I am always amazed at Danny's detractors. OF COURSE he is trying to sell his kits! It is literally his main job. OF COURSE many times it is not worth it to upgrade your speakers... and he tells you so. OF COURSE he is harsh on speakers sent to him. He is an expert experienced speaker designer and knows when corners were cut and quality is poor! It's one of the main (guilty pleasure) reasons most of us watch him dissect name brand products that most of us know are crap. Think Klipsch.... The guys seems as authentic as you get and if he comes off as arrogant it may be because he doesnt sugar coat his opinions and he has a lot of experience listening and designing amazing systems. I have learned more from his channel than all other you tubers combined by a LONG shot. Someday I hope to build his open baffle studio monitor.
Fascinated By GR Research Channel
Lately I've watched a number of the videos on GR Research's youtube channel and been very intrigued. If you aren't familiar with them, they design and sell some speakers, but most of their business is DIY speaker kits, and doing upgrades on customer's speakers. In the videos, they show how they measure the performance characteristics of speakers sent in and then explain the thought process and methodology of choosing improvements.
If nothing else, anyone wanting to better understand the technical section of reviews (e.g. John Atkinson's in Stereophile), would likely learn something watching.
Another interesting aspect of these videos is the clear untangling of various manufacturers' choices in balancing cost for performance and the sonic impact of various compromises.
Get your popcorn and check it out.
I'm also curious to hear of your experiences with any of their kits or products and if your findings match their messaging. I've always understood that better parts quality will improve sonics, but this channel demonstrates exactly how with great clarity...fascinating! Cheers,
Spencer