Audio Treatment- GIK Acoustics Soffit Corner Bass Traps


Hi all,


Have you used the GIK Acoustics Soffit Corner Bass Traps for low-end control, around 60 Hz and below, in a small room 10x13 ft?


How did they perform?


Did you install them floor to ceiling?


I am dealing with a strong 58 Hz room mode and want to tame it. I plan to speak with GIK and a few other companies soon, but I would value real-world feedback first.


Here is the product page: https://www.gikacoustics.com/products/soffit-corner-bass-trap


Thanks in advance for sharing your experience.

vzz1924

Yes, work great, yes.  

Take a look at the AM Acoustics Room mode simulator.  It will help you see the mode you have trouble with, place your speakers and listening location outside of it but also help you decide how to place your bass traps. If the mode is across the top and bottom of the wall, vertical bass traps won’t be as useful. 

Also, while a combination of room acoustics + EQ is the recommended solution you can clip strong bass nodes with a parametric EQ like miniDSP alone.  It isn’t a full solution as it wont’ solve nulls, or smooth the bass response across the room but clipping strong room modes is 80% of the way there, and may let you raise your subwoofer level up so it’s fully balanced with hte rest. 

The same is often true in reverse.  bass traps can really help, but the severity of the room mode may need assistance from EQ. 

I can tell you that the anti-EQ crowd is dead wrong when it comes to sub/bass integration.  Going from a badly performing room to one that has perfectly integrated bass with EQ and traps is glorious.  Don't be a purist. 

@vzz1924 

GIK has built specific pressure-type bass traps for <=100Hz called ScopusT40/T70/T100 with the numbers representing the approx midband frequency range that each covers.  As a membrane pressure type trap, they have a narrow bandwidth of effectiveness (usually 1-1.5 octaves). You’ll need several of them as they’re 2’ x 2’ in size.  While several may be needed and may help with the resonance loudness peak, I found that they really shine in the time domain reducing long bass decay times which cleared up bass details.  Ideally bass traps used with multiple subs is the way to go with EQ as needed as a finishing touch.

I have them in the four corners floor to ceiling in my house of stereo. You can see them under my system. Bought the ones with the limiter, they do not absord frequencies above 650 hz if I remember correctly. Not sure about your room size but a must in mine.

Your room mode is likely created by the 10’ long (not sure which of your listed room dimensions are depth vs width) wall-to-wall distance. 

10 ft dimension => 56.5 Hz room mode

If the 10’ is the depth of your room, putting bass absorbers behind your speakers and behind your MLP is the solution.

Corner bass traps will help with bass peaks and corner buildup but not necessarily address you "58" Hz (56.5 Hz mathematically) room mode. (They can still be a good idea for other reasons.)

Yes, I have 8 of them. Do they work? Absolutely. 

As others have pointed out there are frequency specific traps tuned to that particular resonant frequency, but should be pursued after treating the room generally first, from my understanding. 

Here is a good question, have it answered by someone who is not guessing but by someone who truly knows acoustics: Within reason, can a person have too many bass traps?