I have a new plasma TV and it looks fine.  But the 3 speakers
surrounding it, mounted in the wall and flush with it, are ugly.  What
happens if I apply a fabric wall covering over the entire wall to hide
the speakers but not the TV? Will the sound flow through the fabric
freely or will it be badly muffled?  If OK, what fabric can be used? 
Silk? Linen? Does it have to be woven cloth?

ted1776-ga:

Congratulations on your new plasma TV, and thank you for your question!

Hanging cloth in front of the speakers will definitely help to improve
the look, as long as you do not use the wrong cloth. You are correct
in thinking that there are some cloths that will muffle the sound.

The material you are looking for is known as acoustically transparent
cloth. Modern weaving techniques have enabled such engineered cloths
to displace muslin as the preferred material for speaker grilles.
These new materials can be purchased through either your local home
theatre installer, or your local custom car stereo installation shop.
Naturally, examples of such cloth can also be found online, at
potentially lower prices:

Acoustical Solutions Inc.
http://www.acousticalsolutions.com/products/fabrics/grille_cloth.asp

Speaker Works Northwest
http://www.speakerworks.net/grill_cloth.html

Parts Express
http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage.cfm?webpage_id=3&SO=2&DID=7&CATID=29&ObjectGroup_ID=140


Generally speaking, these cloths have an open weave that allows air to
flow freely through it. To maximize the performance, remove the
existing grilles from the speakers so that there is only one layer of
acoustically transparent cloth between the speakers and your ears.
Also, use a wooden frame to mount the cloth tightly, and mount the
frame to the wall as securely as possible to minimize the possibility
of vibration.

Good luck, and I hope that this information is useful to you! Please
let me know if you require any Clarification.

Thanks,

aht-ga
Google Answers Researcher

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Request for Answer Clarification by ted1776-ga on 28 Jan 2004 05:22 PST

Thank you very much.  Just the type of practical answer I was hoping for.

One clarification: You mention mounting the fabric on a frame and
mounting the frame on the wall.  I was thinking in terms of attaching
the fabric in the same way you attach wallpaper to a wall...with glue
or whatever.  Is this totally impractical with an "acoustically
transparent cloth"?

Incidentally, I am manually incompetent to a hopeless degree. I would
want a professional to handle the job.

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Clarification of Answer by aht-ga on 28 Jan 2004 08:56 PST

ted1776-ga:

It is best to not glue the cloth to the wall, primarily in case you
need to move or adjust it. This need may well arise if you need to
repair or replace one of the speakers, for example. As well, the
nature of cloth is that it tends to stretch over time; gluing it to
the wall will prevent you from being able to adjust for stretching
later on. The frame does not need to be very complex, a simple wooden
rectangle that the cloth can be stretched over and stapled to is
enough.

Regards,

aht-ga
Google Answers Researcher