[recstar24]

For the GIK acoustic panels, what is the difference between the 2" and 4" panels? The 242 and 244 I believe are the models. It appears that the thicker 244 panels are to be used in corners, and the 242 panels are for the side reflections. Could I just buy 2 boxes of 244 panels and use 2 in my corners and 2 in my reflections? Or maybe 2 boxes of the 242 panels, treat all 4 corners of my room, and side reflections? If I were to go with a box of each, how would you recommend I set them up in my room?  Just need clarification on what each specific panel is designed to do, and what the minimum I would need to purchase to get started.

[IronLion]

I have the 242's and a pair of tri-traps, I think they have info on how each panel works on the website, but to simplify, the 242's don't absorb as much mids/lower mids/bass as the the 244's, so thats why they would work in corners better than the 242's.  The thicker the panel, the lower the frequencies it can absorb.  The 242's are good for first reflection points, and I would point out are also sold in boxes of three.  The way I have my layout currently is two of my three 242's on the side first reflection points, one directly behind the listening seat set horizontally at ear level to maximize the amount of absorption, and the tri-traps in the two rear room corners behind my listening seat.   

[JLM]

This is a "play around with it and see what works best for you" kind of product.  As IronLion stated, the thicker panels absorb more bass and angling either of them into the corners is the most effective way to treat bass related issues.  So the typical suggested setup would be 244s in the corners and 242s at the side wall first reflection points.

I use six GIK 244 panels.  Four are stacked into the front corners on 45 degree angles.  The other two are along the side walls at first reflection points.  I have an unusally situation (a properly proportioned room with nearfield setup ala Cardias formulas and 8 inch diameter single driver speakers) that provides minimal room interaction to start with.  So honestly in this case the panels provide noticable, but not overwhelming improvements.  OTOH audio is all about pushing into the "point of dimishing returns" envelope.

[bpape]

If you're going to do a box of each I'd suggest the 244's straddling the front corners maybe a foot or 2 off the ground.  2 242's would be used for side wall reflections and the last would be mounted between the speakers on the front wall (assuming you have that space open).  If not, then I'd likely use it hung horizontally on the rear wall behind the seated listening position to assist with killing the null off the back wall.

The 242's are 2" of absorbtion with a just less than 2" air gap behind them.  They'll work well lower than what you would think but yes, the 244's will go lower.

Bryan

[recstar24]

Thanks Bryan - one more question.  Could I use a 244 for the side reflections? If I went ahead with 2 boxes of the 244 panels, how would place 2 in the corners and 2 for my side reflections work out?

[BobM]

I know I have bass problems in my room, so I went with 4 of the 244 panels. 1 in the right front corner (the room is open to the left), 2 at first reflection points (the left side one forming a "pseudo wall" that would normally be open space), and 1 behind the seat. The ones on the wall pretty dramatically helped to tame the bass and the 1 hanging out to the left side gave me some symmetry to my listening room and really helped focus in the image and soundstage.

One trick that others told me to do that worked very well was to mount the side panels about an inch or two away from the wall, not flat on it. This little trick also proved to make a noticeable advance in taming my bad bass problem. All in all, things sound much better now than before.

I have a new mantra: Room treatments before new cables, amps, speakers, etc.

Enjoy,
Bob

[bpape]

You can use the 244's for reflection duties with no problems.  It's just overkill in many cases if the issues are purely reflections.  As for spacing, you can space them off but there is a gap already built into our products.  Max space behind an absorber should be equal to the thickness of the absorber.  More, and it actually becomes more 'peaky' in it's absorbtion curve.

Bryan

[recstar24]

I have a new mantra: Room treatments before new cables, amps, speakers, etc.

Enjoy,
Bob

Great advice Bob, thankfully I haven't went too crazy with cables and random tweaks.

Thank you for the info Bryan - you can expect a call and my business in the future

[mdfoy]

What is the optimal height for GIK 244 panels at 1st reflection point? My speakers ar 47" tall

[JLM]

mdfoy,

Just play with them. 

Ideally I suppose would be to center the panels at the average of your ear and tweeter height off the floor, but I just sit mine on the floor (my ear/driver are 33 inches above the floor).

[bpape]

It really depends on what else is going on in the room.  In a normal 8' high room, starting them 2' off the floor works well for almost all speakers and looks good too.  Now, if you have a VERY lively room and already have a bunch of furniture in it down low in the room, maybe you'd want to bump them up a little higher (again depending on mid/tweeter heights).  As long as you cover 6" above and below those heights, you can shift it to your preference after that.

Bryan