Are The Speakers We Purchase Really What They Are Cracked Up To Be?

Some distinct positions from many in this thread.

Not a lot of firsthand experience though.

GR is some where between a scammer and a competent company.

I'd guess closer to the latter but don't know as I'd never heard of them till this thread.

I know there are a number of these companies that are legit and competent. Crites, ALK, White Oak, Great Plains, Modright and more. They make products that improve big manufacturers designs. Fact, can be done.

Be nice if we had some real experience here to add to the mix.

 

Well that’s that then.

Any GR Research speaker owners who are currently running them can post here or PM me. I’ll be happy to hear from you. If nobody else has any recommendations, then I’ll do what @Neonknight1 suggested and phone GR Research. But I’d really like to hear from some current satisfied owners first. That’s in part why we’re here on SHF. Anybody?

 

Well, we have all been awaiting some concrete proof Danny's parts save many a loudspeaker from subpar performance, well, here is the concrete proof, how could anyone argue with this technical audiophile assessment.

 

Agitater, I have been carefully looking at everything Danny has to offer, and viewed many of his videos, and I can tell you, of all the designs he has put his heart and soul in, the NX-Otica would be his crowning glory, or at least right at the top of his list of accomplishments. He had many variations of this design, and from what I can tell, he has really tweaked the design to insure it's best performance. This is the system I would want to build, however, I have not found a wood worker that has the inclination to take on the project. I would just not want to attempt this myself, with no work room, tools and the knowledge to get this project 200% correct. This design would be something one would NOT want to go into half baked.

If you are able to build this loudspeaker correctly, this is probably one of his best designs. However, once you finish the first part, for the complete system, you will need to put his subs in place, OR you could probably wing it on a sub from someone else and build his sub later. So Agitater, again, his prime loudspeaker would be the NX-Otica, and I am including a video of one set that has been completed and New Day took a listen, let me know what you think about this one.



His Flagship is the NX-Treme, and it's suppose to be a killer, but IMO, that would not be the one to do a trial on, as so very few people could accommodate this loudspeaker system. No, I think the NX-Otica would be the ticket.

NX-Otica

Here is another video on the NX-Otica, and let me say, this would not be my choice of finishes, imagine the vertical baffle being painted in a Steinway gloss black and the side panels a beautiful Santos Rosewood or red tinted mahogany and the base the same Steinway black, they would be beautiful indeed. I think this last video will give you a real feel for this speaker, and you will note, he built out the subs as well and it appears that open baffle design is a killer!
Let me know what you think.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prwyd7XlqVI

I wish I could tell you I own a pair of his loudspeakers, but I have not found anyone "yet" in my area that is capable of a truly professional build, like I have shown examples of in this thread, and I know it would be a mistake to attempt this build level unprepared for the challenge.

Are you up to this level of build and finishing?

 

What a bunch of utter silliness. Another YouTuber lending magical properties to a 3/4” bit of connector.

My only caveat, mentioned a couple of times in previous posts, is that the speaker model(s) have to work in a small-ish room with a midfield listening position. I don’t want anyone’s crowning glory, with all due respect to your suggestion. What I want is a GR speaker that can, for example, compete with the Dynaudio Special 40 that helped start this thread (and GR’s YouTube video), or the Pierre-Etienne Leon Quattro R+ (a recent acquisition), or the KEF LS50 Meta, or the Falcon Acoustics LS3/5A (or merely the lowly Sound Artist LS3/5A) or Elac-whatevers from the budget models up to the $1000/pr. range.

But the NX-Otica? No. Everybody give their heads a shake. I’m not spending US$3100 plus shipping and border taxes on an SHF experiment that literally only a handful of guys might - might - care about. The X-LS Encore kit (with the upgrade/extra cost caps and resistors) and the X-LS cabinet flatpack is in the budget though. I’m just waiting for comments or PMs from existing users.

 

Are you selling for him?

This sure sounds like a sales thread.

 

Does this guy make his own line of speakers and if so they must be really good. I’m not aware of them, never heard of them. What name do they go under?

 

GR Research
Most are kits but it looks like you can get assembled ones too.

GR-Research

some of the stuff is nutty
He said for one company their $600 costs $120 to build. But if they added the components in his &300 kit they would have to sell it for $1200???

According to his estimate, Klipsch has to build the speaker for about $120 to be able to sell for a retail price of $600. He estimates that if Klipsch were to build and sell the speaker with the mods he sells, they would have to charge more than twice their current $600 price.

 

Interesting, but I’m not into building my own speakers. I’d rather buy. I can see replacing damaged drivers and even the crossover if necessary but only with proven recommended parts or units. I really wouldn’t want someone else’s “take” over the original designers. If I did I’d be looking for new speakers.

 

1 there is no proof they are better, different perhaps, but not better

2 if you buy a $600 speaker and need a $350 kit plus your time (and risk), just buy a 1000-1200 speaker.

3 Dynaudio is no slouch, the refrain is they did a bad design, his is better, but values changed so you need the kit. Come on

If I were Dynaudio: buy a kit, do a head to head, slap it on youtube.

 

I’m glad he wasn’t working on my Klipschorns. I think Klipsch has a pretty good idea as to what they’re doing.

 

Example:
KEF Q150 $600
Upgrade kit is $260 plus time

kit is some caps, R's, wire and dampening mat
And I think 'tube connectors' ???

tube connectors, granted, they look interesting, but will they reduce Z vs any other good connection? How much? Audible, no.
Plus you have to remove the old, drill the box 0r mounting plate, reassembled.
They make a big deal about the 2 tips of the wires being 0.045" apart, but not touching.
Might as well be a mile at this voltage level.

Electra Cable Tube Connectors

 

Then maybe KEF should have made a Q150+ model if these improvements are so good. Wouldn’t you prefer tobpay for speakers upgraded models by the original manufacturers with their guaranteed warranty, service and support. They usually call their upgrades “the next model up with all improvements included.

 

They do but isn't there a company that upgrades Klipsch crossovers? Crites I think.

 

They have an extremely good reputation. So far I’m still running the original crossover, drivers. The only thing is they are completely rewired with driver specific Cardas internal speaker wire and a bus is bypassed on the way to the woofer and it’s hard wired at the driver then routed directly to the crossover. So far I’m happy the crossovers are holding up but adding new ones when necessary is easily accomplished.

 

That is exactly my point, complete silliness, keeping things light.

 

I suppose I have to clear this up, obviously you think I was serious. This video is a prime example of some of the real $hi- you find on the Internet, of course it's a joke, hope that clears things up.

I'm not selling anything for GR Research, I have simply followed some of his videos.

 

Ok, now that I understand what you are looking for, here is what I found on his site. Staying at the $1,000 or less threshold, here are some possibilities. When you see a price variation, these add on items increase the price:

1. Tube Connectors (These appear to be worth about .25 cents each, but he charges $50.00, that's all I will say on that)
2. Bookshelf Or Floorstander
3. Capacitor Upgrade
4. Additional Bypass Capacitors


So here are the kits that would fall into your your price range. All his kits are priced Per Pair

X-LS Encore $249-$530 Assembled Cabinet $250.00 or $150.00 Cut Flatpack

X-MTM Encore $429-$727 Cut Flatpack $300.00 (Not 100% on this one, could be less for the flatpack)

X-CS Encore $189-$336 Cut Flatpack $150.00


I trust this will clear things up a bit. You will probably opt for the X-LS Encore, which looks like the ones you mentioned, but I added a couple for you to view.

Hope this is helpful.

 

Perhaps someone will buy a pair of his finished speakers -
Davanti $399 a pair

32lbs per speaker

or the

Pedistale $899 a pair

The frequency response is within +/-2db from 45Hz to 20kHz.

The -3db down point is 38Hz.

Sensitivity is 89db 1 watt/1 meter.

The nominal impedance is 8 ohms.

They are 42.5" tall by 15" wide and 15" deep.

Weight is 65 pounds per speaker.


And then fairly judge them against the competition. If they prove to be as good as the competition perhaps that will lend credence to the designer and what he has to say.

This industry creates a lot of famous designers but then I go and hear their products and wonder why they are famous designers.

The problem here is it comes down to taste. I read posts about famous designers of audio gear and then I look up what they design and think - well that was horrible and so was that and so was that and so was that. Then I get a puzzled look and think - why is this guy famous?

I looked at all the speakers this guy modifies and having heard all of those brands I thought - well none of them have made a speaker that has really wowed me. Sure, they probably could use some help. And since I am not the only one who hears things the same way, I think there would be people with more time on their hands to say "hey this speaker is 70% good, and perhaps if we change this bit and that bit we can move the needle to get it to 90% good." Most of us don't have the time so we just say - forget it and let's try a different speaker.

Perhaps someone can buy one of his speakers and put it to the test - compare his $399 to an Elac, B&W, Paradigm, KEF etc at $399. Maybe you come back and say wow this thing is actually really awesome. Keep an open mind. All we have is a youtube video and claims. I would reach out to the fellow and ask for a pair to review but shipping costs have generally been a barrier to smaller speaker makers shipping gear to me here.

 

Richard, I'm not sure, but I believe these speakers were sold long ago. I think he bought several of these, upgraded and then sold them. I could be wrong, but I believe that is what happened. It would be nice to have people show up and report what some of these upgrades did for their various speakers. Hopefully someone will come on here and offer some remarks. Thanks for your post.

 

I thought this video might interest some folks. As I have previously mentioned, I would really like to try one of these kits, but I know my limitations and honestly, I don't believe anyone should attempt to build these speakers unless they are an experienced woodworker and have a nice shop and lots of both experience and tools. The complexity of building even simple boxes can be a real task, and if that is not enough, painting, finishing or veneering requires some skills that aren't acquired overnight. With that said, here is a woodworker that has the skills, and even he approaches the task very carefully.




Now, here is what you get into when you attempt veneering. When you watch this video, you will have some aha moments!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pb5KiJmIWII&t=1925s


Then there is the hand finishing done right!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBKCewpH56A



Finally, I found this video very interesting, here is a "quality build" of Danny's X-LS Encore, his basic bookshelf speaker. Now, this is an X-LS Encore done right, I think you will agree.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XMOrJ481UA&t=710s

 

I'm going to switch horses a bit and recommend a new speaker he has been working on, it's called the NX Studio, he is going to sell it for $900.00 plus the flat pack, or the flat pack might be included in that price, I don't know. I believe the tweeter in this monitor will have an edge over the older X-LS Encore tweeter, as it's open back. If you do speak with Danny, you might ask him, for a test and comparison which he would recommend, and I think he will recommend his new design, the NX Studio.

I hope some folks with experience with Danny's products jump on here and comment, I'm as interested in knowing as you are.

I don't particularly like this finish job, but this is the design of the loudspeaker.

NX-Studio

 

On his website under products he has completed speakers - you can click on the word shop and place your order. He makes a floorstander, standmount, and center channel. All quite reasonably priced (if they're good).

Here is the link
Completed Speakers

 

He really didn't want to get into specific brands for the most part because it seems like every brand has both good and less good or bad products. But he did say brands like McIntosh and Accuphase for electronics were very solidly built and usually of very high quality and design and could last a lifetime with proper servicing. I also remember him saying that a brand like JVC made pretty good products except they didn't have the brand recognition of a Sony, Yamaha or Marantz but were just as good if not better and you could get them at a lower price. I think he also liked some of the classic A/D/S and Snell speakers which you can still find floating around on the used market, he said they were of very good design and performed very.

 

Maybe a better question should be: are our rooms destroying great speakers potential ?

Watch this and learn: