I know I'm preaching to the choir, but...

[slowGEEZR]

I can't believe the difference acoustical treatments have made to my system. I received some Tri-corners and 242s from GIK Acoustics ( http://www.gikacoustics.com/index.html ) today. I was having all kinds of weird room relection effects, in my stereo room, since I moved into the new house. There was a harshness and a too alive sound to my system, that I was hoping could be fixed via some treatments. I did some research and decided that some GIK treatments suited my needs. After sending them pictures of my room, I ordered their small room package and waited. I then received an email from one of their people who suggested that the package I ordered may not be the best choice for my situation. He suggested I rearrange my room and then add the products I listed above, instead. Please note that the items he suggested cost less than what I had already ordered! Clearly, they (GIK) are dedicated to getting better sound for me, not just making money. He said I would more than likely hear some improvement just by rearranging the room. He was right. Now, I'm still playing with where to place the 242s, but just standing on the floor behind each speaker and at the first reflection point on the left sidewall and with the Tri-corners in the front two bottom corners, what I'm hearing is amazing. Increased definition at all noticeable frequencies, much, much better bass and much decreased shrillness. Basically, the sound is like I purchased much bigger MLs and spent a lot more money on the electronics. Color me happy!

 

[FISH_MAN]

you are on to a good thing

gik is a great product that has really helped my less than perfect room.
the guy that owns it (can't remember his name) is very friendly and not a salesman by any stretch, he is sometimes busy but he has helped me on the phone more than a few times. the only product I do not like from him is his diffusers they just are not worth the money in my opinion.

 

[Pcar928fan]

Way to go Steve-O! IIRC your system is upstairs so I won't get to enjoy it... Dang it! Would love to hear what you got going on over there!

 

[VanDaRo]

Another happy customer...

Congradulations !!

~VDR

 

[SCompRacer]

The GIK Tri-Traps are awesome. Two stacked in each corner solved my South wall setup problems.

 

[slowGEEZR]

gik is a great product that has really helped my less than perfect room.
the guy that owns it (can't remember his name) is very friendly and not a salesman by any stretch, he is sometimes busy but he has helped me on the phone more than a few times. the only product I do not like from him is his diffusers they just are not worth the money in my opinion.

He told me to temporarily place the 242s directly behind each speaker, in order to hear the difference. If I liked it, then he said I should order a diffuser to place behind each speaker. I'm still playing with placement, taking my time.

 

[theWB]

The GIK Tri-Traps are awesome. Two stacked in each corner solved my South wall setup problems.

Another satisfied GIK Tri-Trap owner here.
I also found Glenn to be very helpful.
Some of the most reasonable priced acoustic treatments out there too.

 

[slowGEEZR]

Way to go Steve-O! IIRC your system is upstairs so I won't get to enjoy it... Dang it! Would love to hear what you got going on over there!

I wish there was a way. I think you'd be surprised at how good these Aerius speakers sound now. Give me a call when you need some help with the next car project. :rocker: ...or to just listen to your system again!

 

[slowGEEZR]

Another satisfied GIK Tri-Trap owner here.
I also found Glenn to be very helpful.
Some of the most reasonable priced acoustic treatments out there too.

I have to agree with that.

 

[slowGEEZR]

The GIK Tri-Traps are awesome. Two stacked in each corner solved my South wall setup problems.

I've got so much more great bass now, with just one Tri-trap per front corner. Did adding the stacked Tri's make a lot of difference over not having them stacked?

 

[slowGEEZR]

Thanks VDR. :music:

 

[SCompRacer]

I'm still playing with placement, taking my time.

Experimenting with placement is the key. I have four GIK 244's, and with one on the wall behind each speaker, it moves the soundstage further out. Placing the others on each wall next to the speaker seems to narrow the soundstage. I plan on trying their diffusers. They said I can return them if I am not happy with the results.

Another satisfied GIK Tri-Trap owner here.
I also found Glenn to be very helpful.
Some of the most reasonable priced acoustic treatments out there too.

I’m not at home now to check, but I think Mark was the fellow that Glenn forwarded my original email to. I was given plenty of suggestions from Glenn and Mark before becoming a paying customer.

 

[theWB]

He told me to temporarily place the 242s directly behind each speaker, in order to hear the difference. If I liked it, then he said I should order a diffuser to place behind each speaker. I'm still playing with placement, taking my time.

Steve,
Everyone likes what they like, but I prefer some absorbtion behind the panels as opposed to diffusion and I know others on the site are the same, but other forumn members prefer diffusion.

Below link is to an old article in Stereophile where they put absorbtion behind the panels and reflective traps at first reflection points. Have Fun.
http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/145/index6.html

Hopefully Dan or Jonathon will chime in, they are the resident experts on acoustic treatments

 

[slowGEEZR]

Thanks for the link; made a nice read. I wonder if I will also end up with 16 pieces of acoustical treatment!

 

[tonepub]

I've had GIK for a while now. Best improvement I've ever made for the money in my system!

Makes it much easier to hear the nuance in your system....

 

[FOUNTAIN]

I definitely agree that Glenn at GIK is very helpful and willing to bend over backwards to satisfy his customers. Not too long ago I bought two GIK tri-traps and was very pleased with the results. For aesthetic reasons though I had to return them. I was not able to stand them up in the corners like I wanted since an outlet would be blocked in both corners. My options were to lay them down, move the outlets, or mount them higher in the corner. Since this did not please my wife I called Glenn and discussed my issue. He was very understanding and took them back. I felt guilty as all get out for having to return them, but you can believe if I need anything else I would not hesitate to buy from him.

 

[SCompRacer]

I've got so much more great bass now, with just one Tri-trap per front corner. Did adding the stacked Tri's make a lot of difference over not having them stacked?

I had asked them about their initial suggestion of two per corner after they reviewed pictures of my room and heard of my previous experience with four GIK 244 panel traps that belonged to a friend. And I got the name wrong; it was Bryan Pape, their lead acoustic designer, who Glenn referred me to.

Bryan told me that it’s simply a matter of needing more surface area to bring decay times down and damp corner buildup. He also said I could add a third Tri Trap per corner (I have 14’ ceilings) saying “The more the merrier.” Adding the second one didn’t lessen the bass at all. It showed me that I had no idea how much bass was missing from my setup.

I kept thinking of the Tri Traps as bass traps but they also absorb mid frequencies. Stacking them not only improved the bass in my room, they really put a lock on imaging, placement and details. As Jeff said, Makes it much easier to hear the nuance in your system. I should have done this long ago, rather than stubbornly screwing around with narrower out of corner placement on my West wall.

 

[slowGEEZR]

Thanks, SCR.

 

[JonFo]

He told me to temporarily place the 242s directly behind each speaker, in order to hear the difference. If I liked it, then he said I should order a diffuser to place behind each speaker. I'm still playing with placement, taking my time.

Hey Steve, congratulations on the new treatments.

Your reaction is typical of what we have all come to experience, it’s a major 'wow' moment when you hear your system in a treated room

As for diffusion behind your main speakers, I’d highly discourage that. As I documented in the first acoustic treatments thread I did this year, I found that even though I was inclined that way that both measurements and listening validated that absorption is the way to go in the front of the room.

Make sure the 242s are HF absorbent as well. Sometime these treatments contain a sheet of plastic (limp mass absorber) between the fiberglass panels that make up the absorber, and that plastic is reflective of HF. I know RealTraps make a specific version without the plastic that measured (and sounded) much better than a ‘regular’ trap.

What one is aiming for is a uniform absorption of 250Hz on up, with no reflective or diffusive effects on the treatments placed behind the main speakers on the first reflection point on the front wall.

Note that last point, as it’s important.

Say you speaker is the usual 3’ from the side wall and 3’ from the front wall and toed-in a bit.
The treatment will go onto the front wall at around 2’ 7” (or so, depends on toe-in angle) to ensure the first reflection is caught.
But this needs to be balanced out, as with the absorption, you might likely change your toe-angles, so don’t permanently mount the treatment until you have experimented a bit.

I believe one could run a lot less toe-in with a treated front wall. This improves the front soundstage and provides a larger sweet-spot.

 

[JonFo]

Thanks for the link; made a nice read. I wonder if I will also end up with 16 pieces of acoustical treatment!

Um, careful, some of us wound up with >40 pieces, including some pretty large custom work

It's a slippery slope, but a good one if you know what I mean

BTW- just to highlight how important in-room response is vs say some tweak in a source device, I found that after 8 years of chasing the 'ideal' ML setup (which I still have not achieved, and knowing me, might never do so), that the speaker to room to listener interface is where one should spend the most energy and money.

But sometimes, a tool comes along that blows one away. So even though I have a room custom designed for my speakers, loaded with acoustic treatments and an integrated IB sub, I experienced nearly the same amazement when I deployed Audyssey Pro room correction on top of everything I'd done so far.

Running in the awesome Denon AVP-A1HD (a truly ‘high-end’ pre, really, I came from Meridian, and this is better), and using the Audyssey Pro installer kit, I was able to tune the system for ideal frequency and time-domain performance. Supported by the excellent room acoustics, the system totally clicked into place.

Playing movies at near reference level is actually a pleasure and music on this system is like I’ve never heard before (including many other >100K systems, like a Meridian Digital Theater with DSP 8Ks).

So room acoustics + electronic room correction + features like DynamicEQ make for one astounding playback experience.