Coffee Table Treatments?

[Gior]

Hi,

I have a wood framed glass topped coffee table sitting right in front of the main listening position. Getting rid of it is not an option as drinks and snacks are a necessary part of the home theatre experience . The measurements for this coffee table top are 60.5cm x 123cm which means that a normal 2'x4' acoustic panel would sit almost perfectly on top of it.

Have any of you guys had success just plonking an acoustic panel on top of a coffee table? If so, what panels have you tried? I'm after a ready made panel for the convenience. The top of it would have to be hard enough to support drinks, snacks, remotes, etc. I currently use RPG BAD Panels in the rear of my room and the grate they use would be hard enough to support stuff. However I was thinking of using pure absorption for the coffee table as it is close to being a 1st reflection point and is a bit close maybe for diffusion to really work. I am just not sure how hard the flat surfaces of the various brands are though. Then again, the BAD panels are fairly absorptive anyway and may work well.

Your thoughts and input on this are much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[just-some-guy]

might i recommend a firm drop ceiling panel. covered with felt.

 

[Gior]

might i recommend a firm drop ceiling panel. covered with felt.

Thanks for this suggestion! However, I was looking more at the commercial 2x4 panels from the likes of RPG, Auralex, ASC, Realtrap, GIKs etc.. Anyway, this question got picked up over on the AVS forums.

 

[westcott]

I would suggest taking SPL sweeps with and without the coffee table in the room. I think you will be surprised what you find. May even save you some trouble.