a tiny bit sooner. Assuming the TV is in a similar line to the speakers, you wouldn't expect to generate much echo from the sides of the TV.