Fiberglass Panels

I can highly recommend these UMIACOUSTICS 2” acoustic panels with hanging brackets. My dedicated home cinema is primarily fitted with acoustic panels from GIK Acoustics. I purchased these to provide supplementary acoustic treatment to other areas leading into the main theater room.While the GIK panels do perform admirably, their slogan touts “We’ve Got the Pro’s Covered. Pro Look, Pro Build, Pro Results.”. Let’s just say they’re only 33% right.Okay, perhaps I’m being too harsh. Let’s ding them only 50% on the “Looks” and “Build” categories and give them full credit for the “Results” category. If I did my math correctly, GIK is 66.6666% right with their slogan, lol.For starters, let’s talk about the attachment method to the wall provided by each manufacturer. GIK includes an unattached precut length of picture frame wire and two (2) small screw eye hooks for each of their 242 acoustic absorption panels and unattached sawtooth picture hangers with screws for their Amplitude series acoustic absorption+diffusion panels. Honestly, this is insufficient for the weight of the absorption panels. The sawtooth hangers are just okay but not great. GIK should just include the upgraded mounting system for the heavier panels instead of charging extra for it.UMIACOUSTICS, on the other hand, has this robust and extremely high quality bracket system with powder coated hardware which features solid metal mounting pins (4 per panel) integrated into the acoustic panel itself on the rear. The brackets (2 per panel) are affixed to the wall and the panel simply clicks into place, top and bottom, solid and secure.When installing multiple panels side by side, clearly you try to have them aligned with each other so the tops are all even. How in the world can anyone achieve this with the variability of using picture frame wire and eye hooks? Really GIK? It took A LOT of effort to get all the 242 panels aligned properly.Achieving perfect alignment with the UMIACOUSTICS panels was simple and straightforward using a bubble level. It should also be noted that the UMI mounting system is more than enough for the weight of the panel.As for fit and finish, the GIK panels leave much to be desired. The outer frame of the 242 panels flex and bow under the tension of the stretched fabric and the Ampliude series panels have the front HDF diffuser plates just screwed into the recessed frame with stickers covering the screw heads. Really GIK? Why not use a pin system like speaker grills to attach the diffuser plate and thus achieve a truly seamless “Pro Look”?The UMIACOUSTICS panels, on the other hand, are really well made with perfect bevels, and with all fabric seams nicely fused together. These acoustic panels truly exude professionalism in build and in the thoughtful execution of every detail. As for acoustic performance, the level of absorption is consistent with other competing 2” panels. UMIACOUSTICS should consider adding absorption+diffusion panels to their product lineup, made with the same level of quality. Guess who’d be the first in line to buy some?

I painted the back of the panel black . Made stands for them and placed them by my speakers. What an improvement. Cheapest stereo component to improve your sound.

Well made, tight crisp corners and good color distribution on fabric. Easy to hang on the wall with the convenient template given. Sound baffling is as wanted and expected. If you want to put these on the ceiling (which is my application) you're going to have to invent a method to install as it is only wall mount hardware. I used small rubber grommets in the wall hangers and put them on the ceiling and with that little bit of friction the panels seem to be holding tightly.

Remodeled my studio/office/den, including new flooring, and noticed some very troubling reverb/echo even after putting down rugs. From my listening position, I could hear the echo from the far right wall at nearly half the volume of the speaker source. Putting 8 of these on that far wall eliminated that reverb.In the listening space portion of the room, clapping produced a highly audible flutter echo. I put 9 of these in strategic places on the exposed wall surface opposite the speakers. Even just 2 of them eliminated the flutter echo. I put another 7 on the wall behind the speakers and that resulted in a room that still has liveliness, but no reverb or echoes.The mounting brackets for these are decent, but while the manufacturer allowed for the brackets to support the panel either horizontally or vertically, the mounting nubs on the back of the panels are only leveled for vertical mounting. There was one place where I needed to mount horizontally and that was a pain.The included wall anchors do not have any flange to prevent them from being pushed into the wall, nor do they have anything really preventing them from turning in the wallboard as you screw into them. In addition, the included screws are drywall screws with a tapered head instead of flat. This means that if you are screwing them in the vicinity of the edges of the bracket holes, they will push the bracket up or down making leveling difficult. Do yourself a favor and buy better anchors and screws and the install goes much easier.Each panel has two bracket mounts. Unless you're a masochist, only use the top one. Getting two brackets perfectly leveled and aligned, even with the including mounting template, is an exercise in frustration. The panels hang just fine using only one bracket.My walls are a shade of gray and the gray ones were just enough of a contrast without being obnoxious. I will probably order a few more to treat the TV area of the den. Overall these are very effective in eliminating reverb and echoes and saved my studio renovation.

I was pleasantly surprised by the high quality of these sound panels . There made very nice.Installed in my home theatre room and I do hear improvement in soundstage. They came with wall brackets and anchors. Nice.I highly recommend this product.