About to invest in room treatments; GIK, RealTraps, DIY -- what is your experience?

Have you tried doing the MMM with REW in your primary listening position? I would concentrate on the problems you find that result from tests obtained in the primary listening position. Once you have fixed as many as possible with acoustic treatments use some room correction. I know everyone has differences in their preference but I don't like dead rooms I like them a bit lively. 

Excellent experience with ATS. I had a GIK order in place for a couple weeks then they told me it was going to like 8 more weeks. Canceled it and placed an order with ATS. Fast shipping and I actually saved some money and got the upgraded Gilford cloth. Quality was excellent and all the mounting hardware was perfect, plus they also provide a really nice template to tape on the wall and mark the holes. Easy.

I have experimented with pillows in the corners and also foam on panel.

The pillows in the corner were to simulate a bass trap and they work quite well. I think purchased GIK Impressions bass traps and they were a mild improvement over the pillows.

As for the foam, everywhere I tried it the sound got worse.

I've also tried pillows in the rear and along the rear side walls. No noticeable audible effect.

I've also experimented with the Stillpoints Aperture. In my room, they did nearly nothing. At my dealers, they provide minimal/moderate help on the front wall. I'd want to experiment first before commiting to $750/panel.

Having a busy week. Here are some replies.

Thanks, newtoncr for the tip about ASC. I have read that whether treatments are tubes or panels, it doesn't really matter, but I'll read some more. Some of the photos of a room filled with tubes seems more spoof than proof.

bigwave1, yes, I'm doing extensive analysis first.

@mesch 
mesch, I've played with my OC 703 at the side walls and ceiling and I definitely heard an improvement. I am looking at some kits from ATS. The shipping is a killer! I like the idea of the 2' x 2' corner placement. I could cut a panel and try it up there. I don't need to frame these to try things. Just covering in fabric for now and then will put in a frame if they have a good effect.
After a lot of room measurement and listening, the optimal placement is: tweeter to ear, 8'7"; speaker baffle to front wall, 5'10"; listening position to front wall, 13'10"

corelli (a great composer!) thank you for the recommendation. I'll go look at Audiomute. I love your room -- so organized and modern-beautiful! Are the side wall reflection points that wide so they deal with reflections from *both* speakers? Also, what's on the front wall?

@wfowenmd 
thanks wfowendmd for the head's up about GIK. People do love them, but the time consumed by sending stuff back and forth is a real negative. Time is my most precious resource at this point in my life.

thanks baylinor for your experience, too. My room is so odd that I'm taking a stepwise approach, not just throwing my situation at an expert also paid to get product out the door. Given the complexity of acoustics and the likelihood of mis-treatment, and the profit motive, I will likely buy a couple things, add them, measure and listen, and then move to the next step.

8th-note, thanks. I saw that and we do have some towels. ;-) But as audio2design notes, I have lower frequency challenges, too.

@djones MMM? Not sure I have.

@jmphotography 
@jmphotography I've already had a long delay with GIK and now am back in touch, but I had a great response from ATS. GIK is warning about huge waits. Perhaps they're too successful for their own good (can't keep up)? Still, I'll work with more than one if it seems helpful.

@pokey77 
@pokey thanks. Pillows do nothing in my room. Stillpoints is just expensive enough that I would worry that once I buy them, there would be too much cognitive dissonance to say they're bad. I suspect there's some "margin" in their products that doesn't smell kosher.

The "man cave" in my former home had terrible bass.  No matter what the bass line was in the music, the room added a single loud note.  I bought a miniDSP UMIK-1 USB connected microphone and REW (roomeqwizard.com) to help me position the bass traps I purchased from ATS Acoustics, eventually installing 10 of them to mostly tame the errant bass response.  My wife referred to my "man cave" as my "padded cell".