Are the GR-Research Audiophile DIY KIT Speakers & Upgrades Worth The $$$?

GR-Research Makes Claims To Upgrade Other Brand Speakers like klipsch, kef, elac, tannoy, magnepan and etc. Are Speaker Upgrades any good and is GR-Research DIY KITs really the best speakers for the money in 2023? I went to Texas to find out.

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0:00 INTRO
0:33 GR-Research Factory
1:06 GR-Research Upgrades Worth it?
5:42 This is NOT Drama
6:44 GR-Research NX-Treme Speaker Review
8:13 GR-Research Open Baffle Servo Subwoofer Review
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#homeaudio #hifi #audiophile

[Jayiyagi]

*Thank You For Watching! Please don't forget to click the like button*
Other Similar Videos:




0:00 INTRO
0:33 GR-Research Factory
1:06 GR-Research Upgrades Worth it?
5:42 This is NOT Drama
6:44 GR-Research NX-Treme Speaker Review
8:13 GR-Research Open Baffle Servo Subwoofer Review
9:24 Best Amplifier For GR-Research Speakers
9:44 GR-Research NX-Studio Speaker Review
10:21 GR-Research NX-Otica Speaker...
10:44 GR-Research XLS Encore Speaker...
11:02 GR-Research LGK 2.1 Speaker Review
11:58 What GR-Research Speaker Would I Buy?

#homeaudio #hifi #audiophile

[amdenis]

Testing a single speaker to change-out cross-overs is a COMPLETELY different thing from designing and playing back a speaker to ensure that everything from diffraction, CF, dispersion and other factors are dialed-in. Now, if Danny was going to change-over to different drivers, make changes to the enclosure or other such foundational changes, then you can't just work with a single speaker.
Similarly, to evaluate a speaker for all the things we care about, you have to have the same number of monitors that the source material is designed to be played back on, whether it is mono, stereo, ATMOS or anything else. Danny is correct.

[Mark-rwkw]

Jay, I am not necessarily a big fan of GR-Research, but have watched some of their YouTube Videos. I don't think your criticism of GR-Research of only testing and modifying one speaker is a valid criticism, nor is the complaint about them not measuring the bass frequencies particularly valid either. When GR-research gets in a speaker to see whether it can be improved upon, , they are are primarily focused on frequency response and elimination of spectral decay (to the degree possible) with a better crossover. It doesn't help to listen or measure that in a speaker pair, and they are not trying to necessarily improve the imaging, etc of the speakers (which might be discovered by listening to a pair instead of just one). Likewise, the bass response (other than the crossover point) cannot be helped much and is difficult to measure due to the role of room boundaries. There is only so much time and effort that they can can economically spend on improving the older speakers they get in, and shipping costs are not cheap for the person sending them in, or for the cost of shipping them back. If GR-Research didn't test their own new speakers in pairs, that would be a different story, but I think you are confusing the two different businesses they do (fix old speakers with crossover improvements, versus offer brand new ones).

[roybatty-]

I am yet to see anyone post a before and after video proving that his upgrades are a change for the better.

[jfritzy]

Thanks Jay, for the open and honest way you convey your opinions. Long before discovering GR Research, personally built speakers from scratch and modified off the shelf models. Crossover parts quality ALWAYS makes a difference. Speakers sent to Danny have problems, not just a different way of doing things. That is far too kind an assessment. Been in the room too many times when the bean counters take over and engineers are forced to make compromises. All the R&D in the world is too easily discarded to save as little as a few cents per unit.

Have to disagree with your presentation of Danny vs ASR listening to only 1 speaker. Danny is correcting issues with an already purchased speaker, not reviewing. It only takes 1 speaker to correct FR and resonance issues. As you pointed out Danny believes in a neutral FR. Owners of that speaker model can then decide if a neutral FR provided by the GR Research mod kit is worth trying.

ASR is testing and listening to 1 speaker to form the basis of a purchase recommendation for a pair. Also, looking for FR and resonance issues. It would be apples to apples if ASR purchase recommendations were based only on those measurements. Listening, a subjective action, is added to the review with the claim it is only necessary to listen to a single speaker to predict performance of a pair. Danny is correct to point out listening to only 1 speaker is an incomplete review.

[alden]

To qualify the following comment, this video is my first exposure to GR, so I speak as neutral a party as possible having heard only your take.
As someone who works on/builds/upgrades speakers, you can ABSOLUTELY *upgrade* a speaker without changing the network at all. Simply replacing the existing components (not changing values) with higher quality versions of components ones of with the exact same value can make a huge difference.
It goes further. When building my personal speakers, my "serious" speakers, I did a LOT of A/B-ing on a component-by-component basis, and combo-by-combo basis. I can say with 100% certainty that even higher quality components can vary widely, and add or subtract from the "synergy" of the network and drivers as a system, greatly.
When developing said speakers, at one point I had 5 or 6 different versions of the same inductor hot-glued to the side of the cabinet, so I could easily switch between them.
My point is that a single component can make an audible difference, and when you're dealing with consumer-grade products, they're usually optimized to sound as good as possible within a certain threshold of cost-to-build, the idea being to guarantee a minimum level of performance while still meeting the budget for building them.
Usually, this means using the cheapest components of which you can reasonably assure the supply-chain, while not compromising that minimum "standard" of quality.
It doesn't mean the developed product sounds as good as it possibly could with the OEM configuration, but instead ensures a consistent level of performance across the entire production run of that model.
And STILL, there are countless examples of electronic products that vary noticeably, even dramatically, depending on when during the production run a unit was produced, because the manufacturer swapped out some single component due to supply change issues, per-unit price changes, or some other reason the original component becomes unavailable.
All of this is to say, you can't dismiss the possibility that GR is, in fact, *UPGRADING* speakers, just because he can improve them fairly quickly/easily. And that's without even TOUCHING the change that actual component-value changes, or the impact an expert using specialized analysis equipment, can make.
I have personally "upgraded" any number of commercially available speakers, of all price-points, with little more than a frequency analyzer, some specialized knowledge, and a willingness to spend more than $0.05 on components.

[bbammo]

Experience helps. When I graduated top of my Electrical Engineering class, I thought I was pretty smart. That attitude quickly switched to reverence for the seasoned much more capable designers. I'm not getting that vibe from you Jay. We don't need to kneel at the GR altar, but when you question GR cross over upgrade kits being only "mods", it tells me all I need to know. Even doing nothing other than keeping the exact same cap and inductor values in higher quality components is a definite win.

[dannyrichie]

Nice job on the video as always. I also really appreciate your honestly. However, there appears to be a few misunderstandings that really should be addressed in a little more detail. I'll shoot you a response to help correct those misunderstandings a little later when I have a little more time. Great job, and we loved having you down for the visit.

[crapmalls]

He does what I can't be bothered doing, screwing around with replacing embarrassingly cheapass crossovers with real ones. What's not to like?

[pandstar]

I can tell you from intimate experience, I helped upgrade 2 different Klipsch models for friends using Danny's upgrade kits, and the improvement was drastic.

His upgrades turned almost unlistenable speakers into reasonable sounding speakers.

[IliyaOsnovikov]

Jay, you may get two pairs of some speakers and a kit from Danny to modify one of those pairs. Then you can do your own listening test and let us how they compare with the originals.

[chelillingworth]

I do think that your points are fair, I did the upgrade kit on the RP600m's and it was a real big improvement. The sound staging and imaging, depth were way better, and the mid-range was much more present and there was greater detail throughout. So happy I did it.

[Ylojaketz]

I get the impression that Danny is sincere in his approach to upgrades. Others in this comment section offer positive feedback of their experiences with his products. That said Jay, you are entitled to your opinion. Danny is a big boy and not shy about dressing down other product makers on a regular basis. His hindsight approach is 20/20 as you'd expect. So, he should be able to handle honest criticism.

[mbilden]

This is a very balanced review of your experience and for that you should be thanked. I watch Danny's videos and enjoy them very much. What I appreciate is the way he explains the facts of the speaker business. Far to many people have no appreciation of the budgets manufacturers have to work with in order to produce a profitable product. I feel that when Danny shows how he improved a crossover he is constantly reminding the viewer that the factory could have used these parts, but the price of the speaker would radically increase due to the associated manufacturers overhead. This of course does help his sales, but his YT channel is a marketing expense, not a public service. I will keep watching yours and Danny's videos because I appreciate both of your viewpoints and opinions. Thanks for an honest assessment of your experience.

[createachanneltopost]

I agree with your assessment. I built nx-studios and a sealed box servo sub. They are fantastic speakers for jazz, and get a really tight bass. But yes, they are missing something in the mid range. For home theatre it's ok for my apartment, so it doesn't bother the neighbours, but yes, it lacks the punchiness of and traditional sub.

I haven't done an upgrade kit, but from his analysis he obviously corrects a lot of errors in the design of some speakers (out of phase drivers and such). I understand his criticism of amirs review with only one speaker, as one of amirs complaints was output level, when he was overdriving one speaker to distortion levels.

[stewart]

Great stuff! Loved it. I think, however, after hearing Danny’s explanation of why bass seemed to be missing with the subs turned off (his preamp set up that filters bass from the mids/tweeters), you should maybe make a note of that in your video. Most people will see you video and take it as true, without going to see Danny’s response/explanation. I know you can argue, “Well geez, Danny should have told me at the time, I didn’t know it was set up that way!”, but still, in any event it would be good to let your viewers know (even after the fact) what was going on. Otherwise it just sounds like Danny’s speakers have no low end without subs.

[Subsonic-cden]

This review is perfection. I built 2 pairs of NX-Treme's, one for myself and one for a family member. I met you at Axpona and asked you what you thought about them - your answer was pretty much what you stated here. I couldn't agree more. I love them, with the exception of the bass. Like... WHAT are all those woofers even doing? This whole journey with GR Research has really matured you and your channel. You've handled everything objectively and fairly. A year ago I viewed you as a young kid with good ears, but little experience. Now I think you're the best audio reviewer on Youtube. I trust you to be objective, fair, and to mention both the good AND the bad. Keep it up.

[phantomplastics]

I bought the GR Research kit for the Dynaudio Special 40 and it was great. I got much more clarity and it was well worth the money.

[Darkmatterme]

I have been a DIY’er for years and I understand GR sentiment about the existing speaker brands. The diy speaker shop I got my parts had the same conclusions as Dany. The shop had an good anechoic chamber with a Clio system and he did measurements of existing speakers for an audio magazine, the results were often baffling. The thing is you can not confuse crossover mistakes with “ voicing “ the speaker. Two speakers with a reasonable flat measuring response do not sound the same “ neutral “.
But I do think you need to do both measure and listen for best results.

[quma]

I understand that it is difficult to do, but a review of original and "GR-upgraded" speakers would be a very interesting series for this channel and would interest many people.