GIK ACOUSTICS 242 PANEL REVIEW
I drove to Atlanta to personally meet Glenn Kuras (owner of GIK Acoustics) and to see his operation many moons ago. Not only did I get to crash at his place for the weekend, but I was able to become the first and only GIK dealer on Earth. It is incredible what this company delivers for the money, Glenn has bang for the buck coupled with effective products down to a science.
The 242 is a great panel for reflection points. It is a wooden frame wrapped in very nice cloth material (choose your color and style!) and stuffed with 2 of mineral wool with another 2 of space in the back of the frame. GIK mounts eye hooks 12 down on either side, and tosses in the wire needed to hang the panel like a picture on your wall. The 242 is more effective in the low midrange than in the deep bass region (see the GIK 244, Monster or Tri Traps) but used across corners will make foam seem silly and ineffective (which for bass control, it kind of is).
Conclusion: A smaller panel for reflection points for your listening position, or great to strap across corners to extend its bass control, the 242 is a great lighter weight panel ready to get your room sounding right. Build quality, materials used and price will make even the most loyal D.I.Y person wish they had never tried to accomplish what GIK already does without breaking the bank. Shop around, youll see that GIK Acoustics is the best at what they do.
GIK ACOUSTICS 244 PANEL REVIEW
Ive been using 244 panels in my live room and control room for months now. Its a wooden frame skillfully wrapped in attractive cloth and stuffed with tons of mineral wool, and it looks nice enough to where I think even the do it yourself crowd would have to wonder: why did I spend all this time and money doing this?. The 244 has 4 of absorption and an extra 2 of depth for a total of 6 deep of panel. There are 4 eye screws mounted 12 in on either side, and wire is included with each panel to, get thishang it like a picture! It really is that easy, again Glenn makes life easy and the 244 is highly effective at controlling sound.
Conclusion: The 244 is a very popular panel for a reason, they look very nice and are priced right, and do what they say. From the moment you unwrap them in your room you will be glad you let somebody else do the hard work for such a nice product. Compare the pricing to competitors, I chose GIK because it is simply the best.
GIK ACOUSTICS D1 REVIEW
The D1 is amazing stuff, very heavy molded plastic and quite sturdy. They ship in black or white and you can easily paint them (I used a plastic specific spray paint at the local hardware store and it was excellent). The last room I had was a concrete block room doing what concrete block walls room do best, sounding like &$^#. It was all I had at the time, and between the GIK bass panels and the D1 diffusors I was able to get extremely useable sounds with drums, voice you name it. The room wasnt slappy and flutter-y any longer, and mounting the D1 was a snap (GIK includes 2 wooden strips you screw to the wall or ceiling, and screws to mount the D1 to the wood, done!). Very effective and in classic GIK style, priced right and simple to hang.
Conclusion: Stop all that flutter-y mess in your room with the D1, good sound starts in the ROOM and dont think absorption is the only key to treating your space. Diffusion is a satisfying way of keeping a space live without the obvious echo issues. You will not find a more effective diffuser, not anywhere near this affordable price range.
GIK ACOUSTICS MONSTER PANEL REVIEW
The Monster Bass Trap is just that, a MONSTER! This thick, heavy panel just eats bass and outperforms everything else on the market. Built on a wooden frame, stuffed with about 6 of mineral wool and wrapped in cloth, the Monster Trap has about 1.5 of space in the back of the frame where GIK mounts eye hooks 12 down on either side so you can hang it like a picture (the wire is included). It really is that easy, with the Monster Trap due to the weight, I would suggest using 2 sturdy screws in the wall to hang this panel from. This one reaches deepest of all the GIK panels, and squashes the competition at a lower price. This thing is packed dense and ready to improve your sound in an instant.
Conclusion: Its a big one, and highly effective. The guys at GIK Acoustics prove once again that you dont have to go broke making the room sound as right as it can. If your room isnt right, youre fighting a lost cause. I use Monster panels in my own live room as they look great and work wonders.
GIK ACOUSTICS POLY DIFFUSOR REVIEW
Walk into my room and the first thing you will notice are these very attractive honey blonde stained poly diffusers on my back wall and back ceiling. The thing you wont have to experience is how the joint sound before I installed them! The back of my control room was just too dead, needed to bring back some life to the sound (not to mention there was some floor / ceiling relationship stuff that was slappy). GIK happened to be releasing the Poly diffuser at the right time, I may have installed the very first ones on Earth here.
There are 2 clever keyhole slots on the back of each unit, so you simply bury 2 screws in the wall or ceiling, leave enough of the head exposed to enter the slot, push the poly onto the 2 screws and slide it into the slots for hold anddone! Another genius design from the folks at GIK Acoustics, making life a little too easy for us all. The look and feel of these veneer finish polys is unreal, seriously they are the most beautiful things in the room (when my wife is not in here, hey seriously she is hot) but what they do for the sound is amazing. A very even scatter effect, I was able to use them as the cereal ads would say, as part of a well balanced breakfast of diffusion and absorption in here. Now when you sit in the mix position, the back of the room, or walk aroundthere is this very even sound going on with no wacky midrange or slap stuff.
Conclusion: Beautiful in appearance (they are so lightly stained you could easily re-stain them to match) and genius in their sound, the GIK Acoustics Poly Diffuser has changed my listening environment for every seat in the room. They cost a fraction of what ugly diffusers from competitors cost as well, but I chose them because they work.
GIK ACOUSTICS TRI TRAP REVIEW
OK so lets understand this: I can have superior bass control in my room and not have to pound one nail or drive one screwand it looks nice? Well its true, and Ive got them in the front corners of my room to prove it. The Tri Trap is another one of those GIK Acoustics ideas that Glenn has that just works so well. You just stand them up in the corner. In fact, they are 3 11 tall so you can stack them 2 high easily in an 8 ceiling room for extra control. I gotta admit, I only use one in each corner: I needed more bass control but I also wanted a nice place to put my favorite small lamps. The Tri Trap is covered in just about any fabric color you want, so you just plop them into place and youre done.
Conclusion: I heard a difference the moment I stood them up in my corners, this is the second room Ive utilized the Tri Traps in and again they just do the job. They really are a cool place to put a lamp, if you only need one in each corner. These things are stuffed tight with mineral wool and ready to bring your space to life in a good way.