AV123 / GR Research X-Voce Speaker Review

[JSmith]

The only place this speaker belongs is in the trash.

I'd go a little further and say it should never have been made in the first place... but agree completely. In the bin;

The X-Voce combines a smooth and transparent mid-range with high sensitivity (91db) and dynamics. It is an ideal center channel speaker for medium to large sized rooms. And the stable 8 ohm impedance makes it an easy load to drive for any receiver or amplifier.

The Sonicap upgrade improves clarity and detail.

The X-Voce can also be improved by upgrading the binding post cups to the Electra Cable Tube Connectors. The tube connectors are the highest quality connectors currently on the market. They offer improved clarity across the board and are extremely easy to install. The tube connector upgrade is $25.

I don't know sometimes how people who sell crap whilst claiming it's fantastic can sleep at night.


JSmith

 

[suttondesign]

By way of comparison, when I have had very good speakers which, because of room characteristics, trigger strong room modes, it drove me up the wall. Response curves like the speaker under review are obviously wrong-sounding in the same way. Reinforcing modes can, fortunately, be tamed, and null modes are not so objectionable. But a bad response baked in? Disgraceful.

I cannot understand how someone who holds forth as an expert can sell something like this with a clear conscience. And remember, folks, I had the Omega Z-7000!

 

[ta240]

I think someone should send one to Danny to troubleshoot. Oh, wait.....

 

[pseudoid]

The owners of this speaker should thank their lucky stars that Bed, Bath, and Beyond has a 'going out of business' clearance sale on some nice fluffy towels to turn Danny's creation into a true reference center channel.

Be easy on the owner, please. My Polk ReserveR350 Center speaker that @amirm had tested has been a door-stop ever since it has been back home.

 

[D700]

No panther was willing to pose with this speaker....

 

[Futility]

I think someone should send one to Danny to troubleshoot. Oh, wait.....

Don't tempt me

 

[Hart]

Be easy on the owner, please. My Polk ReserveR350 Center speaker that @amirm had tested has been a door-stop ever since it has been back home.

I was thinking the same thing, I have gotten rid of two things that tested badly. I always feel kind of bad for the very generous person that sends something in and it warrants scorn. You can even see your beloved center speaker in a dumpster. Good photoshop BTW. Perhaps if this is in your system and it's all you know it might sound pretty good to you. Until you get something that is actually really good.

 

[pierre]

Similar findings as @Maiky76

A is speaker as measured by Amir
B is the same with an EQ flattening the LW
C is the same with an EQ optimising the score

A B C
Score 1.0 4.4 4.7
w/sub 3.6 6.6 7.2

Speaker should improve significantly at the cost of a lot of SPL (~7dB) which unsurprisingly is what you need
to plug this holes and spikes.

First EQ (B) optimising for a flat LW

and second one (C) optimising for a flatish PIR (and/or optimising the score). The score is marginally better but degrade the LW too much and I would take the first one (B).

Here are the EQs:

B

EQ for GR Research AV123 computed from ASR data
Preference Score 1.03 with EQ 4.42
Generated from http://github.com/pierreaubert/spinorama/generate_peqs.py v0.25
Dated: 2023-11-16-08:35:55

Preamp: -6.9 dB

Filter  1: ON PK Fc    56 Hz Gain +7.99 dB Q 0.94
Filter  2: ON PK Fc    83 Hz Gain -12.99 dB Q 2.14
Filter  3: ON PK Fc   172 Hz Gain +7.39 dB Q 0.91
Filter  4: ON PK Fc   279 Hz Gain -3.83 dB Q 2.99
Filter  5: ON PK Fc  1954 Hz Gain +1.96 dB Q 0.79
Filter  6: ON PK Fc  2023 Hz Gain -4.36 dB Q 1.73
Filter  7: ON PK Fc 13186 Hz Gain -1.95 dB Q 2.11

C

EQ for GR Research AV123 computed from ASR data
Preference Score 1.03 with EQ 4.70
Generated from http://github.com/pierreaubert/spinorama/generate_peqs.py v0.25
Dated: 2023-11-16-08:41:39

Preamp: -7.2 dB

Filter  1: ON PK Fc    85 Hz Gain -7.56 dB Q 3.00
Filter  2: ON PK Fc   172 Hz Gain +8.00 dB Q 1.00
Filter  3: ON PK Fc   279 Hz Gain -3.79 dB Q 2.85
Filter  4: ON PK Fc  1202 Hz Gain +0.85 dB Q 1.09
Filter  5: ON PK Fc  2094 Hz Gain -2.23 dB Q 2.26
Filter  6: ON PK Fc  6818 Hz Gain -1.99 dB Q 0.50
Filter  7: ON PK Fc 13186 Hz Gain -2.29 dB Q 2.77

 

[Rja4000]

Wow!
This is an incredible testimony of your commitment to the scientific truth !

Most reviewers would have stopped after first results. And still, you worked hard to understand and, in a very scientific manner, questioned your own results until absolute evidence.

Those people daring to blame you for imagined bias when your measurements don't fit with their fairy tales should take the lesson here.

Respect !

 

[audiotron]

His speakers look like rebranded parts express speaker kits with 600% markup.

 

[JohnBooty]

His speakers look like rebranded parts express speaker kits with 600% markup.

This is needlessly insulting to Parts Express. Some of those kits are really good.

 

[solderdude]

Did it have tube connectors ?
If not that could explain the measurements.

 

[renaudrenaud]

Measurements are for weak people.

 

[amirm]

Did it have tube connectors ?
If not that could explain the measurements.

Told Danny it did have tube connectors or for sure he would have said the binding posts were the problem....

 

[AudioX3]

Almost bought one of these used until I realized how huge the damn thing is! It's great to have a faithful following.

 

[voodooless]

So he does know about polarity after all, because a while ago we had to tell him about it:

The latest speaker upgrade kit from GR Research (Danny Richie) costs...

..."$739.00 – $919.00" -- for a pair of 50 year old four-way Pioneer HPM-100 (the JBL L-100 lookalike featured in those old Maxell magazine ads) speakers: Pioneer HPM-100 Upgrade kit

www.audiosciencereview.com

Any implication from this isn’t very favorable to him I’m afraid.

 

[kdp]

To me the bass response looks like what would happen if you apply a higher order low pass filter an octave or two above woofer resonance without doing impedance compensation. The circuit then "rings" at the resonant frequency. Easy enough to model in PCD...

edit: and if thats the case; fairly easily and cheaply fixable with a couple of caps and inductors (the bass response)

 

[voodooless]

To me the bass response looks like what would happen if you apply a higher order low pass filter an octave or two above woofer resonance without doing impedance compensation.

There is a small bipolar in the bass circuit, if that is in series with the woofer, that may cause this peak. You can actually leverage this to enhance bass of closed subwoofers if applied correctly:

Passively-assisted sealed alignments

I thought I'd start a thread on this subwoofer alignment that you rarely see mentioned. For those who don't know, a "passively-assisted" sealed alignment is basically a basic sealed alignment with capacitance added in series with the driver's coils. Do this right and result is an extended bass...

www.diyaudio.com

Subwooferabstimmung mit Kondensator und Widerstand

Lautsprecherbau mit Aktiv-Modulen,Bassmodulen,Verstärkermodulen,RCM Acoustic Detonation

www.lautsprechershop.de

 

[Sokel]

I suppose it threw in the towel at the end

Thanks Amir!

 

[respice finem]

No panther was willing to pose with this speaker....

Probably they all went to fetch their earplugs