2.1 setup with GIK Acoustics

[napfkuchen]

I recently moved into a new apartment. The home office / music room is 4 x 3,6 x 2,65m with a door and a window at the shorter walls, so the speakers had to be placed along the 4m wall. After setting everything up some initial testing revealed that the cabinet in the opposite corner of the subwoofer was acting as a passive membrane.

Genelec's GRADE report showed bad results, especially reverb was excessive:

There were some leftover acoustic absorbers from years ago which I intended to use to improve room-acoustics. But due to their bland white look this plan was "cancelled" apart from 2 absorbers behind the screens (50x50x11 cm) and three absorbers at the back wall (100x50x11 cm). The other absorbers are by GIK Acoustics which are just fine (everyone to his taste ...):

At the back ceiling 4 "soffit basstraps" (1 x 0,4 x 0,4m) were placed. These on their own did decrease RT60 by 0,15s. All in all the sound has improved dramatically. While the frequency response did only slightly change (there are still to small holes in the 45 Hz and 100 Hz region) the effect on reverb is instantly noticable:

So if you are in the market for acoustic treatment this might give you an idea of what to expect with GIK Acoustics. Their absorbers are not exactly cheap but you can choose lots of fabrics and the Alpha Series / Impression Series front plate patterns / colors offer decent looks for home use in my opinion.

 

[Somafunk]

Very similar room size to mine and like yourself I went with GIK, it’s quite shocking to hear the very audible difference room treatment makes ain’t it?, certainly a damn site more veils being lifted compared to the utter bullshit espoused by the hifi press regarding cables/tweaks/fuses/racks/network switches being able to transform the sound.

 

[napfkuchen]

That looks excellent, you got it ALL covered. The Alpha series with these front plates would have been my alternative choice. I see that you also hung absorbers on the ceiling. That's actually what I was planning to do, but there were some shadows cast by the ceiling light. Since it's not really a first reflection point because of the short listening distance, I think it will stay that way.

As far as the rest of the hifi equipment goes, I can only agree. This realization came late for me and unfortunately cost some money. However, I have to admit that a nice hi-fi rack makes an impression in a large room. But there is no space for it in my apartment and therefor prefer to hide the rest of the equipment / mess:

 

[holdingpants01]

omg don't show this to Amir... congrats on the improvement, looks like a drastic change for the better

 

[napfkuchen]

OMG, but please don't snitch on me!
The good thing is that I've become curious about the hi-fi setup in my almost untreated living room now. Definitely will visit the Hifi Days in Frankfurt this year to experience Amir's "cryptonite" (Dutch & Dutch 8C) and other active/cardiod designs.

 

[Axo1989]

I hadn’t seen this thread initially but it’s good to see that GRADE report comparison isn’t it?

Relevant to the other thread Genelec appear to be using -10 dB as desirable criteria for early reflections. Also interesting.

And, nice setup.

 

[ozzy9832001]

I'm willing to bet that moving the panels off the front wall and putting them elsewhere would have a bigger difference...even if the speakers are rear ported, the sound coming out of the port is much lower than those panels can absorb. Seems they'd be better off on the ceiling, rear or side walls.

 

[napfkuchen]

You are right, they don't make much of a difference. But on the sidewalls there are windows/door/paintings and placing panels on the ceiling would throw shadows. The back wall is already covered: