I upgraded a set of Wharfedale speakers for my parents TV a several years ago with GR parts. One of the benefits of using better components is the cleaner, and more detailed sound they produce allowed the sound level to be reduced for those with hearing issues. My Dad appreciated this because after the upgrade my mom could turn the sound down and still understand the dialog.
As compared to what? We don't hear the original source track in the comparison, so you cannot comment on which one sounds closer to the actual recording. Also, this wasn't a blind test, so you cannot rule out psychosomatic effect in your listening.
Great to hear a before and after albeit through RUclips compression, microphones and end user speakers / headphone. Glad you did that. I do tonnes of measurements and upgrades for people and always need to listen. The measurements might be great but theres no measurement device better that our ears. It doesn't matter what the measurements say if it sounds crap. Enjoyed this one Danny. Being able to listen after the upgrade really is key. I love the extents people go through bi-wiring these sort of things. If only they knew thr crap inside them.
I have always been a Wharfedale fanboy and love seeing (hearing) work like this. Noticeable clarity and layering on the upgrade! Crazy what good parts do to already good bones! Nice work!
The upgrade is lifelike. My son and I also bought two pairs of the Sony SS-CS5. I did an upgrade on one set using the GR-Research higher end components (sonic caps) and the A-B listening was obvious. There is something about the mid to lower treble region that really makes them sound "in the room". It's something you notice from across the room as well as listening in front of them too. I just wish car audio fixes were this easy. That's a battle for the ages.
Exactly what I heard when your previous partner did your upgrade demos! Higher resolution, less "smearing" Thats what brought me to this vid. Now, i heard this on "computer" speakers !!! Dan the man!
Danny made me curious about parts quality in speakers. He has explained a lot about why you should remove ferrous metals out of the signal path, and lots of other usefull tips. I had some small mission bookshelf speakers, on a somewhat decent system, which provided background music in my audiorepairshop. The crossover was a very basic one. Very few parts, easy to upgrade. I decided to take it one step at the time for experimental reasons. First polycaps, instead of electrolitics. Then a week of burnin time. The difference was obvious. After that the removel of the steel nuts, which improved transparency. After that open coils and teflon wiring. Every step was a improvement, the coils and caps where a milestone in improving the soundquality of the little Mission speaker. She sounds very airy, fast, and lots of layering in the soundstage. I also upgraded the little vintage Yamaha driving it. And the cd player. This humble system sounds breathtaking, causing goosebumps. Danny has played an important role here. He gave me inspiration to try new things, made me curious enough to do all the upgrades as a experiment. One "problem" does occure. You cannot go back to how things where before. The improvements are profound. No going back. Not that i ever want to. Customers are surprised, some asking for specific music to judge the little background system. They cannot believe such a humble system can sound this good! Thanks Danny☺ Cheers from the Netherlands.
@@nicodenhaak3961 by constraing the magnetic field in the wire, it can pass much higher current than without. Wires, besides ohms law have maximum current limit given by wire tables. Fuses function on this principle. Have a look at AWG (American Wire Gauge) table. It shows two lists of current per wire thickness. Power transmission, used by transformer, motor design and in chassis (steel). Take any capacitor except low current tonality ones, tiny ceramic for example, it is magnetic.
Polycaps tend to have lower resistance than electrolytics. In effect making your tweeters/mids brighter. (Probably an important aspect to convincing people "listen to the difference in clarity with quality parts!".) Cool if you like that but not necessarily a desirable side effect. When I recap old speakers with polycaps I usually end up adding a resistor to keep things more or less where they should. Groetjes back also from the Netherlands
@@RustOnTime I did add a 0.47ohm resistor in series with the tweeter to lower it's output. Also i compared a unmodified speaker with a upgraded one. It sounded congested in the midrange, and the bass lacked layering and definition. This was a usefull test.
I upgraded my Magnepan 1.7i using GR-Research's upgrade kit. NIGHT AND DAY DIFFERENCE. Danny's kit is BETTER than the X upgrade, which costs over twice as much.
If that is seriously using the same microphone in the same position and the speakers in the same position both running the same electronics then I am sold!
Cleaner and less veiled across the whole spectrum. The highs were just more crisp and the lows more detailed to my ears. If my old and damaged ears can tell the difference, someone with excellent hearing will just love this upgrade. I've always wondered what my nearly 30 year old Definitive Technology BP-6's would sound like with a solid improvement to the crossover. I have loved their sound since day one, but as components age they don't always get better. Thanks for another great video. -- dennis
Kudos for the sound clips. I have old ears and am an unpracticed listener so I don't hear much differences in the YT comparison. At least not night/day differences. But I do believe the upgrades are "directionally correct" and worthwhile if you are looking for a fun project to do and think that you will "hear" the differences after you're done. I remain a long-term DR follower and eagerly await his next video and project.
Even playing from RUclips, through my systems, both tube and solid state, the differences were apparent. The differences being the upgrade was clearer by a degree, but in the depth of the soundstage and the ambient reverb and space the music sat within, the upgrade just stomped all over the stock. Parts do indeed matter.
I consider myself an intermediate audiophile (more or less 15 years of hifi listening, I ve possessed Dali, Focal, Monitor Audio, Marantz, Cambridge, Grado, Stax, SMSL, Teac, Presonus, SVS, etc etc, obviously talking about speakers, amplifiers, dacs, subwoofers and headphones), I've downloaded the uncompressed track and I've put it into my 2000 euros set up (smsl m200 dac with smsl thx888 sp200 amp, Focal Elear with dekoni pads and Meze silver cable) just for the headphones and I hear absolutely NOTHING, maybe in the third song which by the way I preferred whit the stock configuration (a little less sibilant). I love Danny's videos, and I really think that improve parts is important, but is not that important as you can think, and the only way to fully appreciate it is to listen to then into an anecohic chamber, wich nobody has in his house (or few people). To all of those who said that they hear a "day/night" difference, I d love to mix up the sample and see them betting their houses on it. Regards
On an iPhone mind you - that’s not a subtle difference to my ears. That’s significantly improved. The clarity is one thing, but the holographic nature of the voices is what really stood out.
pretty interesting comparison. Even on the utube clips you can hear the stock speaker has more of a flat 2-D sound right on the voice coils vs. more of an image from the upgrade. Just a thought, but there are tons of the Wharfedale's out there. The speaker backet to hold the binding posts is made from pot metal and not too tough to crack. Maybe offer the 3-D printed piece as an option in the kits.
Danny I could hear the difference! The original/pre-upgrade was flat which you only notice when you played the upgraded version! When you played the upgraded version the sound became more open and the instruments, voices & background became more pronounce! I am using an old Altec Lansing PC speaker system and listening to this though the headphone jack with a pair of cheap pioneer headphones. If I can hear the change with this setup. Anyone with a better sound card had to be blown away, Great Job! You're a protectionist Danny:). What's Hmm......to you is great to most people.
Wow. I'm gonna have to admit that the difference is pretty large and pretty obvious. With the upgrade clips, sounds (voices, instruments) kind of leapt out, up, down, and side to side where they are supposed to be rather than all being concentrated in the middle between the speakers. Amazing upgrade.
I take it the way that .... these are really, really well engineered speakers; And of course that are made to a price point. I always hade some good feelings towards the Wharfedale Diamond series 🤩
I could hear a touch better separation and clarity but not by much. To be able to hear that through youtube compression and everything is saying a lot. Would love to rebuild the crossovers in my speakers with better parts as I already like how they are voiced.
I heard a bit of extra reverb, and that's about it. I would buy them on the based off Ron's demo (New Record Day), but not this demo. Which begs the question; what did Ron do differently?
I could hear the difference in the sound clips. in particular the percussion and guitar are much more articulate after the upgrade. I know from experience having posted a lot of my NX-Otica videos, the changes are magnified in the listening space vs the video. Really appreciated the sound clips on this.
YES! YES! YES!….Danny, this is what I asked for. Demonstrating before and after demo of speaker performance is what your channel was missing. We love your magic and explanations of repair resolution but we all wanted to HEAR the differences in the changes you made. Kudos and hope you include a sound clip of a before and after in every upgrade video.
Oh wow, an Adelaide United FC shirt! I’m from Adelaide, and I watch your channel all the time. I find your videos very interesting and informative. I have a pair of Dynaudio Emit M20’s, which I have had for a few years now and have always loved how they sound. Very smooth sounding and open and airy but laid back at the same time. I have noticed a degradation of sound quality in recent months though, and I just can’t seem to pinpoint what the problem is. I’m starting to wonder if it’s my power board. I have a Monster 8 outlet AV power board, which I have have had for at least 7 or 8 years, and I have heard the EMI filters do degrade over time, so that might be the next thing to consider replacing. I also forgot to mention that I’m powering the speakers with an ARCAM FMJ A19 integrated amplifier.
In the second clip you can hear the sound bounce off the rear wall (with precise imaging) only in the upgraded speaker, but it was subtle. I could clearly hear a difference in the third clip (female latin vocal). There was mechanical grit in her throat that disappeared. In the last clip the metallic percussion in the left channel picked up a lot of definition when the speaker was upgraded. No spit, way more body.
I have a halfway decent computer speaker set up. Nothing audiophile grade. But, it does make casual listening a pleasant experience. However, even on that I could hear a definite sense of depth through the upgraded speakers relative to the stock ones and there was more clarity on the strings. Particularly, when plucking was the way it was being played. One way you could almost mistake it for being done through a keyboard. The other, you could note the sense of the guitar or violin body vibrating.
Just an aside, I listened to the uncompressed file before the sample clips in the video and you can really hear the compression artefacts RUclips causes. It really illustrates how you cannot determine any subtle sound improvements through a RUclips video.
I have enjoyed your videos and agreed with your work for a long time. But finally hearing a factory vs upgrade audio even with the listening limitations of streaming, was striking to me. Attack transients on beginnings of notes were much more apparent and increased. It definately was noticable in the transparency of the vocal, and the "s" were much clearer and more natural. These totally validates your work. Thanks for going through the trouble of making these.
It’s kinda crazy, but it seems some people view speakers like some view vehicles. It’s what it looks like that’s important, or how much money was spent. Why WOULDNT better parts make a vehicle run smoother of faster. A tuneup can greatly affect mileage, as can tires. Same holds true for speakers. 🤷🏻♂️ Thank you Danny! Love it!
Danny! Thank you for the Sunday matinee! Love these upgrades and now you gave us a sound comparison that shows a bit what you do and what the effects are! Great. Wish I could have been At NRD to witness the sound-clip live. Okay, now the big question is, 9,1 or the new 10,1? Always looking around for second hand speakers that you have laid your hands on. Bookshelf variants.
I have some Aussie Krix lyrix gold floor standers that have a very pleasing natural sound but slightly muddy compared to others. All of its cheese is glued on to the back of it's magnetic biwire posts and suprisingly no bracing. If I was closer than Australia, I would send them in. I was resisting a part for part upgrade, but now it is on the menu, until I save up and make room for some Bullies
@@dannyrichie9743It looks to me that the bully is my dream speaker Ive been waiting for. My first set of hifi (kit) speakers I got straight after watching a midnight screening of a Jimmi Hendrix movie. But I've never quite got the bass presence i heard that night from any floor standers. The bass has always been too polite. Inbuilt 12" subs is no doubt the answer🎉
Awesome, I was in the ESS Speaker group a while back and someone was asking for any ideas for upgrading the crossovers, I said yeah, send a speaker to Danny at GR-Research and he will take it to another level far beyond the stock factory design.
I heard more sharpness and openness on most of them but the female vocal was the biggest difference, which was amazing. The original sounded fuzzy and the upgrade sounded much quieter with more detail. I was able to hear it more clearly using the MacBook drivable Sennheiser HD599 headphones, either on RUclips or the download version, than through my new Cornwall IVs--possibly because the Cornwalls have a similar problem.
I can hear a huge difference on my phone! I can just imagine what it sounds like in the room. Sound demos can definitely be helpful even though there's a lot of missing information as compared to being in the room. Listening to a hi-fi vinyl system on RUclips in 2016 is what got me back into vinyl. Thanks for posting this sound sample.
i still have a Wharfedale bookshelf speaker, not as my mains system but it is the speakers that got me back into hifi again. i am sure an upgrade would be an improvement on those. Now i listen to the clips and sure enough there was difference towards a improvement :) the upgrade thru all the processing and out my own speakers in my room i still heard the clearer sound, pure notes instead of smearing. reminds me of a room that got acoustically treated. that brought some more dynamic sounds also.
I appreciate these videos Danny, I wish you could do an upgrade on Jamo Concert VII's. I'd be the very first to do the upgrade!! Don't listen to the detractors, everyone loves these vids.
Great video. It would have been awesome if you haven't labeled the clips though. So that the audience could check them without knowing which is which. Like Speaker A and Speaker B, and then, after a day or two, you would have revealed which was which. Moreover, it would have been awesome if the recording was done with the binaural mics, and then put here as downloadable files without being compressed by RUclips. Maybe consider doing that with your other reviews. I believe that would greatly increase the value of already great videos. Kind regards. P.S. I mean, our sighted biases and expectations are so strong they can completely change what we think we hear. According to the article by James Larson from Audioholics, "vision’s dominance over hearing is especially true in the realm of music eyes over ears even though we tend to think of music as a purely auditory experience." (Do Our Expectations Determine Our Experience of Sound More Than We Realize?).
Its not Bs but most people never adress the biggest problem room and placement they can buy your upgrade but if they have a poor reflective room it wont make much difference they need an upgrade and sound isolation panels in room at the major reflection points
The imaging and decay improved enough that I didn't have to look to see which version was playing. Also, damping that 1.8 KHz resonance made them easier to listen to.
I play guitar and the biggest thing that affects sound is the speaker being used. It’s amazing how much your guitar sound is affected by the type of speaker you use.
I listened to the YT version on headphones and noticed a subtle difference in vocals. The shocking thing is that even the stock sound is better than any speakers I've owned, but that might be due to my room being reasonably crap.
The difference is always noticeable, but in some clips it is very obvious. And that is a 1080p / AAC 128kbps video. If it were 4K / AAC 192kbps it would be much more noticeable (that is why the 24/96 FLAC 0 vinyl rips I share on my channel are in that quality). [Edited] Ah, now there are a link to uncompressed sound clips!!! RUclips NORMALIZES (not compresses) excessively. The same audio on Vimeo sounds much better due to less normalization.
Heard it off V60 with headphone and it sounds as if vail is lifted and sound is more direct and detailed with better tonality and almost if distortions were lower ... so worth to do.
Difference was not subtle. Upgraded version better by no small amount, even w/ compressed file. I need to finally finish the GR crossovers my my Maggie LRS and send in one of my Merlin monitors for the Danny magic.
That's right, trying to make a judgement call from sound clips over the internet are a waste of time and are doomed to fail, at least for me. What you hear in your system is going to be vastly different than what I hear. And this is the same clip, same recording I just heard at New record day guy? He and other's doing this kind of comparison seem to hear much bigger differences than I ever notice. I thought maybe that others used better audio setups on there computers but even the OCD Guy said he hears vast differences on his phone so either my AT&T service sucks(which it sort of does) or my hearing is not that good and I think my hearing is better than most given the level of equipment I listen to plus all the live music I listen to in any given year; the CSO, Grant Park Symphony, Lyric Opera, Green Mill, Jazz Showcase, Buddy Guy's Legend, plus all the small venues clubs in my area that schedule all sorts of international music, local talent and even throw in some large venue Rock if I feel inclined. For some reason in my old(er) age I have very recently acquired a taste for Metal(pretty sure politics drove me to it) that I never had in my youth(recently saw Metallica at Soldiers Field, loved it.
I could actually hear a big difference. The vocals and Orchestra opened up. I have wharfdale 11.5. 75 pounds each. Wish I could send them to you to make better or just upgrade the crossover.
Even over RUclips that's noticeable, you got rid of the forward ringing that was hitting on certain notes. Overall imaging sounds like it improved as well because you don't have that forward sound drawing your attention away from what else is going on
I find it hilarious when you hear people say “don’t like Danny Richie, he just sells snake oil parts and thinks every speaker is flawed” 😑 yeah, sure. They are just jealous imo. Great video Danny.
@@Pok-001 It’s snake oil until someone makes a video demonstrating the improvement, like this one. Which were the $8000 speakers? and the $400 ones that he claims are as good? Thats a bold claim, I’m interested to know which speakers they were.
@@russellparker4568 lol Sorry if sarcasm was lost. 😂 People are idiots. I thought the “flat earher” was weird at first. But after seeing people’s comments I get it now. BTW have encore sls maxed out X-over with GR research cables. Danny puts in a lot of work and offer top tier audiophile solutions for hobbyist. Does at reasonable prices. 💯 should be praised for his efforts
Intially, I thought there was something missing from the upgraded speaker, and I was right (to my ears) it was noise! hard to describe. IMHO the stock speaker was just that little bit grainier. which at first give a false impression of being livelier ,an "added" edge? I noted this on my desktop speakers and more so through my headphones.
The upgrade sounded fuller, clean, vocals were breathy and fuller. Original sounded like more treble and mids, scratchy or harsh. You fixed the sibilance issue with the upgrade. Thank you for the audio demo.
Dont bother earing the differences in the video. You have to download the uncompressed file. More clarity and air, but it seems there is less dynamics and bass authority.
That’s probably just how THAT speaker sounds… it does have a small “woofer”. Plus, Danny stated that he DID NOT correct for anything else besides that “knee” and upgraded the crossover parts along with tube connectors… and a couple of small pieces of no-rez. I’m sure that if he went all out, the sound would get even better, but it’s not really worth it when the speaker is built at a certain price point and only uses inexpensive drivers, but sounds pretty good already . He’s not trying to develop a $1,000 upgrade kit for speakers that brand new are only a few hundred dollars… it would be better to just buy a set of the speakers that he makes in-house for that kind of money and have WAY BETTER sound quality for the same money spent!😎👍
Hi Danny, enjoyed your video on the Diamond 10.1. I could tell the difference. Was wondering if you have done any upgrades on Spendor speakers. I have the S8e.
if you want to work on a awsome nugget, try get a KEF ACE 9000 center L/R. / its from the earlye 2005s, such a unique HT speaker, i had a 3 front they was awesome, very much. if i remeber correct it had. a active carbonfiber pod inside something something. big sound from a thin speaker. and used the Q series top range units.
I used the exact same values for the crossover as the original but with better parts and the improvements were surprising. My speakers play much louder now so I set the volume level as 1/2 as before. The long session listening fatigue is gone. I wish I had done this upgrade much earlier! You might ask how do I know these changes ? I upgraded one speakers at a time so it was an easy comparison as which speaker was playing louder and I used to get listening fatigue after a few hours that doesn’t happen anymore !
The wharfedale diamonds 10.2s were my favourite for long years..Then I changed my amp (up with classes) and I noted where the 10.2s were perfect with a cheap amp - with an upper-mid class is no way..The 10.2s could not handle the amp's wider and stronger bass range,the sound got muffled.I could not hear the dialogs clear.I did not upgraded the 10.2s but changed to 11.2. The 11.2s were my best wharfies what I owned.The 11.2s passed fantastic to my amp but here come another problem: power handling.Sometimes I like to push up the volume...the 11.2s did not like it.I changed them to polkaudio se20.Now the bass is also fat,goesvdeep enough but tight and good controlled at once.The dialogs far better than the 10.2 or 11.2 .Only 1 things left what was better on the 11.2: about 10-12kHz range it was better detaioed or lifted a little bit.I loved them sounds when the triangle or tubular bells played on them by Oldfield.But finally the se20 has more pros than the 10.2 or the 11.2 so not changed to another type yet ..
The female vokal kinda had more spacious and air. The last track sounded more precise and yeah felt there was less smearing. The rest sounded so close to identical I could not say what was best. But interesting some differences can be heard even though it is recorded and compressed for RUclips and played om a competly different system
Nice! The ambience really pops with the upgrade. Can hear right into the tail of the reverbs.
Danny, we appreciate your knowledge and videos! Please do more sound demos like this! Awesome Job sir.
I upgraded a set of Wharfedale speakers for my parents TV a several years ago with GR parts. One of the benefits of using better components is the cleaner, and more detailed sound they produce allowed the sound level to be reduced for those with hearing issues. My Dad appreciated this because after the upgrade my mom could turn the sound down and still understand the dialog.
A clear improvement. Everything sounds cleaner, more open and less harsh on the ears.
I noticed the exact same thing. I found the reduction in vocal harshness to be notable.
As compared to what? We don't hear the original source track in the comparison, so you cannot comment on which one sounds closer to the actual recording. Also, this wasn't a blind test, so you cannot rule out psychosomatic effect in your listening.
@@ec6843 Before vs. after the upgrade. I didn't comment on which one sounds closer to the recording.
Wow! - There IS more room between the single notes.That translates to more clarity and more listening fun. I did not expect that!
Great to hear a before and after albeit through RUclips compression, microphones and end user speakers / headphone. Glad you did that. I do tonnes of measurements and upgrades for people and always need to listen. The measurements might be great but theres no measurement device better that our ears. It doesn't matter what the measurements say if it sounds crap. Enjoyed this one Danny. Being able to listen after the upgrade really is key.
I love the extents people go through bi-wiring these sort of things. If only they knew thr crap inside them.
I have always been a Wharfedale fanboy and love seeing (hearing) work like this. Noticeable clarity and layering on the upgrade! Crazy what good parts do to already good bones! Nice work!
The upgrade is lifelike. My son and I also bought two pairs of the Sony SS-CS5. I did an upgrade on one set using the GR-Research higher end components (sonic caps) and the A-B listening was obvious. There is something about the mid to lower treble region that really makes them sound "in the room". It's something you notice from across the room as well as listening in front of them too. I just wish car audio fixes were this easy. That's a battle for the ages.
How hard was gutting them and working in the confined space? I have heard complaints trying to get the crossovers in with pudgy hands.
hello ! see above !
@RobertCookcx - It would be amazing if you were the Bob Cook who gave me a ride on his Honda 70 in Merced circa '71-'72. 🤠
Some of the upgrades make good fundamental sense! Especially the older speakers! I used your advice with good results. Thank you, Danny!
Exactly what I heard when your previous partner did your upgrade demos! Higher resolution, less "smearing" Thats what brought me to this vid. Now, i heard this on "computer" speakers !!! Dan the man!
Danny made me curious about parts quality in speakers. He has explained a lot about why you should remove ferrous metals out of the signal path, and lots of other usefull tips. I had some small mission bookshelf speakers, on a somewhat decent system, which provided background music in my audiorepairshop. The crossover was a very basic one. Very few parts, easy to upgrade. I decided to take it one step at the time for experimental reasons. First polycaps, instead of electrolitics. Then a week of burnin time. The difference was obvious. After that the removel of the steel nuts, which improved transparency. After that open coils and teflon wiring. Every step was a improvement, the coils and caps where a milestone in improving the soundquality of the little Mission speaker.
She sounds very airy, fast, and lots of layering in the soundstage. I also upgraded the little vintage Yamaha driving it. And the cd player. This humble system sounds breathtaking, causing goosebumps.
Danny has played an important role here. He gave me inspiration to try new things, made me curious enough to do all the upgrades as a experiment. One "problem" does occure. You cannot go back to how things where before. The improvements are profound. No going back. Not that i ever want to.
Customers are surprised, some asking for specific music to judge the little background system.
They cannot believe such a humble system can sound this good!
Thanks Danny☺
Cheers from the Netherlands.
All high quality capacitors, for sure, ones sold by GR must have ferrous leads. High current resistors must have it too.
@@hugueslecorre4893
Why?
@@nicodenhaak3961 by constraing the magnetic field in the wire, it can pass much higher current than without. Wires, besides ohms law have maximum current limit given by wire tables. Fuses function on this principle. Have a look at AWG (American Wire Gauge) table. It shows two lists of current per wire thickness. Power transmission, used by transformer, motor design and in chassis (steel).
Take any capacitor except low current tonality ones, tiny ceramic for example, it is magnetic.
Polycaps tend to have lower resistance than electrolytics. In effect making your tweeters/mids brighter. (Probably an important aspect to convincing people "listen to the difference in clarity with quality parts!".)
Cool if you like that but not necessarily a desirable side effect.
When I recap old speakers with polycaps I usually end up adding a resistor to keep things more or less where they should.
Groetjes back also from the Netherlands
@@RustOnTime
I did add a 0.47ohm resistor in series with the tweeter to lower it's output. Also i compared a unmodified speaker with a upgraded one. It sounded congested in the midrange, and the bass lacked layering and definition. This was a usefull test.
Thanks for sharing the sound clips. I could hear a difference with the imaging and sound stage on my system.
I upgraded my Magnepan 1.7i using GR-Research's upgrade kit. NIGHT AND DAY DIFFERENCE. Danny's kit is BETTER than the X upgrade, which costs over twice as much.
How difficult was the upgrade to install? I have Magnepan 7's and thinking of getting Danny's upgrade
If that is seriously using the same microphone in the same position and the speakers in the same position both running the same electronics then I am sold!
Cleaner and less veiled across the whole spectrum. The highs were just more crisp and the lows more detailed to my ears. If my old and damaged ears can tell the difference, someone with excellent hearing will just love this upgrade. I've always wondered what my nearly 30 year old Definitive Technology BP-6's would sound like with a solid improvement to the crossover. I have loved their sound since day one, but as components age they don't always get better.
Thanks for another great video. -- dennis
I love the before and after sound demo.
Thanks RON for before/after part.
Kudos for the sound clips. I have old ears and am an unpracticed listener so I don't hear much differences in the YT comparison. At least not night/day differences. But I do believe the upgrades are "directionally correct" and worthwhile if you are looking for a fun project to do and think that you will "hear" the differences after you're done. I remain a long-term DR follower and eagerly await his next video and project.
Even playing from RUclips, through my systems, both tube and solid state, the differences were apparent. The differences being the upgrade was clearer by a degree, but in the depth of the soundstage and the ambient reverb and space the music sat within, the upgrade just stomped all over the stock. Parts do indeed matter.
I consider myself an intermediate audiophile (more or less 15 years of hifi listening, I ve possessed Dali, Focal, Monitor Audio, Marantz, Cambridge, Grado, Stax, SMSL, Teac, Presonus, SVS, etc etc, obviously talking about speakers, amplifiers, dacs, subwoofers and headphones), I've downloaded the uncompressed track and I've put it into my 2000 euros set up (smsl m200 dac with smsl thx888 sp200 amp, Focal Elear with dekoni pads and Meze silver cable) just for the headphones and I hear absolutely NOTHING, maybe in the third song which by the way I preferred whit the stock configuration (a little less sibilant). I love Danny's videos, and I really think that improve parts is important, but is not that important as you can think, and the only way to fully appreciate it is to listen to then into an anecohic chamber, wich nobody has in his house (or few people). To all of those who said that they hear a "day/night" difference, I d love to mix up the sample and see them betting their houses on it. Regards
You are too honest for the comment section.
@rankcolour8780 🤣🤣🤣🤣 totally
You'd be surprised at how dramatic the differences can be.
Great video. Really awesome to have the before and after measurements plus the before and after sound comparison.
On an iPhone mind you - that’s not a subtle difference to my ears. That’s significantly improved. The clarity is one thing, but the holographic nature of the voices is what really stood out.
The upgrade is smoother sounding which I'm not sure I liked, but the improved soundstage depth swung my preference, clearly a worthwhile upgrade.
pretty interesting comparison. Even on the utube clips you can hear the stock speaker has more of a flat 2-D sound right on the voice coils vs. more of an image from the upgrade. Just a thought, but there are tons of the Wharfedale's out there. The speaker backet to hold the binding posts is made from pot metal and not too tough to crack. Maybe offer the 3-D printed piece as an option in the kits.
Fantastic, upgraded sounds so much more musical and clear
Just a quick listen to the uncompressed sound clips, and gee, but I’ve heard those track excerpts before. Thanks, Ron😂
Danny I could hear the difference! The original/pre-upgrade was flat which you only notice when you played the upgraded version! When you played the upgraded version the sound became more open and the instruments, voices & background became more pronounce! I am using an old Altec Lansing PC speaker system and listening to this though the headphone jack with a pair of cheap pioneer headphones. If I can hear the change with this setup. Anyone with a better sound card had to be blown away, Great Job! You're a protectionist Danny:). What's Hmm......to you is great to most people.
Thanks for posting the audio clips. A huge improvement .
Wow. I'm gonna have to admit that the difference is pretty large and pretty obvious. With the upgrade clips, sounds (voices, instruments) kind of leapt out, up, down, and side to side where they are supposed to be rather than all being concentrated in the middle between the speakers. Amazing upgrade.
Wow. Love the drastic comparison
I take it the way that .... these are really, really well engineered speakers; And of course that are made to a price point.
I always hade some good feelings towards the Wharfedale Diamond series 🤩
I could hear a touch better separation and clarity but not by much. To be able to hear that through youtube compression and everything is saying a lot. Would love to rebuild the crossovers in my speakers with better parts as I already like how they are voiced.
I heard a bit of extra reverb, and that's about it. I would buy them on the based off Ron's demo (New Record Day), but not this demo. Which begs the question; what did Ron do differently?
I could hear the difference in the sound clips. in particular the percussion and guitar are much more articulate after the upgrade. I know from experience having posted a lot of my NX-Otica videos, the changes are magnified in the listening space vs the video. Really appreciated the sound clips on this.
YES! YES! YES!….Danny, this is what I asked for. Demonstrating before and after demo of speaker performance is what your channel was missing. We love your magic and explanations of repair resolution but we all wanted to HEAR the differences in the changes you made. Kudos and hope you include a sound clip of a before and after in every upgrade video.
Oh wow, an Adelaide United FC shirt! I’m from Adelaide, and I watch your channel all the time. I find your videos very interesting and informative. I have a pair of Dynaudio Emit M20’s, which I have had for a few years now and have always loved how they sound. Very smooth sounding and open and airy but laid back at the same time. I have noticed a degradation of sound quality in recent months though, and I just can’t seem to pinpoint what the problem is. I’m starting to wonder if it’s my power board. I have a Monster 8 outlet AV power board, which I have have had for at least 7 or 8 years, and I have heard the EMI filters do degrade over time, so that might be the next thing to consider replacing. I also forgot to mention that I’m powering the speakers with an ARCAM FMJ A19 integrated amplifier.
What a difference!, the stock speaker sounds like you’re listening thru a paper towel cardboard tube!
😅😅geh malnzum ohrenarzt
😂@@thomasschafer7268
How can you tell through RUclips?
@@richardjohnston4682 The better the recording the more easily its discernible.
That is a good way to describe it. I agree with you.
In the second clip you can hear the sound bounce off the rear wall (with precise imaging) only in the upgraded speaker, but it was subtle.
I could clearly hear a difference in the third clip (female latin vocal). There was mechanical grit in her throat that disappeared.
In the last clip the metallic percussion in the left channel picked up a lot of definition when the speaker was upgraded. No spit, way more body.
I have a halfway decent computer speaker set up. Nothing audiophile grade. But, it does make casual listening a pleasant experience. However, even on that I could hear a definite sense of depth through the upgraded speakers relative to the stock ones and there was more clarity on the strings. Particularly, when plucking was the way it was being played. One way you could almost mistake it for being done through a keyboard. The other, you could note the sense of the guitar or violin body vibrating.
Just an aside, I listened to the uncompressed file before the sample clips in the video and you can really hear the compression artefacts RUclips causes. It really illustrates how you cannot determine any subtle sound improvements through a RUclips video.
I've posted a few RUclips vids of my stereo rig and it sounds nothing like being there in person
My immediately reaction upon seeing that speaker was: Wow! That's my Polk RTiA1. Same box, same size, same finish, but different drivers.
I have enjoyed your videos and agreed with your work for a long time. But finally hearing a factory vs upgrade audio even with the listening limitations of streaming, was striking to me. Attack transients on beginnings of notes were much more apparent and increased.
It definately was noticable in the transparency of the vocal, and the "s" were much clearer and more natural.
These totally validates your work.
Thanks for going through the trouble of making these.
It’s kinda crazy, but it seems some people view speakers like some view vehicles. It’s what it looks like that’s important, or how much money was spent. Why WOULDNT better parts make a vehicle run smoother of faster. A tuneup can greatly affect mileage, as can tires. Same holds true for speakers. 🤷🏻♂️ Thank you Danny! Love it!
Big difference on sample 3 and 5. Spacialy big on the 3 👋🏻😜
Adelaide United! Nice from my home town as well ❤️
Danny! Thank you for the Sunday matinee! Love these upgrades and now you gave us a sound comparison that shows a bit what you do and what the effects are! Great. Wish I could have been At NRD to witness the sound-clip live. Okay, now the big question is, 9,1 or the new 10,1?
Always looking around for second hand speakers that you have laid your hands on. Bookshelf variants.
No need to listen, the before/after measurements always tell me everything I need to know.
Cheers 🍻
I downloaded the file, and yeah there is a difference between stock and the upgraded version. On a couple tracks though, I prefer the stock version.
I often prefer a more muddy sound as it is more natural than having sharp high frequencies. It getting the balance right i suppose
I have some Aussie Krix lyrix gold floor standers that have a very pleasing natural sound but slightly muddy compared to others. All of its cheese is glued on to the back of it's magnetic biwire posts and suprisingly no bracing.
If I was closer than Australia, I would send them in. I was resisting a part for part upgrade, but now it is on the menu, until I save up and make room for some Bullies
Sounds like a fantastic upgrade, I am looking at the Brute speaker but wait to see what he will do with them, from OK to splendid for sure!
See a review on them here: ruclips.net/video/uWu883ShzUg/видео.htmlsi=JsKcogZpxzEd9g-I
@@dannyrichie9743It looks to me that the bully is my dream speaker Ive been waiting for. My first set of hifi (kit) speakers I got straight after watching a midnight screening of a Jimmi Hendrix movie. But I've never quite got the bass presence i heard that night from any floor standers. The bass has always been too polite. Inbuilt 12" subs is no doubt the answer🎉
Awesome, I was in the ESS Speaker group a while back and someone was asking for any ideas for upgrading the crossovers, I said yeah, send a speaker to Danny at GR-Research and he will take it to another level far beyond the stock factory design.
Thank you.
I heard more sharpness and openness on most of them but the female vocal was the biggest difference, which was amazing. The original sounded fuzzy and the upgrade sounded much quieter with more detail. I was able to hear it more clearly using the MacBook drivable Sennheiser HD599 headphones, either on RUclips or the download version, than through my new Cornwall IVs--possibly because the Cornwalls have a similar problem.
After the modification, there is more "air" from the mid to the top, more space for sounds, they are not so stiff and compressed
I can hear a huge difference on my phone! I can just imagine what it sounds like in the room. Sound demos can definitely be helpful even though there's a lot of missing information as compared to being in the room. Listening to a hi-fi vinyl system on RUclips in 2016 is what got me back into vinyl. Thanks for posting this sound sample.
i still have a Wharfedale bookshelf speaker, not as my mains system but it is the speakers that got me back into hifi again.
i am sure an upgrade would be an improvement on those.
Now i listen to the clips and sure enough there was difference towards a improvement :)
the upgrade thru all the processing and out my own speakers in my room i still heard the clearer sound, pure notes instead of smearing. reminds me of a room that got acoustically treated. that brought some more dynamic sounds also.
I appreciate these videos Danny, I wish you could do an upgrade on Jamo Concert VII's. I'd be the very first to do the upgrade!! Don't listen to the detractors, everyone loves these vids.
Send it in! that's how you become the first
Yep. The upgrade is smoother. You have a good ear sir.
Great video. It would have been awesome if you haven't labeled the clips though. So that the audience could check them without knowing which is which. Like Speaker A and Speaker B, and then, after a day or two, you would have revealed which was which. Moreover, it would have been awesome if the recording was done with the binaural mics, and then put here as downloadable files without being compressed by RUclips. Maybe consider doing that with your other reviews. I believe that would greatly increase the value of already great videos. Kind regards.
P.S. I mean, our sighted biases and expectations are so strong they can completely change what we think we hear. According to the article by James Larson from Audioholics, "vision’s dominance over hearing is especially true in the realm of music eyes over ears even though we tend to think of music as a purely auditory experience." (Do Our Expectations Determine Our Experience of Sound More Than We Realize?).
I have 4 of these speakers and the matching center channel. All in a black finish. Nice to see how they measure up.
Now you need to order 2 of these upgrade kits and probably send Danny your center channel to match up to the others!
Danny, can you please make a video of your XLS encore and do a sound comparison. Stock and upgraded xls encore.
I imagine the difference will be much more subtle and be more in the world of sound stage that won't come across in a recording.
@@CanberraProtest-dm6hu that's speculation. i want to see what Danny can show us.
One day I will get a set of your amazing speakers
Its not Bs but most people never adress the biggest problem room and placement they can buy your upgrade but if they have a poor reflective room it wont make much difference they need an upgrade and sound isolation panels in room at the major reflection points
Cheese City 😂 Now that’s something you should have printed on a Tee Shirt. 😂
😂
Cheese City: Capitol of Flat Earth!
@@danbuffington75 even mo’ betta haha
huh the difference is quite surprising . really need to listen to the uncompressed file to really hear it
The imaging and decay improved enough that I didn't have to look to see which version was playing. Also, damping that 1.8 KHz resonance made them easier to listen to.
I play guitar and the biggest thing that affects sound is the speaker being used. It’s amazing how much your guitar sound is affected by the type of speaker you use.
Big difference in listening through good headphones. Couldn't tell anything using the stock speakers on my laptop.
I listened to the YT version on headphones and noticed a subtle difference in vocals. The shocking thing is that even the stock sound is better than any speakers I've owned, but that might be due to my room being reasonably crap.
The difference is always noticeable, but in some clips it is very obvious. And that is a 1080p / AAC 128kbps video. If it were 4K / AAC 192kbps it would be much more noticeable (that is why the 24/96 FLAC 0 vinyl rips I share on my channel are in that quality). [Edited] Ah, now there are a link to uncompressed sound clips!!!
RUclips NORMALIZES (not compresses) excessively. The same audio on Vimeo sounds much better due to less normalization.
Heard it off V60 with headphone and it sounds as if vail is lifted and sound is more direct and detailed with better tonality and almost if distortions were lower ... so worth to do.
Wow! That's amazing.
Difference was not subtle. Upgraded version better by no small amount, even w/ compressed file. I need to finally finish the GR crossovers my my Maggie LRS and send in one of my Merlin monitors for the Danny magic.
That's right, trying to make a judgement call from sound clips over the internet are a waste of time and are doomed to fail, at least for me. What you hear in your system is going to be vastly different than what I hear. And this is the same clip, same recording I just heard at New record day guy? He and other's doing this kind of comparison seem to hear much bigger differences than I ever notice. I thought maybe that others used better audio setups on there computers but even the OCD Guy said he hears vast differences on his phone so either my AT&T service sucks(which it sort of does) or my hearing is not that good and I think my hearing is better than most given the level of equipment I listen to plus all the live music I listen to in any given year; the CSO, Grant Park Symphony, Lyric Opera, Green Mill, Jazz Showcase, Buddy Guy's Legend, plus all the small venues clubs in my area that schedule all sorts of international music, local talent and even throw in some large venue Rock if I feel inclined. For some reason in my old(er) age I have very recently acquired a taste for Metal(pretty sure politics drove me to it) that I never had in my youth(recently saw Metallica at Soldiers Field, loved it.
I could actually hear a big difference. The vocals and Orchestra opened up. I have wharfdale 11.5. 75 pounds each. Wish I could send them to you to make better or just upgrade the crossover.
Keep up the good work. You're making positive contributions to our hobby.
Night and day difference!!! The upgrade has so much more detail and resolution!!
Improvements in soundstage and high frequency rendition.
Even over RUclips that's noticeable, you got rid of the forward ringing that was hitting on certain notes. Overall imaging sounds like it improved as well because you don't have that forward sound drawing your attention away from what else is going on
Great video!
I find it hilarious when you hear people say “don’t like Danny Richie, he just sells snake oil parts and thinks every speaker is flawed” 😑 yeah, sure. They are just jealous imo. Great video Danny.
Yep snake oil. Their 400$ speakers are just as good as 8,000$ speakers that have better parts No need
For fancy parts. 😂
@@Pok-001 It’s snake oil until someone makes a video demonstrating the improvement, like this one. Which were the $8000 speakers? and the $400 ones that he claims are as good? Thats a bold claim, I’m interested to know which speakers they were.
@@russellparker4568 lol
Sorry if sarcasm was lost. 😂
People are idiots. I thought the “flat earher” was weird at first. But after seeing people’s comments I get it now. BTW have encore sls maxed out X-over with GR research cables.
Danny puts in a lot of work and offer top tier audiophile solutions for hobbyist. Does at reasonable prices. 💯 should be praised for his efforts
@@Pok-001 oh yeah I see now. 🤣👍🏻
3 example was really clear . Her voice got much clearer.
Please do a pre and post Klipsch comparison…..
Intially, I thought there was something missing from the upgraded speaker, and I was right (to my ears) it was noise! hard to describe. IMHO the stock speaker was just that little bit grainier. which at first give a false impression of being livelier ,an "added" edge? I noted this on my desktop speakers and more so through my headphones.
Danny, the rest of the world doesn't play soccer! They play real football. 😅 ❤ it Danny!
yes we could easily hear the differences!
The upgrade sounded fuller, clean, vocals were breathy and fuller. Original sounded like more treble and mids, scratchy or harsh. You fixed the sibilance issue with the upgrade. Thank you for the audio demo.
Dont bother earing the differences in the video. You have to download the uncompressed file. More clarity and air, but it seems there is less dynamics and bass authority.
That’s probably just how THAT speaker sounds… it does have a small “woofer”.
Plus, Danny stated that he DID NOT correct for anything else besides that “knee” and upgraded the crossover parts along with tube connectors… and a couple of small pieces of no-rez.
I’m sure that if he went all out, the sound would get even better, but it’s not really worth it when the speaker is built at a certain price point and only uses inexpensive drivers, but sounds pretty good already
. He’s not trying to develop a $1,000 upgrade kit for speakers that brand new are only a few hundred dollars… it would be better to just buy a set of the speakers that he makes in-house for that kind of money and have WAY BETTER sound quality for the same money spent!😎👍
Sound clips are crap, I try hard not to do sound clips on my channel, another great video👍
NRD sound clips !
Hi Danny, enjoyed your video on the Diamond 10.1. I could tell the difference.
Was wondering if you have done any upgrades on Spendor speakers. I have the S8e.
if you want to work on a awsome nugget, try get a KEF ACE 9000 center L/R. / its from the earlye 2005s, such a unique HT speaker, i had a 3 front they was awesome, very much.
if i remeber correct it had. a active carbonfiber pod inside something something. big sound from a thin speaker. and used the Q series top range units.
I used the exact same values for the crossover as the original but with better parts and the improvements were surprising.
My speakers play much louder now so I set the volume level as 1/2 as before.
The long session listening fatigue is gone.
I wish I had done this upgrade much earlier!
You might ask how do I know these changes ?
I upgraded one speakers at a time so it was an easy comparison as which speaker was playing louder and I used to get listening fatigue after a few hours that doesn’t happen anymore !
I still get people trying to tell me extreme distortion is good if that's what they like to hear.
Just like speakers, some people just can't be fixed.
Even through YT and cheap BT headphones the difference can be heard
The wharfedale diamonds 10.2s were my favourite for long years..Then I changed my amp (up with classes) and I noted where the 10.2s were perfect with a cheap amp - with an upper-mid class is no way..The 10.2s could not handle the amp's wider and stronger bass range,the sound got muffled.I could not hear the dialogs clear.I did not upgraded the 10.2s but changed to 11.2. The 11.2s were my best wharfies what I owned.The 11.2s passed fantastic to my amp but here come another problem: power handling.Sometimes I like to push up the volume...the 11.2s did not like it.I changed them to polkaudio se20.Now the bass is also fat,goesvdeep enough but tight and good controlled at once.The dialogs far better than the 10.2 or 11.2 .Only 1 things left what was better on the 11.2: about 10-12kHz range it was better detaioed or lifted a little bit.I loved them sounds when the triangle or tubular bells played on them by Oldfield.But finally the se20 has more pros than the 10.2 or the 11.2 so not changed to another type yet
..
Yep, thanks😊
I even can pick the differences through my phone.👍
Hi. I hear differences and can detect the clarity step up. What are the songs in the demo?
The female vokal kinda had more spacious and air. The last track sounded more precise and yeah felt there was less smearing. The rest sounded so close to identical I could not say what was best. But interesting some differences can be heard even though it is recorded and compressed for RUclips and played om a competly different system
Danny what do you think of the Klipsch inspired but higher quality components Volti Audio speakers such as the Rival compared to the Cornwall IV?
Those speaker sound very good stock. I am surprised.