GIK Acoustics 244 Sound Panel Review

[Doug917]

Glenn and his products are the real deal. I have 4 of the Monster panels and 2 of the 242 panels. It has by far made the biggest difference of anything I have done in my HT room. Here are my thoughts I posted on Outlaw's forum:

Overall the panels have easily made the biggest difference thinking back on any single piece I have added to my HT (perhaps even any two pieces I have added). I went with the following panels:

--Corners (4)- GIK 7.5 inch panels (Glenn hasn't named them yet)
--First Reflections (2)- GIK 242 panels with stands

Things I notice after adding the panels include the following:

--Sweet spot is much wider now
--Much tighter bass - especially in Jazz and music
--Crystal clear dialogue
--More identifiable positions between speakers across the front channels
--Bipolars in rear seem to be more localized for rear effects
--Front-to-back and circular pans are smoother
--Echo in the room has been nearly eliminated
--Panels have also greatly reduced light reflections in the front of the room

I think I will probably add 3 more of the 242 panels or perhaps 1 of the 244 and 2 of the 242 panels. I am thinking of putting one horizontally behind my center channel reaching out towards the L/R channels, 1 on the ceiling at the first reflection point and 1 on the back wall at the ceiling/wall joint centered on the wall or possible between the speakers (feel free to throw me a bone here Glenn as you can get a better idea of what I am dealing with from the pics).

I have wondered about room treatment for a long time, but always ended up buying something flashier or with buttons and knobs. I now know this should have been one of the first things I did. I may have it worse than most due to my room being super reflective, but it has made a huge difference in the perceived sound in the room. Glenn has been great to work with and is a fun guy to talk to as well. His products are for real, and like Outlaw, provide great bang for your buck.

Since I wrote the above, I have decided to order 2 of the 244's for the first reflection points and 3 of the 242's for the ceiling. I will switch out the 242's taking care of the first reflections with the 244's. I will put the existing 242's I have sideways behind the front speakers at a 45 degree angle against the floor/wall joint. Now, I have to suck up to the wife for a few days so I can go ahead and place the order. I will post pictures when I get my room situated. It is a mess now due to many upgrades going on at once.

 

[Buckeye_Nut]

I'll soon add my 2 cents because I'm taking delivery on 8 of the 244 traps tomorrow. Once I get them up and get the room situated, I'll post some pics and elaborate on what I think about their effect on sound quality.

Coincidentally, my daughter starts spring break tomorrow, which means my vacation starts the day I take delivery of the 244s.

I plan to spend tomorrow repainting the HT, installing panels, and capping off the day by treating myself to some cold SUDZZ and a couple movies
I'm painting the HT walls with a dark red velvet color

My wife is planning on taking friday off so we can paint the room together, but I'm hoping to surprise her by having the room completed before she gets off work on thursday

PS..... Does anyone else think it's weird that a school district starts spring break on a Thursday, or is it just me?

 

[Doug917]

I work in the Technology department of a school district and we do the same things here...only I don't get spring break off. I have to do upgrades and such. I think you will be pleasantly surprised; the panels are the best upgrade I have ever made to my HT system/room.

I have thought about painting at least the top half of the paneling in my room and putting chair molding around the room to transition the painted to non-painted part of paneling and painting all the ceiling tiles black...they just end up being things I never get around to. I'll probably get to them about the time I retire. Then, I'll be half deaf and blind anyhow and it won't matter.

 

[bpape]

Congrats Glenn. Nicely done.

For all - I think you'll find that many of the people in the acoustics business are genuinely interested in getting people to understand what treating your room can do for you. No matter whose product you select, the fact is that you're heading down the right path.

I would also like to compliment Ethan for being so gracious and treating the mention of some of the StudioTips threads with such restraint. That got to be a huge can of worms for a while - and for the most part - for no reason.

Bryan

 

[Buckeye_Nut]

Jezus Christ!!!!!!!

The 244s are in the house!!! They arrived today.

Wow...
Big Difference...

I'll elaborate later

Amazing.........

I dont even have them hung yet because I'm painting tomorrow, but have them roughly in place, and the difference is evident.

OMG............

to be continued......

For those of you thinking about electronics upgrades to gain that extra edge, but you dont yet have your room acoustically treated.............

Think twice before you spend! TREAT THE ROOM!!

 

[ned]

That's exactly my sentiment on my first room treatment. Can't wait to hear from you how you applied yours.

 

[Glenn Kuras]

I really want to thank everyone of you guys for all the great comments.. Just this morning I signed a lease to your new building (man if you could have seen my hand shake) but it is threads/reviews like this that build confidence in myself, my employees and our product that I have done the right thing..
I have already thanked Ray, but want to thank him again and all the great people at Audioholics for the review.. I will not forget it, TRUST ME on that one..

Thank you, thank you, thank you

Glenn

 

[Vaughan Odendaa]

Doug, first thank you for posting your impressions. BTW, do you have pics ?

Glen, thank you for keeping in touch with me. I will keep in touch with you. One quick question. How high a frequency would the monster trap absorb to ?

Thanks again.

--Sincerely,

 

[Vaughan Odendaa]

Glenn, I have sent you an email !

Thanks.

--Sincerely,

 

[Doug917]

I just got done repositioning my Monster panels so they would hit the top tri-corners ot the room. I will try to take some later tonight. I have a busy night so I may not be able to get to it, but I'll try.

 

[ned]

Pics! Pics! Pics!

 

[Vaughan Odendaa]

Yes. I want to see pictures. Now.

--Sincerely,

 

[Doug917]

Easy guys! I am busy after work (uh-um playing disc golf) until about 6:30 or 7, then I will try to see what I can get in the way of pics. Must warn, I am in the middle or rewiring all speakers, so the room is somewhat messy.

 

[Doug917]

Okay, done playing disc golf and had a few minutes to do a quick cleaning. Here are some pics of the panels, room, rack, closet, etc.:

 

[Doug917]

I don't have a wiring nightmare! What are you talking about?

 

[Glenn Kuras]

Glenn, I have sent you an email !

Thanks.

--Sincerely,

Got it!!! give me a few to respond...

glen

 

[Glenn Kuras]

I don't have a wiring nightmare! What are you talking about?

damn that is nothing, you should see my studio!!! What a freaken mess!!!!

Glenn

 

[Doug917]

By the way Glenn, I am still going to order the additional panels I talked to you on the phone about the other day...I just haven't got the wife on-board yet. It's not helping that I am evaluating a Panasonic PT-AE900U projector she absolutely loves. I wasn't planning on upgrading my projector yet, but if she insists...what can I do .

 

[steinoch]

A definite benefit!

For those who listen to there system at movie theater levels room acoustics can make or break a home theater. I highly recommend people try these in their HT. Prior to working on the acoustics in my HT my wife repeatedly asked me to turn it down.."it hurts my ears." After treating the room I have been able to get away with alot more. The best I can tell is less distortion.

As for the comment about cost in comparison to DIY panels. Take a look at this link. http://www.angelfire.com/sports/RCcars/acoustic_panels.htm You will be able to pick any color you want.

Even if you're not a DIY'er the price of GIK's product is impressive. You can do a $2000 upgrade to any equipment for ~$250 or less.

 

[RLA]

Hello All,

I built some DIY panels back in 1989 (no geezer jokes please) basically the panels were 2' x 4' x 6-inches and they were constructed from 1"x 6" pine frame R-25 insulation and black open cell burlap stapled to the exterior.

The panels were effective, but the cost even back in 1989 was just a little less than the 244. When I think back, I would have rather been sipping on a Mic Ultra watching a great flick on my laser disk player and Zenith video CRT FP rig over the long itchy hours in the garage