For the sixth time, GIK Acoustics exhibited products at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest. This year we teamed up with Klaus Bunge and Alex Gonzales of Odyssey Audio to bring their sound to life. We treated the room with six GIK Scopus T40 Bass Traps, two GIK Q7d Diffusors, two GIK Soffit Traps and two panels from our new Frequency Range Limiter (FRL) Bass Trap Series. The results were stunning and our room earned the distinction of “Best of the Best” from the guys at AudioCircle. Excerpts are below or read the full recap here.
Pez’s Picks:
BEST OF THE BEST
There can be only one. Normally I spend some time really contemplating ‘well this room did this really well, but is that enough to trump this other room which did this well?’ but this year one room stood head and shoulders above the rest. Price point be damned, magic hocus pocus BS on a spec sheet be damned, and most of all excuses be damned.
This years absolute best of what I saw at this show is: Odyssey Audio/GIK Acoustics.
This system absolutely hit it out of the park. The equipment setup was superlative, the room treatment went above and beyond ANYTHING I have ever seen at these shows. And the equipment was absolutely gorgeous… That said gorgeous equipment was everywhere at this show and no that’s not what I am basing this off of. What struck me was how I just melted into the music and felt an elation that is hard to describe no matter what I was listening to. The emotion just took over and I found myself truly enjoying the music. Not the gear, not the traps, not the lack of bass over hang or slap echo or the perfect tonal balance. It was just me and the music washing over my being. If someone took me into this room and said ‘This is my system, I have been building it for the last 5 years and this is the final result’ I would have been blown away, but Odyssey and GIK Acoustics accomplished one of the best sounding systems I have ever heard PERIOD at a trade show no less, where setup time is limited and the rooms are small and oddly shaped. Congrats guys you created something special here that I will remember for years to come.
Tyson’s Picks:
Odyssey and GIK Acoustics
I put both Odyssey and GIK Acoustics in the title for a reason. Every year we go to the Odyssey room and every year we like it. It’s a good “rockin'” room. But every year it lacks in soundstaging, clarity, detail compared to the very best systems. It’s never cracked our top 5, let alone number one. And every year there is little to no attention paid to room treatment. That changed this year. Dramatically. Bringing in GIK Acoustics was a game changer. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – EVERY vendor sound be a GIK customer (and every audiophile should too, for that matter). They are the Rolls Royce of room treatments. Putting their stuff in your room is like upgrading your DAC, your amp, your preamp, your cables, AND your speakers, all at one time. We always felt the Odyssey gear was being held back by the room and this year proved it. Imaging, soundstage, detail, tonal warmth, microdynamics, emotional engagement, all were there in spades. Congrats guys, this room makes the Best of RMAF with a bullet!
Photo Courtesy Jason Wong
