Introduction
As an Average Joe you have to
spend months perhaps years assembling your home theater
system, maybe one piece at a time. Scouring the internet
researching products till the wee hours of the morning, you
wish you had purchased Visine stock to fund your next piece
of gear. Being very analytical, you carefully select each
piece of gear based on the information you have obtained. As
you sit in your favorite recliner while listening to your
system, you look around the room at the various components
you have acquired. You see your equipment rack full of gear,
those tall glossy tower speakers that you salivated over
last year. Let’s not forget about that huge subwoofer that
will flap your pant legs when called upon to do so. You sit
there with your space odyssey remote in hand, nicknamed Hal;
you marvel in the technical superiority of your system and
think it can’t get any better. Well, not so fast recliner
cowboy! The one aspect of your system and the one that
generally plays the biggest role in how your system will
sound and perform is room acoustics. OK, so now you realize
that you have missed one very important component assembling
your system; but, where do you start? Average Joe A/V
Reviews will have comprehensive reviews and technical
articles providing information on all aspects of room
acoustics. We have to start somewhere, so let’s start with
treating and taming low frequency.
Room
Acoustic Basics Low Frequency
Room acoustics are most often
misunderstood and this may result in many simply discounting
the merits that good acoustical room treatment can bring to
their systems. Standing waves also known as room modes
produce resonances and uneven frequency response. When this
occurs you may hear a hole or a bump in the bass frequency
response. Muddy, sloppy, boomy bass response can also be a
side effect of an untreated room. Most common bass problems
occur in the 20Hz-150Hz frequency range. There is a new
trend to try to deal with rooms standing waves with active
equalization. Many manufacturers of receivers, pre-amps,
speakers, and subwoofers now incorporate some kind of auto
calibration feature into their products. I would say that
this approach can help but should not be considered as a
replacement for good effective treatment. If you treat the
room first and use the electronic equalization for fine
tuning, your system will perform much better. Standing waves
(room modes) are a direct result of the room dimensions and
can be broken down into three categories. Axial modes are
the ones that are the most important and they are based on
the dimensions of your room’s length, width, and height.
Tangential modes are based on two pairs of walls or four
room surfaces. Oblique modes are based on all room surfaces.
Axial modes Tangential
modes Oblique modes
  
Reducing
Standing Waves (Room Modes)
Standing waves or room modes
can never be eliminated but there are effective solutions to
minimize them. The first thing you could do is to change the
room dimensions to even out modal distribution. However this
step would only be practical for new construction. Moving
your listening position out of the peak or dip in the low
frequency response may help but often this is not a
piratical solution in conventional existing rooms. Moving
the subwoofer may also be a part of the solution. Generally,
I have found that corner loading a subwoofer yields high SPL
levels; however, it often introduces boom. Moving the
subwoofer 1/3 in from the side wall may help smooth out its
frequency response. The most practical solution for treating
room modes is the installation of effective room treatment.
Many manufacturers build effective high quality room
treatment products such as bass traps and absorption panels;
however, the problem you may find is that even minimalist
room treatment products will be way out of their budgets.
Acoustical room treatment products collectively may be a
bigger expenditure than the investment made for an entire
system.
Room
Treatment That the Average Joe Can Afford!
GIK Acoustics
is internet direct manufacturer of
acoustical room treatment products. I was first introduced
to GIK Acoustics last year when my buddy Curt suggested I
have a look at their cost effective 244 acoustical panel. I
was completely blown away that you could buy a pair of high
quality acoustical panels for less money than you would
spend building them yourself. In keeping with this
tradition, GIK has recently introduced a new cost effective
line of bass traps.
Let’s have a look at the GIK
Tri-Trap
The Tri-Traps are available in
six different standard colors. Yes, six! The standard colors
include black, off white, bright red, bright blue, hunter
green, and coffee. The Tri-Traps ship in pairs direct from GIK Acoustics and cost
just $259 per pair plus shipping. Now, I don’t know if you
have done the research or compiled a DIY material list to
make your own traps. But, I can confidently say that you
will most likely spend more money and time building
an
inferior trap compared to the Tri-Trap. Want proof? Read on.
The Tri-Trap stands 4 –feet
tall x 2-feet wide and is triangular shaped to fit snugly
into a room’s corner. The trap has a wood frame and is
filled with 4lb mineral wool. The entire trap is covered
with high quality canvas. The canvas is tightly pulled
around the trap and there are no visible wrinkles in the
fabric. The canvas fabric is stapled on the back of the trap
resulting in the only visible seam on the trap. This seam is
not visible when the trap is installed in the corner or when
it’s laying in the horizontal position. A triangular plastic
top is installed on the top and bottom of the trap. The top
has a load rating of approximately 50lbs, thus heavy objects
can be placed on the top for decoration. Overall, I would
say that the Tri-Trap build quality is excellent considering
its price. The trap’s triangular shape provides a relatively
small foot print and looks a lot better than similarly
priced foam type wedge traps. GIK Acoustics claims effective
frequency absorption of 50Hz-500Hz for the Tri-trap.
The Tri-trap
is also available in several optional colors to meet your
décor criteria. The upgrade is a very reasonable $30 per
panel .
The
Monster Bass Trap
Just like the Tri-Trap the
Monster Bass Trap is available in the six standard colors.
The Monster Traps are sold individually for $118.99 each,
plus shipping. The Monster Trap is rectangular standing
48-inches tall x 24-inches wide x 7.5-inches deep. The trap
has a pine wood frame that is butt jointed. Mitered braces
are installed at each corner of the frame to add strength
and support. 8lb mineral wool is sandwiched in-between the
bass traps front full floating plastic front and the muslin
material that covers the back. Two eye hooks are installed
about one third down on the frame and heavy duty wire is
provided for wall installation. Canvas covers the front of
the frame and is stapled to the back of the frame. There are
four viable seams on the top and bottom of the panel where
the material is folded over. The seams are really only
noticeable upon close inspection and not noticeable when the
panel is installed. GIK Acoustics claims effective frequency
absorption down to about 80Hz. The panels can also be
mounted in a freestanding configuration using the optional
custom wood stands available from GIK Acoustics for $48.
Considering the low price of the Monster Bass Trap, I was
impressed with its build quality. Once again, considering
the amount of construction time and the material costs,
even an experienced do it your selfer would have a fairly
hard time replicating this panel considering its low cost.
Installation
Any amount of room treatment
is better than none. If you are on a limited budget you may
want to start assembling your room treatment minimally,
adding as your budget permits. There are a few factors that
need to be considered when beginning your treatment project.
The first is the shape and contents of your room. If your
room is rectangular or square, you may consider using an
empty room corner up front or in the back utilizing the Tri
Traps. Then, add treatments as your budget permits. If your
room doesn’t have empty corners or if your room has openings
to adjacent rooms, the Tri-Trap may not be the best choice.
A better choice may be to the Monster Bass Trap. Careful
consideration should be taken regardless of the room’s
properties. If you are in doubt, you can contact GIK
Acoustics for technical support and recommendations before
you start. For the purpose of this review, I decided to go
with two Tri-Traps and two Monster Bass traps to supplement
my already installed GIK Acoustics 244 panels. My family
room is approximately 12-feet wide x 24-feet long and has a
ceiling height of 9-feet. The room is a basic rectangle
with the right front part of the room opening into another
room. This room is always changing and under constant
construction. Large windows and a fireplace are part of the
room’s makeup. This room’s acoustical properties are fairy
bright and bass while plentiful has always been boomy.
The current speaker
configuration is the Radiient Calypso speaker system
(currently under review) and one Velodyne HGS-15X subwoofer
that is installed along the front wall, one third in from
the right side wall. Given the shape of my room, I decided
to install one Tri-Trap in the room’s right front corner and
one in the back left corner. I placed two monster traps
lying on their side under the screen along the front wall. I
decided to keep the GIK 244 panels in place located behind
the front tower speakers. Generally the 244 panels would be
better suited in this configuration located on the side
walls at the first reflection point. In my room I already
have pre-existing treatment at the first reflection point on
the left wall and the right wall is open to an adjacent
room.
Acoustical
Absorption Report GIK Tri-Trap & Monster Trap
GIK Acoustical panels and
Traps have been tested and certified by the
Riverbank Acoustical
Laboratories . Detailed and current absorption
testing and reports can be found on the GIK website.
About RAL
RAL is accredited by the
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
through the
National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP)
for selected acoustical testing services conducted in
accordance with established standards.
Listening Evaluation Two
Channel
I decided to use the up-tempo,
retro big band swing music of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
for the two channel evaluation. I started the evaluation
with track two Mr. Pinstripe Suite. The music
begins like gang busters with swanky trumpets, key board,
and hard hitting drums. The first thing I noticed listening
to this awesome high energy music was that the bass sounded
quite a bit subdued compared to what I remember it sounding
like in my room before installing the traps. I decided to
check the level calibration of the LFE channel with my SPL
meter. Sure enough I found a minus 5db drop in SPL levels
with the bass traps installed. This indicates a substantial
amount of absorption is being provided in my room.
Re-adjusting the LFE levels to compensate for the
absorption, I restarted the listening evaluation. From the
first bang of the drum and as the track progressed, I knew
that the Tri-Traps and Monster Traps had made a substantial
improvement in the way bass sounded in my room. The over
exaggerated boomy, mushy bass that once permeated my room
was now gone. I was now listening to bass that I can only
describe as tight, fast, and clean. The lighting fast notes
produced by the sultry, swanky trumpets sounded airy, rich,
and punchy. Vocals sounded natural, fluid, and harmonic. The
music and instrumentation on this track sounded a lot more
balanced than it did before the traps were installed. There
is no doubt that the GIK traps made a substantial
improvement in the music’s overall presentation. It was like
listening to a completely different set of loudspeakers with
the GIK traps installed in the room.
Continuing with the review I
selected track number three King of Swing.
This is by far the most aggressive energetic track on the
CD. The track starts with a succession of rapid hits on the
bass drum. When I played this in my room before the
treatment installation, the drum hits sounded boomy and
overlapped each other. With the treatment in place, the drum
hits had punch, separation and were much more defined. Once
again, all the instruments playing in the track sounded
balanced. The bass from the drum hits were no longer the
dominating force playing over the rest of the instruments
and vocals. The trumpets and trombones now had a presence
that I had not heard before. It was as if the stage curtain
had finally been lifted for the horn section.
Evaluation Movie Sound Track
Conducting the movie
soundtrack evaluation, I decided to try something a little
different and selected the DVD Minority Report.
The DTS soundtrack on this DVD is very aggressive at times
and provides excellent content for evaluating low frequency
effects (LFE). Selecting chapter nine Auto Assembly
Line, I began the evaluation. John Anderton (Tom
Cruise) is running in the auto assembly plant with the
agents from the justice department in close pursuit. During
this passage there are several gun fire exchanges between
John Anderton and the agents. As these futuristic guns are
discharged, they create a very loud quick LFE thump and as
the discharge hits the various objects in the factory, the
LFE effects are heard in quick succession. This chapter
always energized my room with huge amounts of low frequency
bass, but in the untreated room the effects sounded boomy
and uncontrolled. Installing the GIK bass traps in the room
made a substantial difference in the way the low frequency
content sounded in the room. As the guns were discharged,
the fast low frequency thump had much more definition and
punch. Once again, I found the bass content sounded a lot
more balanced and controlled. As the chapter progresses,
John Anderton tries to make his escape out the factory
jumping onto a moving crane. As the crane transverses across
the plant, it produces an enormous amount of low frequency
rumble inconjuction with the movie’s music score and various
other machinery type sounds. The low frequency rumble
created by the crane always seemed to play over the rest of
the soundtrack during this passage in the untreated room.
Listening to this part of the chapter in the room with the
traps installed made a dramatic difference. The LFE sound
created from the crane didn’t sound overbearing and over
blown. During this passage the music score and the rest of
the machinery sound in the background became a lot easer to
hear. Don’t get me wrong, the low frequency information
still shook the daylights out of the room; it’s just that it
sounded much more refined with the GIK traps installed.
The Bottom Line
The GIK Tri-Traps and Monster
Traps provide huge performance to price ratio. The minimal
investment I made in these four traps had a significant
impact on how my system’s bass and LFE performed with music
and movie sound tracks in my room. The addition of the traps
dramatically cleaned up lower frequency and that made the
entire frequency range sound better as well. The GIK
Tri-Traps and Monster Traps build quality and aesthetics far
exceed their perspective price points. The substantial
performance gains that I achieved in my room by installing
the traps made this easily one of my best bang for the buck
purchases. Considering these tarps are available in six
different colors and are certified by the well known River
Bank Acoustical Labs makes this recommendation so easy I
don’t even need to think about it. I decided to start my
room acoustical treatment with two Tri-Traps, two Monster
Traps and the two GIK 244 panels that I previously
purchased. It really doesn’t matter how you begin your room
treatment project. The key is getting started and building
on what you start with because your system’s performance
will improve with each room treatment addition. The GIK
Tri-Traps and Monster Traps are highly recommended for the
Average Joe that wants to take the next step
in system performance.
www.gikacoustics.com
Tel:
888-986-2789
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