In search of acoustic treatment for my new house, I recently purchased approximately a dozen acoustic panels from GIK Acoustics. I'd considered other manufacturers--ATS, RealTraps, MSR, and RPG--and I settled on GIK Acoustics because, based on the measurements, they appeared to be the most cost-effective solution available. The ATS traps are cheaper but do not have the same low-frequency absorption as the GIK panels, which seem to be measurably superior. If I had bought panels from RealTraps, MSR, or RPG, I would have had to spend a small fortune to treat the listening room.
The major upsides of the GIK Acoustics panels are that they work and that they are very inexpensive. With two "monster" bass traps in the rear corners, four freestanding full-range bass traps on the side walls, two freestanding "gobo" absorption panels, and two ceiling-mounted full-range 244 bass traps, the sound in my room took an enormous leap subjectively. It's no secret on this forum that I prefer listening with BACCH processing, and BACCH works best without early reflections. The "imaging" that can be heard with my system now is extraordinary, and the sense of acoustic space from most recordings is difficult to reconcile with your brain's knowledge that you are in a 14' x 21' room in a suburban house. The sound is measurably better than it was before, too, with my Dutch & Dutch 8Cs requiring much less parametric EQ to get an even in-room response. After I adjust placement of the panels a bit more and play with the 8Cs, I will post measurements.
I paid around $1,800 for all these panels. If I had gotten a similar quantity of panels from RealTraps, MSR, or RPG, I would have paid two to five times what I paid for the GIK panels.
The major downsides of the GIK Acoustic panels are shipping, customer service, and, above all, quality control.
It took quite a bit longer for my panels to arrive than GIK originally estimated. GIK attributed this delay to a power outage. (The power was out for a week?) Then I received a shipping notice that nine boxes had shipped via FedEx Ground. I had someone stay at the house on the delivery date only for four boxes--not the promised nine--to show up. I called GIK about the five missing boxes, and their representative, who seemed somewhat annoyed to be taking my call, said that the other five boxes were "on the truck" at GIK's factory waiting to go out. Someone had to stay at the house the following week to receive the other five boxes.
When all the panels had shown up, I began unboxing them and assembling them, starting with the freestanding panels. The freestanding bass traps and gobos all arrived intact, but the pilot holes in the bottom of the panels to screw in the metal floor stands were crooked--on every single panel, and crooked in slightly different ways on all of them. (See pictures below.) They don't look very nice with their metal stands in the bottom all pointing in slightly different directions.
This is an easy thing for anyone to fix, so no big deal. But it raises the question why GIK Acoustics couldn't drill the holes straight in the first place.
Because I planned to ceiling-mount all four of the 244 bass traps that I ordered, I ordered four "cloud" mounting brackets. These were thrown haphazardly into a box that contained two 244 bass traps and were shaking around the box. One of the 244 bass traps in the box was broken (see picture below), and one of the butterfly toggle bolts used to affix the bracket to the ceiling had a broken spring. The 244 panel pictured below cannot be used with the cloud mounting bracket that I purchased for it because the bracket mounts to the cross brace that is broken on this panel.
I emailed GIK about the broken bracket and toggle bolt last Wednesday. Their rep responded with a shipping label for the broken panel and toggle bolt. While it's nice that GIK covers return shipping, I was clear that I didn't want to ship the panel and receive a new panel (that's at least one more day that I have to ask someone to stay at the house)--I'll just find a use for it other than ceiling mounting, and I'll endeavor to fix it to the extent required for that use.
I emailed GIK six days ago requesting resolution and sent a follow-up yesterday. My emails were exceedingly polite--perhaps too polite in the circumstances. No response.
If you want inexpensive acoustic panels that work, but which have bad quality control and cosmetic defects, and if you are comfortable dealing with poor customer service, then the GIK panels may be a good option for you.
However, I'm left wondering if it wasn't worth splurging for some RealTraps.
(I recently purchased $2,500 or so of weightlifting equipment from Rogue. There were two slight issues with my order. The contrast between Rogue's professionalism in resolving the issues and the quality of service that I have observed from GIK Acoustics is striking. And I shouldn't need to tell members of this forum how excellent the dealers @Purité Audio and @suttondesign are when an issue arises.)
The major upsides of the GIK Acoustics panels are that they work and that they are very inexpensive. With two "monster" bass traps in the rear corners, four freestanding full-range bass traps on the side walls, two freestanding "gobo" absorption panels, and two ceiling-mounted full-range 244 bass traps, the sound in my room took an enormous leap subjectively. It's no secret on this forum that I prefer listening with BACCH processing, and BACCH works best without early reflections. The "imaging" that can be heard with my system now is extraordinary, and the sense of acoustic space from most recordings is difficult to reconcile with your brain's knowledge that you are in a 14' x 21' room in a suburban house. The sound is measurably better than it was before, too, with my Dutch & Dutch 8Cs requiring much less parametric EQ to get an even in-room response. After I adjust placement of the panels a bit more and play with the 8Cs, I will post measurements.
I paid around $1,800 for all these panels. If I had gotten a similar quantity of panels from RealTraps, MSR, or RPG, I would have paid two to five times what I paid for the GIK panels.
The major downsides of the GIK Acoustic panels are shipping, customer service, and, above all, quality control.
It took quite a bit longer for my panels to arrive than GIK originally estimated. GIK attributed this delay to a power outage. (The power was out for a week?) Then I received a shipping notice that nine boxes had shipped via FedEx Ground. I had someone stay at the house on the delivery date only for four boxes--not the promised nine--to show up. I called GIK about the five missing boxes, and their representative, who seemed somewhat annoyed to be taking my call, said that the other five boxes were "on the truck" at GIK's factory waiting to go out. Someone had to stay at the house the following week to receive the other five boxes.
When all the panels had shown up, I began unboxing them and assembling them, starting with the freestanding panels. The freestanding bass traps and gobos all arrived intact, but the pilot holes in the bottom of the panels to screw in the metal floor stands were crooked--on every single panel, and crooked in slightly different ways on all of them. (See pictures below.) They don't look very nice with their metal stands in the bottom all pointing in slightly different directions.
This is an easy thing for anyone to fix, so no big deal. But it raises the question why GIK Acoustics couldn't drill the holes straight in the first place.
Because I planned to ceiling-mount all four of the 244 bass traps that I ordered, I ordered four "cloud" mounting brackets. These were thrown haphazardly into a box that contained two 244 bass traps and were shaking around the box. One of the 244 bass traps in the box was broken (see picture below), and one of the butterfly toggle bolts used to affix the bracket to the ceiling had a broken spring. The 244 panel pictured below cannot be used with the cloud mounting bracket that I purchased for it because the bracket mounts to the cross brace that is broken on this panel.
I emailed GIK about the broken bracket and toggle bolt last Wednesday. Their rep responded with a shipping label for the broken panel and toggle bolt. While it's nice that GIK covers return shipping, I was clear that I didn't want to ship the panel and receive a new panel (that's at least one more day that I have to ask someone to stay at the house)--I'll just find a use for it other than ceiling mounting, and I'll endeavor to fix it to the extent required for that use.
I emailed GIK six days ago requesting resolution and sent a follow-up yesterday. My emails were exceedingly polite--perhaps too polite in the circumstances. No response.
If you want inexpensive acoustic panels that work, but which have bad quality control and cosmetic defects, and if you are comfortable dealing with poor customer service, then the GIK panels may be a good option for you.
However, I'm left wondering if it wasn't worth splurging for some RealTraps.
(I recently purchased $2,500 or so of weightlifting equipment from Rogue. There were two slight issues with my order. The contrast between Rogue's professionalism in resolving the issues and the quality of service that I have observed from GIK Acoustics is striking. And I shouldn't need to tell members of this forum how excellent the dealers @Purité Audio and @suttondesign are when an issue arises.)
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13 feet is GREAT and will for sure help, but still at that height it would be considered a early reflection coming from the ceiling so I would treat it. BTW over all you seem to have things setup pretty well, but always feel free to contact us with questions.
