Danny Richie's latest...

[Todd68]

I don't have "technical credibility" other than building speakers since the 1970s (T-S equations on a basic 4-function calculator) but:

I visited Danny on maybe 3 occasions, both before and after his move to the new(er) buildings. Simply a road trip since he is sort of local.

The visits were, well, unimpressive. I won't go into all the non-audio (expensive) hobbies he supports out of these buildings but he stores the raw drivers in a row of about a dozen shipping containers sitting in the Texas sun/heat outside the main barn. The actual speaker area is just a small walled off portion of the main barn. Just as an observation, he used Parts Express DuraTex over MDF as the kitchen countertops in the main house. Wow.

I have some spare sheets of NoRez in a closet from a X-LS Encore build about 10 years ago. I pulled them out the other day and the foam has completely decomposed and falling apart in chunks. I'm glad I no longer have those speakers, they wern't anything special other than the cost at the time ($200?). They're probably blowing chunks of NoRez out of the ports by now.

I haven't been back.

I don't have "technical credibility" other than building speakers since the 1970s (T-S equations on a basic 4-function calculator) but:

I visited Danny on maybe 3 occasions, both before and after his move to the new(er) buildings. Simply a road trip since he is sort of local.

The visits were, well, unimpressive. I won't go into all the non-audio (expensive) hobbies he supports out of these buildings but he stores the raw drivers in a row of about a dozen shipping containers sitting in the Texas sun/heat outside the main barn. The actual speaker area is just a small walled off portion of the main barn. Just as an observation, he used Parts Express DuraTex over MDF as the kitchen countertops in the main house. Wow.

I have some spare sheets of NoRez in a closet from a X-LS Encore build about 10 years ago. I pulled them out the other day and the foam has completely decomposed and falling apart in chunks. I'm glad I no longer have those speakers, they wern't anything special other than the cost at the time ($200?). They're probably blowing chunks of NoRez out of the ports by now.

I haven't been back.

Why would you visit the second time then even a third time it was so bad? It’s a small business so I wouldn’t expect to be impressed with the operation. You built his cheapest kit and so you formed an opinion from that?

I meant impressed from listening to his setup with the Extreme speakers and OB subs. I guess it’s possible it’s nothing special and everyone who thought otherwise is just being nice cause Danny took em out for barbecue.

 

[Mikey1]

Why would you visit the second time then even a third time it was so bad? It’s a small business so I wouldn’t expect to be impressed with the operation. You built his cheapest kit and so you formed an opinion from that?

I meant impressed from listening to his setup with the Extreme speakers and OB subs. I guess it’s possible it’s nothing special and everyone who thought otherwise is just being nice cause Danny took em out for barbecue.

I built the complete A/V series first when it was his main offering (before OBs, ribbon tweeters, Tube Connector, etc), maybe 2000-ish. I'm a woodworker and was more interested in building the transmission line enclosures and learning to veneer large cabinets at the time. Then a 2nd set for a relative. They were a bargain at the time and actually sounded decent for the $. I still have the tower TLs (with chunks of decomposed NoRez falling out of the ports).

The X-LS Encores were just a drive-by curiosity because I go out that way every August for the Hotter 'n Hell bike ride. They weren't horrible, either, for the time frame Danny originally rescued them from AV-123. Remember, they were under $200 way back then.

I built another pair with the BG Neo ribbons (forget the name) and they were truly awful and I haven't been back since. Again, I was more interested in the woodworking aspect and relatively low parts cost. This was all well before the modern disdain for Danny.

 

[Rick Sykora]

I built the complete A/V series first when it was his main offering (before OBs, ribbon tweeters, Tube Connector, etc), maybe 2000-ish. I'm a woodworker and was more interested in building the transmission line enclosures and learning to veneer large cabinets at the time. Then a 2nd set for a relative. They were a bargain at the time and actually sounded decent for the $. I still have the tower TLs (with chunks of decomposed NoRez falling out of the ports).

The X-LS Encores were just a drive-by curiosity because I go out that way every August for the Hotter 'n Hell bike ride. They weren't horrible, either, for the time frame Danny originally rescued them from AV-123. Remember, they were under $200 way back then.

I built another pair with the BG Neo ribbons (forget the name) and they were truly awful and I haven't been back since. Again, I was more interested in the woodworking aspect and relatively low parts cost. This was all well before the modern disdain for Danny.

Thanks for sharing!

I have a comparable history, except my "local" supplier was Parts Express (and sometimes Meniscus Audio). While was a great learning experience, except for some subwoofers, nothing I built was exceptional and so most of it has been sold or repurposed. My prior commercial experience is not all that different except for spending a lot more. Not unlike others am sure, I went through many iterations of brand name speakers (Dynaco, Mission, KEF, and Vandersteen to name a few). With one or two exceptions, would not recommend any of them to others, but I know more today than I did back then...

Along with building and listening to the X-LS Encore, this is why I do not recommend it despite a decent review here: It is an old design, and we simply know more today about good speaker design than we did back then. All GR's "better" component gold-plating does not change its age and only makes it less competitive versus today's designs. As you allude, it does not help that Danny started pushing more questionable products and earned him more disdain than seems he had in his earlier years. If I lived closer to him would likely have built more of his kits too.

 

[Todd68]

I really enjoy building my own gear and despite what others might think, can be good bang for the buck. That’s the main reason I bought the GR Research kits. I built some parts express kits, the Epique CBT 24 and a pair sealed Dayton audio subs. Those have good performance but not quite good enough to make me stop looking for something better.

With the GR kits even if outdated, I feel are good enough to not think about speaker upgrades anymore. Instead I try to learn more about room affects and treatments, and try to take the sound quality up a notch a little at a time.

 

[Todd68]

I built the complete A/V series first when it was his main offering (before OBs, ribbon tweeters, Tube Connector, etc), maybe 2000-ish. I'm a woodworker and was more interested in building the transmission line enclosures and learning to veneer large cabinets at the time. Then a 2nd set for a relative. They were a bargain at the time and actually sounded decent for the $. I still have the tower TLs (with chunks of decomposed NoRez falling out of the ports).

The X-LS Encores were just a drive-by curiosity because I go out that way every August for the Hotter 'n Hell bike ride. They weren't horrible, either, for the time frame Danny originally rescued them from AV-123. Remember, they were under $200 way back then.

I built another pair with the BG Neo ribbons (forget the name) and they were truly awful and I haven't been back since. Again, I was more interested in the woodworking aspect and relatively low parts cost. This was all well before the modern disdain for Danny.

Interesting, I love those NEO tweeters. Keep in mind I’m almost 60 years old and have hearing loss like most everyone my age. Maybe I can’t hear if it’s something wrong. Also they are planer magnetic and I think quite different from ribbons. I owned speakers with ribbons before. RAAL, a well respected brand, though I can’t remember exact model. They may have a tad more detail but I think less dynamic.

 

[Rick Sykora]

I don't have "technical credibility" other than building speakers since the 1970s (T-S equations on a basic 4-function calculator) but:

I visited Danny on maybe 3 occasions, both before and after his move to the new(er) buildings. Simply a road trip since he is sort of local.

The visits were, well, unimpressive. I won't go into all the non-audio (expensive) hobbies he supports out of these buildings but he stores the raw drivers in a row of about a dozen shipping containers sitting in the Texas sun/heat outside the main barn. The actual speaker area is just a small walled off portion of the main barn. Just as an observation, he used Parts Express DuraTex over MDF as the kitchen countertops in the main house. Wow.

I have some spare sheets of NoRez in a closet from a X-LS Encore build about 10 years ago. I pulled them out the other day and the foam has completely decomposed and falling apart in chunks. I'm glad I no longer have those speakers, they wern't anything special other than the cost at the time ($200?). They're probably blowing chunks of NoRez out of the ports by now.

I haven't been back.

@TunaBug as you asked in another thread, above quote is from someone with long term experience with NoRez.

The new Norez just showed on my porch and can confirm it is very different (seems more like cheap packing foam) than the previous version. Will see shortly how it compares acoustically.

 

[Todd68]

@TunaBug as you asked in another thread, above quote is from someone with long term experience with NoRez.

The new Norez just showed on my porch and can confirm it is very different (seems more like cheap packing foam) than the previous version. Will see shortly how it compares acoustically.

I guess I’ll know in ten years if the No Rez falls apart or not. My speakers and subs have it on panels you can see. The speakers have the original type and subs the new type.