Greetings! Santa was AWESOME this year and I ended up with a pair of Goldenear Reference for my mains...now I have the Reference up front, a Supercenter Reference on the way in the mail to replace my Supercenter XL, and I rotated my Three Plus to my rears, and the pair of Supersat 60's to the ceiling for ATMOS.

First of all I LOVE the Reference from a pure sound perspective.

Unfortunately I'm using these as a Dual Purpose speaker, and when applied as the fronts in a surround sound solution if you place the 5 foot tall reference speakers anywhere next to a large display and turn the lights off for viewing ambiance, the beautiful reflective gloss finish on these tall speakers become really good mirrors, and from almost any viewing angle some very large bright reflections of a reverse image appears on the inside of each speaker.

I've tried different toe angles and no matter what the highly undesirable reflections of the Reference speakers are driving me an the wife crazy to the point that these Reference speakers won't work for us as-is. Pan scenes become really distracting to the viewer in theater lighting situations.

Does Goldenear have a solution to this issue?

I can't believe I'm the first reference customer who notices this visually reflective shortcoming of the Reference speaker in a Home Theater application...do you sell an acoustically transparent black sock I can put over the entirety of the speaker to kill the reflection without looking like an afterthought? I really don't want to put an expensive non reflective/ light eliminating finish on these fine speakers.

Looking to find a visual fix so I can keep these speakers. I really thought for sure these would be the last speakers I buy for a long while. And at this price point I did not expect ANY shortcomings.

Thanks!

The Forum members will undoubtedly have some ideas, but one that comes to mind is to make a sock for each speaker out of a thin, matte black cloth that can easily slip on over the speaker to prevent glare, and slip off just as quickly when done or playing music.

Welcome to the forum @Orpheusatx and best of luck with your speakers. Apparently, Santa was kind to you

As a T Ref owner who has positioned my speakers close to my monitor, I have not experienced the reflection issue you are reporting and wanting to solve. You can view my setup here halr.x10.mx/AV.jpg Would you happen to have a photo of your setup that you can/will share?

Some points I can add are that if your into serious video quality (as I am), you may want to consider a bias light in back of your unit as opposed to a completely dark room. That said, I think the moderator is spot on in-so-far as there is likely no other alternative in your case than to drape a dark cloth material over the sides of the speaker at the appropriate time(s). Without seeing a photo of your setup to even understand if your using a front projector, stand alone TV, short throw device on a retractable screen and so forth I cannot offer further recommendation which could include something as specific as the precise color of the fabric to drape over the speaker.

p.s. I'll be installing an LG C9 in a week or so as replacement to my Samsung KS9800.

Thanks to all here for the replies.

I think I can attach a pic.

I've received a couple yards of Speaker Cloth that seems to match nicely. I plan to use 1/8th in foamboard (might need to spray black) and make a stencil cutout of the outside, top half of the side of the speaker, x 2.

I'm going to adhere the speaker cloth to the foamboard cutouts of each side, and attach them to the interior facing sides with the "no mark" picture hanging stuff, flush to the side profile. Ideally it will look like a planned part of the speaker. And will be 1/4 in thin or less.

(I cant imagine having another barrier covering the business end of the speaker, it would muffle the tweeter some. )

Here is a pic from the other side. There is no side reflection as viewing in this sitting position the speaker is pointing right at the left side of the L shaped couch. But the right speaker reflects from this position.

GDHAL, how do you like that M6Si ? I've a line on one for half price, am seriously considering it.