Acoustic Articles

Articles

GIK Acoustics not only offers quality, patented, Eco-friendly products but we also provide customers with custom acoustical advice as well as helpful educational posts and acoustic articles. We take a holistic approach in helping customers understand the acoustical issues in their space and then present a practical approach to addressing the issues. This is the best place to find helpful articles. Be sure to look at our educational videos, product videos, customer videos, and our products for even more detailed technical information.

GIK Acoustics Partner Glenn Kuras leading an acoustics seminar

Articles General GIK Designer Tips Uncategorized

Designer Tips: The Significance of “Clouds” with Mike Major

When people reach out to us at GIK for acoustic advice, we never have any problem convincing people to put panels and diffusors on their [...]

Articles General GIK Designer Tips

Designer Tips: The Importance of Coverage Area with James Lindenschmidt

The most important factor in acoustic treatment performance is coverage area. Or more specifically, the total surface area of all treatments in a room, relative [...]

Articles General GIK Designer Tips

Designer Tips: Home Theaters and Acoustic Balance with John Dykstra

Without fail, one of the first things our clients say to us when we begin talking about how we are going to treat their room [...]

Educational Videos Room Setup

Speaker Placement: How far from the wall should I place my speakers?

There’s a lot of confusion surrounding speaker placement. In truth, the optimal speaker setup is based on things like room size and the specifications of [...]

Diffusion Educational Videos

Debunking Sound Diffusion Myths

There are many misconceptions about diffusion that can lead people astray when they go to treat their rooms. This video outlines some of the common [...]

Educational Videos General Installation Room Setup

Untreated Vs Treated Room

Check out these sound tests of our DEMO room. In this video we pull all the treatment out of the room to see how the [...]

Articles Educational Videos Room Setup Videos

Tutorial: How to Treat a Mixing or Mastering Room

[...]

Articles Educational Videos Room Setup Videos

Tutorial: Hifi Listening Room Acoustics Setup

How to Set Up and Acoustically Treat a Hifi or 2-channel Listening Room How do I set up my listening room: Audiophiles can spend [...]

Articles Installation Product Videos

Acoustic Panel or Bass Trap Ceiling Mounting

It’s recommended to place acoustic panels on the ceiling to reduce floor-to-ceiling slap echo, height modes, SBIR and reflections. For more on taming early reflection points, [...]

Articles Educational Videos Room Setup Videos

Tutorial: Treating a Home Theater Room

Sign up to receive access to our Home Theater tutorial. Get the basics on how to set up your own home theater system and acoustic [...]

Articles General Product Videos Videos

How to Hang Acoustic Panels

GIK Acoustics shows how to best hang our GIK Acoustic 242 Acoustic Panels, 244 Bass Traps, and Monster Bass Traps on walls and in corners. [...]

Hearing the difference of acoustic treatments on a drumset

Applications Articles Educational Videos Room Setup

Drum Room Acoustics Levels of Absorption

Listen with Headphones! Dylan Wissing of Getting the Sound demonstrates the different “levels” of absorption and diffusion that can make a huge difference in recording [...]

Room Acoustics - Treating first reflections title screen

Articles Educational Videos Room Setup

(Video) Room Acoustics: First Reflection Points

Ok, I know room acoustics work, and I have already optimized my listening position…but what do I treat first? The next step after getting your [...]

Articles News Press

AES NEW YORK 2019 Trade Show, Display Items for Sale, Free Badges

GIK Acoustics will be exhibiting at the 147th International Audio Engineering Society Convention at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City, October 16 – [...]

244 Bass Traps, soffit bass traps, and scatterplates in Sonic Temple Studio in Italy using GIK Acoustics

Articles

Acoustic Treatment vs Soundproofing

What’s the difference between soundproofing vs acoustic panels? What’s the difference between acoustic treatment and soundproofing? This is a common question as often the two [...]

Articles General

Alpha Series vs Impression Series

Differences In the Two Series and what that means for your space There are important differences between the Alpha Series and the Impression Series acoustic [...]

Ben Mesick Alpha 2da series and studio bass traps

Articles General Room Setup

How to treat windows using acoustic treatments

Windows & Room Acoustics: Problems & Strategies What do I do about my windows? I know windows are horrible for room acoustics. This is one [...]

Eric Johnson GIK Acoustics Acoustic Panels with Bass and Dogs

Applications Articles General

How to Hang Acoustic Panels

We supply heavy-duty sawtooth bars for 2″ Spot Panels (all sizes), Alpha Series panels (all sizes), Impression Series panels (all sizes), Scopus Tuned Membrane Bass [...]

Articles Diffusion

How Diffusion (audio) Works

Originally Published on: Jan 15, 2009 View the accompanying Video Diffusion is often a misunderstood concept in the audio field; so what is diffusion exactly [...]

Justin Dobie GIK Acoustics home theater acoustics soffit bass trap monster bass traps tri traps corner bass traps

Articles General Room Setup

Gallery: Home Theater Ideas

Gallery: Home Theater Ideas It is sometimes helpful to see an image gallery of GIK Acoustics acoustic treatments and bass traps in actual rooms for [...]

Articles Educational Videos News

Recording Magazine Looks at Room Treatment from GIK Acoustics

Recording Magazine‘s technical editor Paul A Vnuk sat down with our own John Dykstra to discuss some basics of room acoustics and how GIK Acoustics [...]

Acoustics & Audiogeekery Articles

Learning To Listen: Acoustics & The Listening Experience

Whether you’re recording and producing music, setting up the perfect audiophile system, or putting together a state-of-the-art home theater, aren’t we all after the same [...]

Acoustics & Audiogeekery Articles

Unpacking ETC: Time-domain measurements & early reflections

by James Lindenschmidt Using room testing software to analyze a listening room has become a common practice over the past decade, even for non-professionals. Testing [...]

Articles

GIK Warehouse Available on SketchUp

SketchUp is a free 3D drawing software application that’s easy to learn and can be used for a wide range of drawing applications such as [...]

Articles

Mic to Monitor Lecture: Placing Room Treatments

GIK Acoustics participated in both the Mic to Monitor USA and Mic to Monitor UK lecture series. One of the primary topics we reviewed in [...]

Articles

Basics of Room Setup

Basics of Room Setup At GIK, we understand that jumping into the science of sound can be dark and scary. Or at the very least, [...]

Articles News Press

Class A Fire Rating

GIK Acoustics is pleased to announce a Class A Fire Rating on all our standard fabric panels. Whether placing acoustic treatments in your home or [...]

Frequently Asked Questions GIK Acoustics

Articles

Frequently Asked Questions FAQ

At GIK Acoustics, customer satisfaction is our #1 priority. Our team is here to ensure that you get the most out of our products. These [...]

Articles Customer Videos Educational Videos News

Ian Shepherd Builds Home Studio

Ian Shepherd is the founder of Production Advice and mastering engineer and owner of Mastering Media Ltd. He specialises in audio mastering and post-production, Blu-ray [...]

Articles

The GIK Acoustics Difference

There’s a difference between a GIK Acoustics product and all others on the market. The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office issued utility patent US 9,091,060 for [...]

Articles News

Mounting Bass Traps in Corners

Placing Bass Traps in Upper and Lower Corners (There Are More Corners Than You Think) A rectangular room has 12 corners: where walls meet the [...]

Articles

DIY Acoustic Panel and Bass Trap Frames

Do-It-Yourself Acoustic Panels and Bass Traps… To Frame or Not to Frame Often people decide to build their own acoustic panels and bass traps for [...]

Articles

Audio Examples of Treated vs Untreated Room

We are often asked what are the real effects of a treating a room with acoustic products. For some customers, reading charts and test graphs [...]

Articles

Understanding Decay Times and Waterfall Graphs

Decay time waterfall graphs and frequency response charts are tools to measure the acoustics of a room. This article looks to demystify and explain what [...]

Articles Diffusion Educational Videos General Room Setup Videos

The Basics of Room Acoustics: Bass Traps, Diffusors, Acoustic Panels

This video explores the basics of room acoustics and also how to treat the acoustics of a room. Most of us are in smaller, residential [...]

Bass trapping first reflections in front of room

Articles

Understanding Different Bass Trapping

Bass Trapping: The Low-Down on Low Frequency Absorbers by Alexander Reynolds There are many types of different bass trapping and low frequency treatments available for [...]

Articles

Comparing Acoustic Foam to GIK 244 Bass Traps – Test Analysis

Acoustic Foam Bass Trap VS. GIK Acoustic’s 244 Bass Trap Panel A question we’re often asked is the difference between FOAM and RIGID FIBERGLASS. Acoustic [...]

Home Recording studio example sketch GIK Acoustics Treated Room with PolyFusors and Bass Traps

Articles

Monitor Positioning

So you’ve got your room setup and treated, you’ve spent a ton on gear and a fantastic monitoring chain, but things still don’t sound right. [...]

Articles

Room Setup General No-No’s

When it comes to room setup, there are a lot of dos and don’ts. Here is a list of things to avoid if at all [...]

bass traps and cloud panels by GIK Acoustics in Lost Ark Studio Control panel

Articles

How Bass Traps Work

In this article we’ll examine what a Bass Trap (bass absorber) is, why we recommend putting bass traps in certain places in the room, and [...]

Articles

Why Isolation (Soundproofing) is Important

Isolation (also known as soundproofing) is important for a variety of reasons. The most commonly recognized reason is to stop sound from bothering other people [...]

Articles

Speaker Boundary Interference Response (SBIR)

SBIR (Speaker Boundary Interference Response) – This is a term to describe how the proximity of a speaker to a hard boundary (wall/ceiling/floor) will change [...]

Articles Diffusion

Diffusion is a Wonderful Tool – by Jeff Hedback

Diffusion is a wonderful tool in small room acoustics. OK, nice enough, but what is diffusion, why is it wonderful and where would it be [...]

Articles

What Are Room Modes

Treating Room Modes Room modes are caused by sound reflecting off of various room surfaces. There are three types of modes in a room: axial, [...]

Articles Room Setup

Room Setup Case Study

The following room setup case study was designed to illustrate how a typical room can be tested, designed and acoustically treated to achieve the best [...]

Articles

Early Reflection Points

Early reflection points, first reflection points, or “mirror point” are semi-technical terms used to describe a phenomenon common to all enclosed spaces no matter the [...]

Articles

Room Acoustics Primer

For those of you who are new to room acoustics, here’s an acoustic primer to help you get started. If you prefer, you can also [...]

Articles General GIK Designer Tips Uncategorized

Designer Tips: The Significance of “Clouds” with Mike Major

When people reach out to us at GIK for acoustic advice, we never have any problem convincing people to put panels and diffusors on their [...]

Articles General GIK Designer Tips

Designer Tips: The Importance of Coverage Area with James Lindenschmidt

The most important factor in acoustic treatment performance is coverage area. Or more specifically, the total surface area of all treatments in a room, relative [...]

Articles General GIK Designer Tips

Designer Tips: Home Theaters and Acoustic Balance with John Dykstra

Without fail, one of the first things our clients say to us when we begin talking about how we are going to treat their room [...]

Educational Videos Room Setup

Speaker Placement: How far from the wall should I place my speakers?

There’s a lot of confusion surrounding speaker placement. In truth, the optimal speaker setup is based on things like room size and the specifications of [...]

Diffusion Educational Videos

Debunking Sound Diffusion Myths

There are many misconceptions about diffusion that can lead people astray when they go to treat their rooms. This video outlines some of the common [...]

Educational Videos General Installation Room Setup

Untreated Vs Treated Room

Check out these sound tests of our DEMO room. In this video we pull all the treatment out of the room to see how the [...]

Articles Educational Videos Room Setup Videos

Tutorial: How to Treat a Mixing or Mastering Room

[...]

Articles Educational Videos Room Setup Videos

Tutorial: Hifi Listening Room Acoustics Setup

How to Set Up and Acoustically Treat a Hifi or 2-channel Listening Room How do I set up my listening room: Audiophiles can spend [...]

Articles Installation Product Videos

Acoustic Panel or Bass Trap Ceiling Mounting

It’s recommended to place acoustic panels on the ceiling to reduce floor-to-ceiling slap echo, height modes, SBIR and reflections. For more on taming early reflection points, [...]

Articles Educational Videos Room Setup Videos

Tutorial: Treating a Home Theater Room

Sign up to receive access to our Home Theater tutorial. Get the basics on how to set up your own home theater system and acoustic [...]

Articles General Product Videos Videos

How to Hang Acoustic Panels

GIK Acoustics shows how to best hang our GIK Acoustic 242 Acoustic Panels, 244 Bass Traps, and Monster Bass Traps on walls and in corners. [...]

Applications Articles Educational Videos Room Setup

Drum Room Acoustics Levels of Absorption

Listen with Headphones! Dylan Wissing of Getting the Sound demonstrates the different “levels” of absorption and diffusion that can make a huge difference in recording [...]

Articles Educational Videos Room Setup

(Video) Room Acoustics: First Reflection Points

Ok, I know room acoustics work, and I have already optimized my listening position…but what do I treat first? The next step after getting your [...]

Articles News Press

AES NEW YORK 2019 Trade Show, Display Items for Sale, Free Badges

GIK Acoustics will be exhibiting at the 147th International Audio Engineering Society Convention at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City, October 16 – [...]

Articles

Acoustic Treatment vs Soundproofing

What’s the difference between soundproofing vs acoustic panels? What’s the difference between acoustic treatment and soundproofing? This is a common question as often the two [...]

Articles General

Alpha Series vs Impression Series

Differences In the Two Series and what that means for your space There are important differences between the Alpha Series and the Impression Series acoustic [...]

Articles General Room Setup

How to treat windows using acoustic treatments

Windows & Room Acoustics: Problems & Strategies What do I do about my windows? I know windows are horrible for room acoustics. This is one [...]

Applications Articles General

How to Hang Acoustic Panels

We supply heavy-duty sawtooth bars for 2″ Spot Panels (all sizes), Alpha Series panels (all sizes), Impression Series panels (all sizes), Scopus Tuned Membrane Bass [...]

Articles Diffusion

How Diffusion (audio) Works

Originally Published on: Jan 15, 2009 View the accompanying Video Diffusion is often a misunderstood concept in the audio field; so what is diffusion exactly [...]

Articles General Room Setup

Gallery: Home Theater Ideas

Gallery: Home Theater Ideas It is sometimes helpful to see an image gallery of GIK Acoustics acoustic treatments and bass traps in actual rooms for [...]

Articles Educational Videos News

Recording Magazine Looks at Room Treatment from GIK Acoustics

Recording Magazine‘s technical editor Paul A Vnuk sat down with our own John Dykstra to discuss some basics of room acoustics and how GIK Acoustics [...]

Acoustics & Audiogeekery Articles

Learning To Listen: Acoustics & The Listening Experience

Whether you’re recording and producing music, setting up the perfect audiophile system, or putting together a state-of-the-art home theater, aren’t we all after the same [...]

Acoustics & Audiogeekery Articles

Unpacking ETC: Time-domain measurements & early reflections

by James Lindenschmidt Using room testing software to analyze a listening room has become a common practice over the past decade, even for non-professionals. Testing [...]

Articles

GIK Warehouse Available on SketchUp

SketchUp is a free 3D drawing software application that’s easy to learn and can be used for a wide range of drawing applications such as [...]

Articles

Mic to Monitor Lecture: Placing Room Treatments

GIK Acoustics participated in both the Mic to Monitor USA and Mic to Monitor UK lecture series. One of the primary topics we reviewed in [...]

Articles

Basics of Room Setup

Basics of Room Setup At GIK, we understand that jumping into the science of sound can be dark and scary. Or at the very least, [...]

Articles News Press

Class A Fire Rating

GIK Acoustics is pleased to announce a Class A Fire Rating on all our standard fabric panels. Whether placing acoustic treatments in your home or [...]

Articles

Frequently Asked Questions FAQ

At GIK Acoustics, customer satisfaction is our #1 priority. Our team is here to ensure that you get the most out of our products. These [...]

Articles Customer Videos Educational Videos News

Ian Shepherd Builds Home Studio

Ian Shepherd is the founder of Production Advice and mastering engineer and owner of Mastering Media Ltd. He specialises in audio mastering and post-production, Blu-ray [...]

Articles

The GIK Acoustics Difference

There’s a difference between a GIK Acoustics product and all others on the market. The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office issued utility patent US 9,091,060 for [...]

Articles News

Mounting Bass Traps in Corners

Placing Bass Traps in Upper and Lower Corners (There Are More Corners Than You Think) A rectangular room has 12 corners: where walls meet the [...]

Articles

DIY Acoustic Panel and Bass Trap Frames

Do-It-Yourself Acoustic Panels and Bass Traps… To Frame or Not to Frame Often people decide to build their own acoustic panels and bass traps for [...]

Articles

Audio Examples of Treated vs Untreated Room

We are often asked what are the real effects of a treating a room with acoustic products. For some customers, reading charts and test graphs [...]

Articles

Understanding Decay Times and Waterfall Graphs

Decay time waterfall graphs and frequency response charts are tools to measure the acoustics of a room. This article looks to demystify and explain what [...]

Articles Diffusion Educational Videos General Room Setup Videos

The Basics of Room Acoustics: Bass Traps, Diffusors, Acoustic Panels

This video explores the basics of room acoustics and also how to treat the acoustics of a room. Most of us are in smaller, residential [...]

Articles

Understanding Different Bass Trapping

Bass Trapping: The Low-Down on Low Frequency Absorbers by Alexander Reynolds There are many types of different bass trapping and low frequency treatments available for [...]

Articles

Comparing Acoustic Foam to GIK 244 Bass Traps – Test Analysis

Acoustic Foam Bass Trap VS. GIK Acoustic’s 244 Bass Trap Panel A question we’re often asked is the difference between FOAM and RIGID FIBERGLASS. Acoustic [...]

Articles

Monitor Positioning

So you’ve got your room setup and treated, you’ve spent a ton on gear and a fantastic monitoring chain, but things still don’t sound right. [...]

Articles

Room Setup General No-No’s

When it comes to room setup, there are a lot of dos and don’ts. Here is a list of things to avoid if at all [...]

Articles

How Bass Traps Work

In this article we’ll examine what a Bass Trap (bass absorber) is, why we recommend putting bass traps in certain places in the room, and [...]

Articles

Why Isolation (Soundproofing) is Important

Isolation (also known as soundproofing) is important for a variety of reasons. The most commonly recognized reason is to stop sound from bothering other people [...]

Articles

Speaker Boundary Interference Response (SBIR)

SBIR (Speaker Boundary Interference Response) – This is a term to describe how the proximity of a speaker to a hard boundary (wall/ceiling/floor) will change [...]

Articles Diffusion

Diffusion is a Wonderful Tool – by Jeff Hedback

Diffusion is a wonderful tool in small room acoustics. OK, nice enough, but what is diffusion, why is it wonderful and where would it be [...]

Articles

What Are Room Modes

Treating Room Modes Room modes are caused by sound reflecting off of various room surfaces. There are three types of modes in a room: axial, [...]

Articles Room Setup

Room Setup Case Study

The following room setup case study was designed to illustrate how a typical room can be tested, designed and acoustically treated to achieve the best [...]

Articles

Early Reflection Points

Early reflection points, first reflection points, or “mirror point” are semi-technical terms used to describe a phenomenon common to all enclosed spaces no matter the [...]

Articles