DIY Acoustic Blanket?

[Kuja]

Just bought a pair of AR98LS. I like them very much.

To bad they don't have acoustic blankets like older 9x series loudspeakers.

They do have this ugly plastic sticker covering the front (although it is useful if you don't have any documetnation - it has all the info on drivers being used, crossover frequencies, etc).

What do you think of removing this useless plastic and adding DIY acoustic blanket on these babies?

From some AR9 engineerig documents on this site, I see that AR used felt... How thick it should be.

Any other suggestions on materials that could be used?

You lucky ones that have/had original acoustic blanket speakers, do you have any tips, descriptions, etc.

I hope I'll get more answers this time...

I also got no manual...

What is the recommended positioning of these speakers? They are pretty shallow, so I guess that they should be close to the rear wall (this is the case with my AR30BF Connoisseurs).

They also have this "shelf" / "floor" switch - how it should be set when stand mounted?

Thanks,

Aleksandar

[Guest Brian_D]

When last I measured the acoustic blanket on my AR9s, I belive it to have measured around 1/2" (Give or take... it's not uniformly thick in all areas)

I think the addition of a material to reduce cabinet reflection would audibly improve staging, provided the room placement is sufficient to allow those improvements to be realized.

Placement of these speakers is much like any with a forward-firing woofer. Bookshelves are the worst, against a wall isn't probably the best choice, etc...

Your switch should be set to "floor" if mounted on a stand.

-Brian

[soundminded]

I measure mine at about 5/8" thick. If I needed to replace it or make one, I'd look for felt carpet underlayment. It should work just as well. The quantity you need is so small that you should be able to get it from a scrap pile from anyone installing this type of underlayment. Any carpet store might either be able to give you a sample or direct you to where and when one of their installers is using this. If this is not available, I'd use a scrap piece of dense high pile carpet (the kind people pay megabucks for in their house.) Again any carpet store should be able to tell you where they are installing some. They many also have some spare samples lying around, especially for lines that have been discontinued. They may also have what are called "remnants" usually sold off very cheap.