GiK Tri-Trap Bass Trap Review

[admin]

I very rarely say anything unequivocal in a review. Hold on to your hats 'cause I'm gonna to do it now. The GiK Tri-Traps will improve the sound in your room. They will. It doesn't matter the speaker or the amp. The DVD player or the processor. The Tri-Traps will help curb your bass problems. Are they a panacea? Will the fix everything? No, of course not. But ask any acoustical expert and you'll find that corner bass trapping is high up on their list of "first steps to a better sounding room."

Discuss "GiK Tri-Trap Bass Trap Review" here. Read the article.

 

[mike c]

is there an article to follow? or is this just a "statement"?

pics at least?

 

[nibhaz]

DIY yields twice as much.

Yeah an article would be nice

But I have to disparage the super high value rating. Corner absorbers are a pretty easy builds for DIY. You could easily build four SCAs of comparable size, or do two corners floor to ceiling in a room with 8’ceilings for that price.

 

[just-some-guy]

Corner absorbers are a pretty easy builds for DIY. You could easily build four SCAs of comparable size, or do two corners floor to ceiling in a room with 8’ceilings for that price.

not for everyone. some people would kill themselves with a screwdriver.

 

[mike c]

yup. i still can't get around to making DIY acoustic corner traps.

back on topic though, i have a pair of tri traps

 

[mardelgo]

No freq graph!!!

Thanks for the review but why I never see a Freq graph of before and after Bass Traps, to see how low in freq they work, I guess in the 200- 800Hz range, but I do not think they will do much help in subs freq...

 

[FirstReflection]

How do these compare to acoustic foam corner bass traps such as the Auralex LENRD bass traps? I found it a bit odd to praise the price of these GiK Tri-traps when the LENRD traps are the same size and about half the price?

 

[mike c]

i doubt foam can touch rockwool in terms of density and therefore more effect on the lower bass

 

[Tom Andry]

Thanks for the review but why I never see a Freq graph of before and after Bass Traps, to see how low in freq they work, I guess in the 200- 800Hz range, but I do not think they will do much help in subs freq...

If you're just skimming the article for graphs you won't find it. On the conclusion page - "GiK has had their traps measured." I didn't do the measurements but neither did GiK. It's pretty clear that they are effective below 200Hz.

 

[Tom Andry]

i doubt foam can touch rockwool in terms of density and therefore more effect on the lower bass

This is a well documented fact. They just don't measure as well which is why everyone uses fiberglass or rockwool.

 

[Jeff R.]

So is the improvement in sound from absorption of the sound waves and vibrations or is is it in the reduction of the 90 degree angle at the wall that is redirecting the longer sound waves associated with bass frequencies. I am curious, because my new HT room has 2 135 degree angles on the front wall to ceiling transition the that start about 5 feet up the wall and transition toward the listening postion to tie to the ceiling.

With my front sound stage on this wall I perceive a larger and more balanced sound stage with increased bass output from my sub and front speakers, I am wondering if this some how relates to the design premise of having them to make a normal 90 degree angle into 2 x 135 degree angles.

Jeff

 

[bpape]

First of all, thanks for taking the time to review our product. We feel it's an excellent performer at a reasonable price.

The purpose of bass control is to not only address frequency response anomalies, but also to bring the decay time in the room more into line. In many rooms, the time for bass to decay can be almost a factor of 8-10x the time for upper mid and high freuqencies. Not only does this cause muddy bass, but it can also mask dialog, cause issues with low level details, etc.

Having treatments in the corners has specific benefits:

- Cover the corner space to minimize 'horn effect'

- Corners are at the ends of multiple room dimensions so they tend to help with problems in 2 or even 3 dimensions

From our unofficial testing, the Tri Traps are effective down to around 50Hz. They'll still do something below that but not as efficiently as 50Hz up. 50Hz down, the waves are just SO large that they're difficult to deal with.

One other clarification from the review - while we do have a membrane in the Tri Traps, it is not the type of tuned membrane that was described. It's a damped membrane that functions over a wide area while serving double duty as a semi-reflector for upper mid and high frequencies to minimize the probability of overdamping that part of the spectrum.

For a true tuned membrane, the observations in the review would be correct and one would need to be sure that they're matching the design frequency to match the area you're trying to deal with. Ours are broadband devices. Tuning is accomplished by a combination of membrane mass, depth of cavity, and size of the membrane. For instance, a 2'x4' membrane would have a different tuned resonance than a 1'x8' membrane with the same cavity depth and membrane material.

Again, many thanks for the review. I'll try to keep watch on this thread and answer any questions anyone might have

Bryan

 

[Weasel9992]

How do these compare to acoustic foam corner bass traps such as the Auralex LENRD bass traps? I found it a bit odd to praise the price of these GiK Tri-traps when the LENRD traps are the same size and about half the price?

Actually, just to remove the question of subjectivity from the discussion entirely, all you have to do is look at the lab results for both products. The numbers aren't even close.

Frank

 

[Vaughan Odendaa]

Nice review. I ordered 4 tri-traps and should be getting them next week hopefully. Can't wait to test them out.

Regards,

 

[Vaughan Odendaa]

Can anyone offer their views on the tri-traps ? Impressions ? Measurements...before and after ?

I think it's way too early for this thread to die. Let's try to keep it alive.

Regards,

 

[DBlank]

No freq graph!!!

Thanks for the review but why I never see a Freq graph of before and after Bass Traps, to see how low in freq they work, I guess in the 200- 800Hz range, but I do not think they will do much help in subs freq...

I doubt they'll do much, if anything, below 100hz. the cabinets aren't deep enough and to treat the biggest room problems, they would need a LOT more surface coverage.

Here's the problem with this review. They don't analyze the room first and then figure out what type, amount and placement for the treatment to best fix the problem.

They analyze room treatment much like how they analyze gear. It's like, let's hear what this product does in a room. Yes, ANY type of room treatment that absorbs WILL change the sound of the room, BUT, will it actually fix the problems in your room, how much do you need and where to place the treatment.

They also really don't talk about the specs of the product and what frequency range it's really going to do anything, and by how much.

First of all, thanks for taking the time to review our product. We feel it's an excellent performer at a reasonable price.

The purpose of bass control is to not only address frequency response anomalies, but also to bring the decay time in the room more into line. In many rooms, the time for bass to decay can be almost a factor of 8-10x the time for upper mid and high freuqencies. Not only does this cause muddy bass, but it can also mask dialog, cause issues with low level details, etc.

Having treatments in the corners has specific benefits:

- Cover the corner space to minimize 'horn effect'

- Corners are at the ends of multiple room dimensions so they tend to help with problems in 2 or even 3 dimensions

From our unofficial testing, the Tri Traps are effective down to around 50Hz. They'll still do something below that but not as efficiently as 50Hz up. 50Hz down, the waves are just SO large that they're difficult to deal with.

One other clarification from the review - while we do have a membrane in the Tri Traps, it is not the type of tuned membrane that was described. It's a damped membrane that functions over a wide area while serving double duty as a semi-reflector for upper mid and high frequencies to minimize the probability of overdamping that part of the spectrum.

For a true tuned membrane, the observations in the review would be correct and one would need to be sure that they're matching the design frequency to match the area you're trying to deal with. Ours are broadband devices. Tuning is accomplished by a combination of membrane mass, depth of cavity, and size of the membrane. For instance, a 2'x4' membrane would have a different tuned resonance than a 1'x8' membrane with the same cavity depth and membrane material.

Again, many thanks for the review. I'll try to keep watch on this thread and answer any questions anyone might have

Bryan

How effective down to 50hz? What's the absorption coefficient at 50hz? Also, I STILL don't know what companies are selling corner traps. Axial modes are the biggest problems in any small room, and they are along the entire surface of the wall, NOT the corners. Yes, modal pressure builds up in the corners of the room, but treating JUST the corners isn't gonna do THAT much. Surface coverage of the corners is only around 5% of the room's surfaces, if that. Treating only 5% of the room is NOT going to do that much.