Sound treatments - The great compromise

BlueMDPicker
BlueMDPicker Posts: 7,569
in 2 Channel Audio
I recently purchased some GIK 242 acoustic panels from @nspindel. Or, I suppose more appropriately, Neil gently shoved me down a new rabbit hole in audio Mad Hattery. B)

My wife, Sandy, was very understanding as I calculated and tested various placements in the living room (my primary listening spot) but, it went without saying, any permanence was not going to make it past WAF radar. The panels are now in a dedicated music room upstairs, but that's another story.

Sandy knew I had been pleased with improvements (even she noticed) during the 242 panels experimenting. She asked me if there wasn't a more elegant solution than 2'x4' panels sitting on the floor. I told her about GIK's FreeStand (gobo) panels and she liked them! So, that's my Christmas present from her and UPS just delivered them. They look great!

r003fauo7kel.jpg

There are two on each side of the room plus the double stacked bass tri-traps behind the sound stage. I'll follow-up with my sonic impressions, and a couple more pics, soon.

Happy listening!
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Comments

  • nspindel
    nspindel Posts: 5,343
    Love it!
    Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance.
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  • lightman1
    lightman1 Posts: 10,788
    Those are Maggie's. Quit lying!
    I fear that something of that order may be in my near future. Reasonable price?
    Wall hanger options?
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  • Polkie2009
    Polkie2009 Posts: 3,834
    Looking good there BMDP! Bet it sounds better. It amazes me why more members here aren't using acoustic treatments in their listening rooms.
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  • Mikey081057
    Mikey081057 Posts: 7,127
    Just looked at their website and I may be placing an order as well
    My New Year's resolution is 3840 × 2160

    Family Room| Marantz AV7704| Usher Dancer Mini - 2 DMD Mains |Usher Dancer Mini-x DMD's Surrounds | Usher BE-616 DMD Center | SVS Ultra Rear Surrounds | Parasound Halo A21 | Parsound Halo A52+ | MIT Shotgun S3's | Dual SVS SB 4000 Ultras | Oppo UDP 203 | Directv Genie HD DVR | Samsung 75" Q8 QLED | PSAudio Stellar GCD | Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ | Lumin U1 Mini | HP Elite Slice PC | ROON'd for life |

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  • Thorton
    Thorton Posts: 1,324
    Very nice. Once I put up the treatments, my listening room will never be without them.
    _____________________________________________________________________________________________
    Ethernet Filter: GigaFOILv4 with Keces P3 LPS
    Source: Roon via ethernet to DAC interface
    DAC: Bricasti M1SE
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    Room Treatments: GIK Acoustics
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  • SCompRacer
    SCompRacer Posts: 8,497
    Looks great Mike! Love GIK. IIRC It was 2007 or 2008 I started using GIK acoustic treatments. Some folks that have been here treated their spaces afterwards.

    You can get any fabric color, even art and stands, to make your significant other happy. B)
    Salk SoundScape 8's * Audio Research Reference 3 * Bottlehead Eros Phono * Park's Audio Budgie SUT * Krell KSA-250 * Harmonic Technology Pro 9+ * Signature Series Sonore Music Server w/Deux PS * Roon * Gustard R26 DAC / Singxer SU-6 DDC * Heavy Plinth Lenco L75 Idler Drive * AA MG-1 Linear Air Bearing Arm * AT33PTG/II & Denon 103R * Richard Gray 600S * NHT B-12d subs * GIK Acoustic Treatments * Sennheiser HD650 *
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  • BlueMDPicker
    BlueMDPicker Posts: 7,569
    lightman1 wrote: »
    Those are Maggie's. Quit lying!
    I fear that something of that order may be in my near future. Reasonable price?
    Wall hanger options?

    Owned Maggies for years - so, see what you're saying.

    IIRC they are $250 a pair. If you wanted to wall mount, you'd have to put some eyes or something through the back fabric (they're covered nicely front and back) into the perimeter framing.
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  • BlueMDPicker
    BlueMDPicker Posts: 7,569
    Polkie2009 wrote: »
    Looking good there BMDP! Bet it sounds better. It amazes me why more members here aren't using acoustic treatments in their listening rooms.

    Thanks! I got a very brief moment with them yesterday before visiting family and local grandkids arrived for dinner. Serenity to chaos..... :o
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  • BlueMDPicker
    BlueMDPicker Posts: 7,569
    Mikey081057 wrote: »
    Just looked at their website and I may be placing an order as well

    I didn't mention it, but mine are standard fabric and "coffee" in color. Sandy thought they were going to be brown (I kept telling her they would be a bit warmer than regulation brown) and she was pleased with them right out of the box.
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  • BlueMDPicker
    BlueMDPicker Posts: 7,569
    Thorton wrote: »
    Very nice. Once I put up the treatments, my listening room will never be without them.

    Thanks! I agree with you. This listening space is super "hard" (floors, windows and wall surfaces) and improvement is rather readily noticeable. Tighter, and better located in the sound stage, bass is instant.
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  • agfrost
    agfrost Posts: 2,428
    lightman1 wrote: »
    Those are Maggie's. Quit lying!
    I fear that something of that order may be in my near future. Reasonable price?
    Wall hanger options?

    H9's brother conjured up a wall-hanging solution:

    http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/86154/room-treatment-revelations/p1
    Jay
    SDA 2BTL * Musical Fidelity A5cr amp * Oppo BDP-93 * Modded Adcom GDA-600 DAC * Rythmik F8 (x2)
    Micro Seiki DQ-50 * Hagerman Cornet 2 Phono * A hodgepodge of cabling * Belkin PF60
    Preamp rotation: Krell KSL (SCompRacer recapped) * Manley Shrimp * PS Audio 5.0
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  • lightman1
    lightman1 Posts: 10,788
    agfrost wrote: »
    lightman1 wrote: »
    Those are Maggie's. Quit lying!
    I fear that something of that order may be in my near future. Reasonable price?
    Wall hanger options?

    H9's brother conjured up a wall-hanging solution:

    http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/86154/room-treatment-revelations/p1

    I remember that one. Blame did a bang up job.
    Fortunate enough to have a 20x18 room.
    Widows to the right of stage, double doors to the left. Just looking to get the back reflections and the first order off those sides. Inspiration has struck. Thanks gents.
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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,552
    edited December 2015
    I have 16 gik 242 and 2 gik 244.

    I still gotta hang them cuz I'm lazy.

    But I like what they did to the room.

    I thought about the free standers but they add up once you get like 12+ of them lol
    Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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  • hochpt21
    hochpt21 Posts: 5,423
    Though mine are not as pretty to look at...they cost sure is :)

    I made these a couple years ago.

    86907.jpg
    2 ChannelTurntable - VPI Classic 2/Ortofon 2M BlueAmplification - Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum II, Parks Audio Budgie PhonoSpeakers - GoldenEar Triton 17.2 Home TheaterDenon AVR-X3300W; Rotel RMB-1066; Klipsch RP-280F's, Klipsch RP-450C, Polk FXi3's, Polk RC60i; Dual SVS PB 2000's; BenQ HT2050; Elite Screens 120"Man CaveTurntable - Pro-Ject 2.9 Wood/Grado GoldAmplification - Dared SL2000a, McCormack DNA 0.5 DeluxeCD: Cambridge AudioSpeakers - Wharfedale Linton 85th Anniversary; LSiM 703; SDA 2A
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  • BlueMDPicker
    BlueMDPicker Posts: 7,569
    hochpt21 wrote: »
    Though mine are not as pretty to look at...they cost sure is :)

    I made these a couple years ago.

    I think they are very nice looking! Nice HSS Strat with CBS headstock, too!
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  • hochpt21
    hochpt21 Posts: 5,423
    BlueMDPicker wrote: »
    hochpt21 wrote: »
    Though mine are not as pretty to look at...they cost sure is :)

    I made these a couple years ago.

    I think they are very nice looking! Nice HSS Strat with CBS headstock, too!

    Thank you. I haven't played for a couple years, but I've been meaning to get new strings and break it out again. I need to.
    2 ChannelTurntable - VPI Classic 2/Ortofon 2M BlueAmplification - Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum II, Parks Audio Budgie PhonoSpeakers - GoldenEar Triton 17.2 Home TheaterDenon AVR-X3300W; Rotel RMB-1066; Klipsch RP-280F's, Klipsch RP-450C, Polk FXi3's, Polk RC60i; Dual SVS PB 2000's; BenQ HT2050; Elite Screens 120"Man CaveTurntable - Pro-Ject 2.9 Wood/Grado GoldAmplification - Dared SL2000a, McCormack DNA 0.5 DeluxeCD: Cambridge AudioSpeakers - Wharfedale Linton 85th Anniversary; LSiM 703; SDA 2A
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  • hochpt21
    hochpt21 Posts: 5,423
    Here's one I made to match my wife's decor in the living room.

    I keep it back behind a curtain and bring it out during listening sessions. I made this one to 'test the waters'. Reactions were mixed :)

    But I still need to make about 3 more :):)

    639B4A92-E87B-41C1-B9B4-D01A611FE25A_zpstgh1w6gc.jpg?1450579230601&1450579231599&1450579233969&1450579237821&1450579243384
    2 ChannelTurntable - VPI Classic 2/Ortofon 2M BlueAmplification - Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum II, Parks Audio Budgie PhonoSpeakers - GoldenEar Triton 17.2 Home TheaterDenon AVR-X3300W; Rotel RMB-1066; Klipsch RP-280F's, Klipsch RP-450C, Polk FXi3's, Polk RC60i; Dual SVS PB 2000's; BenQ HT2050; Elite Screens 120"Man CaveTurntable - Pro-Ject 2.9 Wood/Grado GoldAmplification - Dared SL2000a, McCormack DNA 0.5 DeluxeCD: Cambridge AudioSpeakers - Wharfedale Linton 85th Anniversary; LSiM 703; SDA 2A
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  • BlueMDPicker
    BlueMDPicker Posts: 7,569
    Love it!
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  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,552
    hochpt21 wrote: »
    Here's one I made to match my wife's decor in the living room.

    I keep it back behind a curtain and bring it out during listening sessions. I made this one to 'test the waters'. Reactions were mixed :)

    But I still need to make about 3 more :):)

    639B4A92-E87B-41C1-B9B4-D01A611FE25A_zpstgh1w6gc.jpg?1450579230601&1450579231599&1450579233969&1450579237821&1450579243384

    I think that's a success
    Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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