Danny at GR getting bad Talk Back from many of his viewers

[RickS]

Danny’s poorly attempted Ascend rebuttal video is a noteworthy rant of deflections and contradictions. All of it seemingly just to avoid doing some simple THD measurements. He tries to obfuscate THD audibility, but without measuring, he does not know whether his designs are headed towards audible distortion or not. His upgrades do not even get a listening test.

Amazing how since he does not measure or listen to his upgrades for excess distortion, he can be sure it is not a problem! It is classic example of being ignorant of potential flaws due to misguided personal beliefs.

 

[Buckchester]

It’s very aggravating seeing all the positive comments in his videos. Are these people for real? People can be so gullible!

 

[RickS]

It’s very aggravating seeing all the positive comments in his videos. Are these people for real? People can be so gullible!

I think that we can all be gullible at times, but some of Danny’s followers are pretty extreme…

The fact he can sell them Uberbuss or Shuntaya harp devices is quite remarkable. They are literally black boxes that you cannot be certain that they have any beneficial components inside at all.

 

[Keith_W]

It’s very aggravating seeing all the positive comments in his videos. Are these people for real? People can be so gullible!

Very simple, people lack the expertise to tell the difference between a charlatan who spews pseudo-technical claptrap and a real expert. And let's be honest, that includes you and me. Outside my own fields of expertise, I wouldn't know any better. Let's say I decide to get into aquariums. Someone comes and tells me that aquarium water is very important, and I need to buy a water conditioner to filter waste, maintain pH, mineral balance, etc. otherwise the fish will die. I do a bit of googling and find out he's right. But how do I evaluate the water conditioner he is selling? And what about his "fish growth boosting nutrients"?

 

[IPunchCholla]

Very simple, people lack the expertise to tell the difference between a charlatan who spews pseudo-technical claptrap and a real expert. And let's be honest, that includes you and me. Outside my own fields of expertise, I wouldn't know any better. Let's say I decide to get into aquariums. Someone comes and tells me that aquarium water is very important, and I need to buy a water conditioner to filter waste, maintain pH, mineral balance, etc. otherwise the fish will die. I do a bit of googling and find out he's right. But how do I evaluate the water conditioner he is selling? And what about his "fish growth boosting nutrients"?

I’m still trying to decide which turbo encabulator I need.

 

[RickS]

In the comments of this one, Dannie claims his measuring system is more accurate than the Klippel which he says is just a series of averages (or something along those lines).

Even if you gloss over his lack of Klippel knowledge, Danny’s own horizontal off-axis measurements reveal how stuck in the past he is. If you look at his latest designs, he does not know what good off-axis response is. Notably, his often have midrange directivity issues that are problematic.

The fact that he does not provide independent review samples clearly demonstrates a lack of confidence in his designs despite the sales bluster.

 

[beagleman]

Very simple, people lack the expertise to tell the difference between a charlatan who spews pseudo-technical claptrap and a real expert. And let's be honest, that includes you and me. Outside my own fields of expertise, I wouldn't know any better. Let's say I decide to get into aquariums. Someone comes and tells me that aquarium water is very important, and I need to buy a water conditioner to filter waste, maintain pH, mineral balance, etc. otherwise the fish will die. I do a bit of googling and find out he's right. But how do I evaluate the water conditioner he is selling? And what about his "fish growth boosting nutrients"?

I think some believe Danny and trust him. They "Think" he is only doing these crossover mods to help people and has no profit. So they feel why would he even care to mislead anyone or lie.

 

[gorb]

FYI, Dave contacted me and sent me this letter from RAAL saying Danny's mod is improper.

here's an image for those on devices lacking in-browser pdf support:

 

[Jcrow]

I think some believe Danny and trust him. They "Think" he is only doing these crossover mods to help people and has no profit. So they feel why would he even care to mislead anyone or lie.

I reckon he said that deliberately because the Dave guy (Ascend) pointed out what a rip-off the ‘upgrade kit’ is. Unless Danny is getting ripped off himself buying the parts, he is a straight up liar saying he doesn’t profit from them.

 

[Spkrdctr]

Any product that is in any way tied to Shunyata is pure snake oil. I have noticed that Danny is the greatest speaker designer in the world and has been for around 20 years. All you have to do is ask him! He will tell you...........

 

[Indydan]

Any product that is in any way tied to Shunyata is pure snake oil. I have noticed that Danny is the greatest speaker designer n the world and has been for around 20 years. All you have to do is ask him! He will tell you...........

I once asked Danny on a Youtube livechat, how he learned to design speakers (if he went to school, had a mentor, etc). He replied he was totally self taught!
That explains a lot...

 

[Wolf]

Being self taught isn't the bad thing. It's thinking you know more than you actually do.

If I could see the GR redo filter, I'd likely be able to see that it was insufficient. Ribbons are fragile devices, and most don't play very low. HD measurements and listening should be required post op treatment.

 

[GM3]

Dave has suggested GR Research / Danny to: "immediately take down both of your Sierra-2EXV2 videos and remove the upgrade from your website."

It might be that lawyers will have to get involved. Since Ascend offers warranty for its products, and GR Research's 'upgrade' has a real risk of damaging the tweeters, tweeters/speakers damaged by GR Research's kit have a solid risk of being sent back to Ascend for warranty replacement. And how is Ascend supposed to know their speakers were damaged by GR Research? There might be clues, but imagine if GR Research was more popular and they sold lots of GR Research DMRT ™ upgrade kits (DestroyMyRaalTweeters), then what, Ascend would be footing the bill for GR Research's destruction?

I guess it even calls into question the entire business model of GR Research. It's one thing to sell some kit as a sort of at your own risk/peril, but when both the tweeter and speaker manufacturers issue warning about potential damage and Danny continues to sell his kit, I mean, I'm sure he's exposing himself to legal liabilities.

And again, should be a huge red flag for consumers. How many of his other upgrade kits also have the same risk of damaging components?

There's even the risk of harming the Ascend brand and reputation. If Danny's 'upgrade' worsens the performance and will inevitably make speakers fail, that will inevitably reflect poorly on RAAL/Ascend, through no fault of their own...

 

[beagleman]

Dave has suggested GR Research / Danny to: "immediately take down both of your Sierra-2EXV2 videos and remove the upgrade from your website."

It might be that lawyers will have to get involved. Since Ascend offers warranty for its products, and GR Research's 'upgrade' has a real risk of damaging the tweeters, speakers damaged by GR Research's kit have a solid risk of being sent back to Ascend for warranty replacement. And how is Ascend supposed to know their speakers were damaged by GR Research? There might be clues, but imagine if GR Research was more popular and they sold lots of GR Research DMRT ™ upgrade kits (DestroyMyRaalTweeters), then what, Ascend would be footing the bill for GR Research's destruction?

I guess it even calls into question the entire business model of GR Research. It's one thing to sell some kit as a sort of at your own risk/peril, but when both the tweeter manufacturer and the manufacturer of the potentially destroyed product issue warning about potential damage and Danny continues to sell his kit, I mean, I'm sure he's exposing himself to legal liabilities.

And again, should be a huge red flag for consumers. How many of his other upgrade kits also have the same risk of damaging components?

What is funny, Danny in many of his "Upgrade" videos, will keep saying "I don't understand why they didn't just cross the tweeter over lower"....Im thinking, maybe cause it was a bad idea??

 

[mhardy6647]

Any product that is in any way tied to Shunyata is pure snake oil. I have noticed that Danny is the greatest speaker designer in the world and has been for around 20 years. All you have to do is ask him! He will tell you...........

I've always kind of assumed that Shunyata means "Snake oil" in Sanskrit... or Coptic... or something.

 

[kyuu]

What is funny, Danny in many of his "Upgrade" videos, will keep saying "I don't understand why they didn't just cross the tweeter over lower"....Im thinking, maybe cause it was a bad idea??

Hmm...

Unmodified:

After GR mod:

Nope, can't figure out why those darn professional speaker designers don't just cross the tweeter lower. Total mystery.

 

[RickS]

Hmm...

Unmodified:
View attachment 517166
After GR mod:
View attachment 517167

Nope, can't figure out why those darn professional speaker designers don't just cross the tweeter lower. Total mystery.

Danny claims the rise in THD is not audible or, if it is, may even be an improvement. This is one of the cases where he clearly contradicts himself. Another one in his rebuttal is both a contradiction and a deflection. His upgrade video says the CSD is really good and so he does not even show an “after” measurement. However, he ends the Ascend rebuttal video by claiming the THD increase is less of a problem than cabinet resonance. Clearly a deflection and an obvious case where he solves a problem that he stated there was not one previously.

Maybe he should watch his own videos before he goes and contradicts himself. Makes you wonder how his supposedly such discriminating customers miss such glaring mistakes.

 

[Jim Taylor]

It’s very aggravating seeing all the positive comments in his videos. Are these people for real? People can be so gull

I think some believe Danny and trust him.

Makes you wonder how his supposedly discriminating customers miss such glaring mistakes.

Would it be out of the realm of possibility for some or many of his "discriminating customers" to actually be fake accounts used by Danny to make it seem he has a higher approval than what is actually the case???

 

[amirm]

Would it be out of the realm of possibility for some or many of his "discriminating customers" to actually be fake accounts used by Danny to make it seem he has a higher approval than what is actually the case???

If you mean youtube, I think only a tiny fraction of them are customers. The rest are there for entertainment and education. Danny comes across well in his video. Has the southern charm and knows more than typical viewer so people trust and defend what he is saying. So I don't think there are many fake accounts although wouldn't put it past him to have a few in there.

 

[pablolie]

Danny’s poorly attempted Ascend rebuttal video is a noteworthy rant of deflections and contradictions. All of it seemingly just to avoid doing some simple THD measurements. He tries to obfuscate THD audibility, but without measuring, he does not know whether his designs are headed towards audible distortion or not. His upgrades do not even get a listening test.

Amazing how since he does not measure or listen to his upgrades for excess distortion, he can be sure it is not a problem! It is classic example of being ignorant of potential flaws due to misguided personal beliefs.

It continues to amaze me that these amateur reviewers somehow continue to make a living out of audio stuff. There are so many of them. Is there really such a demand for them? Do users just look for flawed reviewers that somehow make them feel good about their own flawed choices?