ATS acoustic panels

[laserllama]

For those folks interested in adding some acoustic panels to their home theater setup, I thought I'd share this because I've been able to try two different brands recently.

- In my music setup (synths and DAWs and stuff) I've had some GIK acoustic panels for some time. These are pretty good, though the finish is a bit rough around the edges in some places (i.e.) loose. They have sawtooth hangers.

- I went with ATS for my home theater just based on wanting to try something else out. ATS Acoustic panels were cheaper, come with a VERY nice installation template, and "Z Clips" and drywall anchors so they are really secure and straight. They have a printed template for putting in the anchors so it makes it really easy to hang them straight and perfect the first time (especially with a laser level).

If you are on the fence, I'd vote for ATS. I haven't compared one against the other in the same "sound" setup, but I think they made a lot of improvements for my home theater in a small room. I think I paid extra for the "Guilford of Maine" commercial fabric so I can't speak to the others. Delivery was pretty quick and they were well packed.

[racrawford65]

Good comparison. I’ve got GIK panels and definitely agree the finishing is rough. On some of mine, they couldn’t even put their name tag on straight

[laserllama]

Ha yeah, labels on my GIKs were totally crooked too ... I'm not sure if they peeled off originally but I did peel them off like last month so might want to try if you haven't already!

[SunByrne]

I have a mixture of ATS, Acoustimac, and GiK in various rooms. They all seem about equally good to me in terms of fit and finish and doing the job they are intended for. I pick the vendor based on who has the color/size I want for the best price. To a first approximation, if I need a single standard-size panel I order from ATS, if I need a bunch of standard-sized panels I order from GiK, and if I have a weird size I order from Acoustimac.

The one place where I think GiK wins is that I cannot express enough how much I hate z-clips. I've reached the point that when I buy from ATS or Acoustimac, I just buy sawtooths and hang with those. Takes about a third the time and a quarter of the hassle.