GR Research NX-Extreme

There are a couple of You Tube videos documenting how the GR Research loudspeaker flat packs (precut MDF panels you glue together and finish) are assembled. You don't need any woodshop tools except for some wood clamps (and glue, of course). The flat packs are very easy to put together, made with alignment dowels (just like IKEA furniture) and "biscuits". I love that you can finish them (or have it done for you, as in an automotive body shop for a Wilson Audio-quality paint job, or cabinet shop if you want a genuine wood veneer finish) any way you want.

Build threads are also posted on the Audiocircle GR Research Forum website. Join the fun! Once you get used to the idea, you realize it can take your hi-fi involvement to a new level, like super-charging your car's engine with a bolt-on blower kit. Ultra-high performance for the price of mass-produced mediocrity.

Danny Richie designed and has manufactured his own drivers (including the NEO3 planar-magnetic tweeter), and his cross-overs are the best in the business. Don't wait for a review of a GR Research product in Stereophile, it ain't gonna happen. But lots of speaker companies pay Danny to design the x/o's for their loudspeakers, He is a leader in the open baffle DIY market, highly respected by his peers, of which there are few. Um, does this make me a fanboy (I hate that term)?

There is a pretty noticeable difference between the Ottica's and Xtreme's and it's not just with the WAF as they stand 86 inches!! There is an added fullness to the sound from the additional 8 drivers that seems to be greater than the sum of 4 extra drivers, the fact that they barely break a sweat during large musical passages really helps define the inner detail that can sometimes get lost during increased spl's. There is also a deeper sound stage that also comes with having more drivers that can be quite addictive if you have the room to support them and in this regard the Ottica's are far easier to place within your average room. I own the first pair built, and my partner Jay and I build almost all of the flat packs sold, I run mine with a 4 stack of 12 inch GR subs and the combination will absolutely shock you with well recorded music. To give you another perspective, and i'm trying not to be too biased, I recently attended the Toronto Audio show, which I thought was excellent and the speakers that I felt had the closest signature to the Xtreme's, meaning with scale and size of presentation were from Grandinote, they were OBish line arrays and I believe that they cost 60K.

Hope that also helps,

Don