GR Research Speaker Upgrade Review (Sierra-2EX V2)

[heflys20]

Bashing Danny Richie about this "downgrade mod" is well deserved. But I have seen measurements of several other GR modifications and they are much better than the original (I haven't seen them all), so I am at loss why this hatred? I am not discussing how cost-effective are his modifications - I am sure they could be cheaper with optimal selection of brands and models of components.
Somebody raised the question - If Danny Richie is so good, why he is not working as a speaker designer, maybe in a well-established large speaker company? But the real question is - why some loudspeakers from well-known brands measure so poorly? Even I made several modifications of some loudspeaker models from well-known brands, and the difference was night-and-day, only with small modification of the crossover.

I don't hate him, but he is rather smug; particularly to imply that Ascend doesn't know what they're doing and that he has the solution...For $500+. Then, when his flaws are pointed out, he dismisses them as bias, flaws in the measurements or that they come from laymen who don't know what they're doing. Doesn't help public opinion much...

 

[dfuller]

A thought occurred to me:

This is one of his speakers that uses a planar magnetic tweeter. These are mechanically a little different to a true ribbon (a planar is basically a ribbon that has a plastic diaphragm bonded to the ribbon, for lack of a better description) but are actually very similar in operation... And it also shows very high distortion.

I'm beginning to think that as soon as he gets outside of basic dome tweeter land he doesn't know how to deal with these drivers.

 

[DatSpeakerTho]

so I am at loss why this hatred?

His behavior is why people do not like him. He actively suppresses any criticism on the few online channels he is active on. He will only converse with people on his youtube or sub forum he moderates because those are the only places he can control the narrative by deleting comments which he does A LOT. He never responds to companies when they reach out to him, he only offers them some strange one sided and often insulting method of communicating with him. His business practices and the way he conducts himself are rooted in dishonesty.

I am not discussing how cost-effective are his modifications

You kind of have to though, that's a large part of the grift. He's effectively ripping people off based on junk science around boutique xover components. So more lies. I recall him claiming in a video the color of the jacket on a cable can affect the sound. He sells $300+ power cables with suggested burn in times lol.

Basically he lies a lot, he exhibits anti-social behaviors, and he rips people off.

Even I made several modifications of some loudspeaker models from well-known brands, and the difference was night-and-day, only with small modification of the crossover.

Yes changing filter tasks will change the sound, but without some anaylsis method to very changes, you're just guessing. Other than phase and DI issues and break up, most frequency response issues from poor xover tuning can be mostly alleviated with EQ, which is effectively free and considerably easier to impliment. With sites like ASR and Erins audio corner, we shouldn't even be buying speakers that need crossover mods.

If Danny Richie is so good, why he is not working as a speaker designer, maybe in a well-established large speaker company?

A large portion of his business model is telling companies they're bad at what they do, even when they do a good job. I don't think he really has much to offer companies these days anyways. We live in the dsp/cardioid/geometry optimized driver loading world of today and he hasn't really kept up. Even in the DIY space, if I were hiring at my company theres about a hundred people in front of him doing better work that I would consider first.

 

[RickS]

Please try to stay on topic here and avoid casting aspersions on audio consumers or other members.

Some warnings have been issued and, those who persistently misbehave, may be thread banned or temporarily banned.

 

[amirm]

Bashing Danny Richie about this "downgrade mod" is well deserved. But I have seen measurements of several other GR modifications and they are much better than the original (I haven't seen them all), so I am at loss why this hatred?

Every one of those mods comes with "upgrades in parts." Upgrades that he can't show objectively to make a difference. Nor does he do any listening tests of the mod to confirm the same. According to him, most people purchase the mod with said upgrades. In this specific upgrade, he has included such parts and hence the reason the cost has ballooned to over $500.

He is also dismissive of EQ performing similar to his mod for nothing in most cases, saying it does something bad to sound.

And while you are on his site, you may be tempted to buy his power cables, etc.

He now blocks me from purchasing his products. He cancelled the last power tweak he is selling. And of course doesn't send me any review samples. His excuse? He wants me to listen, in some special room, with ears that I apparently don't have. When I say I want to measure them, he says he has already done that. As you see here, clearly he has not.

All of this comes with a heap of attitude. And as noted, heavy handed censorship. I dared to post in Audiocircle but the mods there give him ultimate power and admonish people saying negative things. Comments in Youtube are likewise deleted.

These things go against what we are about here. So please excuse the membership for venting. They have ample reason to do so.

 

[DanTheMan]

A good example of Hanlon's Razor.

Except Danny has been malicious historically and it's been documented here several times. That doesn't mean he made an intelligent mod though. I mean who would try to fix an Ascend speaker? Best case scenario: you are ignorant (meaning the modifier). Otherwise, you are stupid or malicious.

With all that said, this is now another set of speakers I really want to own and I'd never let Danny or any other creature modify them.

 

[peniku8]

Not correct. Gating by definition, reduces the number of samples in time domain. Heisenberg's uncertainty principle kicks in here, mandating that reduced number of samples results in lower resolution in frequency domain. That is why his graph starts at 200 Hz as his software software "knows" this. But resolution above 200 Hz is also compromised which some people don't realize and is not indicated on the graph.

As to Klippel, it does indeed rely on gating for high frequency region. But then uses the dual scan phase separation to filter out the reflections below that limit, fully preserving the resolution from start to finish. Danny could do the same by performing ground plane measurements and stitching the two together but he is not doing that.

For an example of someone who knows this, note this remark in many of James Larson's measurements:

"The Philharmonic BMR HT Tower speakers were measured in free-air at a height of 4 feet at a 2-meter distance from the microphone, with the microphone raised to an 8’ elevation that was level with and aimed at the tweeter center. The measurements were gated at 8 milliseconds. In this time window, some resolution is lost below 400 Hz and accuracy is completely lost below 200 Hz. "

I'm not sure why you reply to my comment saying "not correct" but then repeat the exact points I've made. I feel like this keeps happening time and time again and I don't understand why. Is my writing style this nebulous? Language barrier?

 

[Dialectic]

Bashing Danny Richie about this "downgrade mod" is well deserved. But I have seen measurements of several other GR modifications and they are much better than the original (I haven't seen them all), so I am at loss why this hatred? I am not discussing how cost-effective are his modifications - I am sure they could be cheaper with optimal selection of brands and models of components.
Somebody raised the question - If Danny Richie is so good, why he is not working as a speaker designer, maybe in a well-established large speaker company? But the real question is - why some loudspeakers from well-known brands measure so poorly? Even I made several modifications of some loudspeaker models from well-known brands, and the difference was night-and-day, only with small modification of the crossover.

It's not hatred, just disdain for the silly nonsense he's selling (which, let's be honest, is the vast majority of what he's selling) and his inexplicable confidence. It is important to expose charlatans.

 

[Power Pop 23]

If you feel like it Amir, this would be a good candidate for a video.

Agreed

A friend remarked last month that users of a torrent site were discussing the video @amirm created for his comparison of RCA cables from Kimber Kable and Amazon Basics.

I think a video would expand the reach of the information in this review.

 

[Rick63]

With sites like ASR and Erins audio corner, we shouldn't even be buying speakers that need crossover mods.

Exactly!

 

[amirm]

I'm not sure why you reply to my comment saying "not correct" but then repeat the exact points I've made. I feel like this keeps happening time and time again and I don't understand why. Is my writing style this nebulous? Language barrier?

All of what I quoted was incorrect: "I think Amir meant "Smoothed" instead of "Gated" in that comment about resolution, because "Gated measurement" in itself does not mean low resolution and in fact is also how the HF Klippel data is obtained on a faster run."

Gated always means lower resolution in lower frequencies. It is mathematically mandated. There is also no "faster run" in Klippel NFS. And certainly doesn't imply anything about lower resolution in Klippel results because it uses gating. What I wrote was correct yet you said I must have misspoken.

 

[dfuller]

He is also dismissive of EQ performing similar to his mod for nothing in most cases, saying it does something bad to sound.

Not the first time I've seen this take. It's goofy as hell considering a crossover is EQ. Like... seriously, what do people think crossover filters are? It's a passive filter network. Another name for a filter network is an equalizer.

Upgrades that he can't show objectively to make a difference.

The bits I've seen from Dave at Ascend over on his forum says the parts themselves are for the most part cheap junk too - the inductors he uses are really badly made, the kind of thing you'd expect on a $300/pr kit speaker (like the Dayton BR-1, for example, which includes a finished box and all the speaker materials, including a crossover PCB). far worse than any manufacturer is using once you get to a reasonable price point.

Those giant caps he uses sure look impressive, but there's a reason no company is bothering with them - they're totally unnecessary unless you're running huge amounts of power into the speakers (like, "fry woofer voice coil instantly" kind of power). I also have a sneaking suspicion those "Sonicaps" are actually very cheap parts... I'm not going to buy any to take apart, but the build quality looks fairly poor.

 

[PristineSound]

This one of Danny’s upgrades actually makes sense—repurposing the supertweeter as a regular tweeter, and then the original tweeter as a “fill driver” to boost frequencies at the crossover region between the woofer and tweeter. Creative engineering.

I don't know the details of this so called "creative engineering" because I don't need to. $300 upgrade kit for a $90 pair of speakers?

Sorry, I just don't have any words for it.

 

[PristineSound]

I feel sorry for Dave as I get the feeling this BS got him pretty upset, and rightfully so, but.....

I wrote at his site that after the sale any mods are out of his hands. If the mod ruins the speaker, so be it. Have an inventory of replacement parts handy and add to your profit margins, hah!

It's like selling a Chevy Malibu '65 back in the day and not expecting folks to tinker with the motor or transmission. Folks are gonna do what they want to do.

What are you talking about?

"add to your profit margins"? I don't think you have ever ran a business selling goods before to make this type of uninformed comment. In most situations, selling parts is a very low margin business and many times it's a break-even endeavor with a lot of overhead nuance work. It takes valuable labor from the core business; companies do it as a post-sales support for great customer service.

Especially when global supply chain is as fragile as it is today with the geopolitical situation, selling valuable parts will hit one's inventory and affect manufacturing output.

And yes, anyone is able to mod whatever they own, but here is the issue: Danny The Charlatan Ritchie made claims of how this Ascend EX speaker is so flawed that it needed a mod, his mod specifically. That inherently implies that Ascend Acoustic's engineering as a whole is not up to snuff. And if this EX model is not up to snuff, there is a likelihood other models won't be up to snuff. This is libel. He is falsely attacking the reputation of a business for his own gain.

And you know what else? Some people here like this so called "drama" we like to see charlatan's being called out, considered it a public service. If you find this distasteful, don't read it.

 

[amirm]

If you feel like it Amir, this would be a good candidate for a video.

Still recovering from tail end of Covid but managed to produce the video as you all asked:

GR Research Speaker Upgrade Review (Sierra-2EX V2) [Video]

As some of you requested, here is a video review of the GR Research "upgrade" of Ascend Sierra-2EX V2 speaker:

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Bruce Morgen]

Still recovering from tail end of Covid

Here's to a prompt and complete recovery!

 

[PristineSound]

Still recovering from tail end of Covid but managed to produce the video as you all asked:

GR Research Speaker Upgrade Review (Sierra-2EX V2) [Video]

As some of you requested, here is a video review of the GR Research "upgrade" of Ascend Sierra-2EX V2 speaker:

www.audiosciencereview.com

I see what you did with the shirt.

 

[daniboun]

What you get for the GR Research downgrade@$510 ))))
I did not find any picture of the mod Xover...

-Sonicaps in the tweeter circuit
-JB poly caps in the woofer circuit
-Air core inductors from US Coils
-Tube connectors + new wiring
-Sheet of No Rez

 

[Rick63]

What you get for the GR Research downgrade@$510 ))))
I did not find any picture of the mod Xover...

-Sonicaps in the tweeter circuit
-JB poly caps in the woofer circuit
-Air core inductors from US Coils
-Tube connectors + new wiring
-Sheet of No Rez

Here are a few from the Ascend forum and the closed for now thread on this topic:

 

[CD2]

I have seen measurements of several other GR modifications and they are much better than the original

Can you point us toward that data?