2. speakers
  3. 178022-139155

Interesting ASR review of small GR Research speaker kit

I bounce between various kinds of analysis — more subjective listening reports, more quantitative measurement analyses and, my favorite, those that combine both strategies to tell a useful story about audio products.

Amir of ASR has just done a very powerful takedown of a fairly inexpensive kit being sold by Danny at GR Research. Not only does he prove his point about the speakers, he also makes (to my mind) a very convincing case that Danny put his finger on the scale in how he reported his own measurements. 

I'm not in any camp — Danny's or Amir's or anyone else's. What I appreciate is thoroughness and meticulousness in exposition. Danny does that in his own videos. (Again -- to me. I'm really still learning and cannot easily spot gaps in argument in this subject matter.)

I know people with some of GR's best kits — and I've heard one of them. They sounded incredible. I've watched a bunch of Danny's videos where he criticizes other companies; I've come away thinking, "Wow, he really revealed some of the grift embedded in that product." 

But here, the tables are turned, it seems, on Danny. I hope he responds, both to defend his reputation and methods, but also because it will set in relief where some of the distance may be between these two dominant online figures' methods in assessing what makes for a good speaker.

https://youtu.be/IikqAg38FPs

hilde45

Showing 4 responses by noske

noske
783 posts
 

@hilde45  Darko reports that Amir is not the absolutist objectivist

What Darko is quoting from Amir is on the public record over at ASR.  It is not news.

noske
783 posts
 

@thyname What has worked for me over the years: take exactly opposite of what AmirM says. In other words, if he likes something, I will never consider buying it. Scratch from my list.

This suggests to me that measurements are very reliable in predicting your (and others expressing similar sentiments) listening preferences.

noske
783 posts
 

@rbstehno I think this reviewer might have a grudge against Danny/GR research

I don't believe this is correct.  Please corroborate your allegation with substantive evidence.

noske
783 posts
 

@rbstehno Thankyou. I don’t watch videos, I prefer written words, so what you say I cannot comment on.

This is a copy and paste of a few select quotes written by Amir. I have no comment as to whether a grudge or any manner of hostility may be written into it - that is for the reader to interpret with a sense of due process and common sense.

Rick was kind enough to post process mine to his resolution and chart dimensions and correlation was good.

I say be careful with waterfall displays. It is so easy to lie with them. Or misuse them (intentionally or not).

Ah, little giant killers... who doesn’t want to see an underdog win?

I know some may say I am biased to not like GR Research stuff. But I have given positive marks to another speaker kit of his. Importantly, I back my opinion with measurements and science/engineering of the design, not empty boasting. All the arrows point to the same thing. This speaker is simply a bad idea. Had the company spent time measuring distortion and getting feedback from others with better hearing, they would have no doubt gotten the feedback that the design was not feasible.

A fully finished pair costs $1,038. I am inclined to think that is relevant in the circumstances (what is their intended use?) and to keep the arrow straight.

More to discover