Tour of Danny's Business

[Matt_Holland]

Snake oil aside, it looks like Danny has built a nice little business there. He comes across a lot better than he does on his own videos. Who’s this Jay guy. He is quite irritating. When the name was mentioned in the OP I assumed it would be that Asian Canadian fellow.

@amirm what did you find interesting about the video?

 

[DanielT]

I see Danny has big open spaces outside. He complains that bass measurements are pointless to do indoors, The Schroeder Frequency and that bit BUT then
drag out the speakers.

Jay in the video I don't know who it is. It would be funny if such a big guy likes tiny speakers. If that's the case I have no idea. I don't know why I find it a bit humorous.

 

[RickS]

Good heavens. I had no idea Danny was operating on that scale. What am I doing wrong?

Not exploiting others for one’s personal gain for one tbh. As Amir alluded, he also does relentless brand promotion via youtube too.

You appear to employ smarter, more contemporary business practices wrt inventory. GR is more traditional and his speakers often utilize inexpensive unique drivers that he has to carry as inventory or risk major lead time problems. GR has been known to have stock outs. Likely why he turned to high margin accessory sales to help bolster his revenue when speaker sales sag.

Thanks for taking the higher ground.

 

[Keith_W]

I see Danny has big open spaces outside. He complains that bass measurements are pointless to do indoors, The Schroeder Frequency and that bit BUT then
drag out the speakers.

Did you see how windy it is outside? Ever tried to operate a microphone in the wind?

 

[DanielT]

Did you see how windy it is outside? Ever tried to operate a microphone in the wind?

But it's not always windy, is it? Or it's a constantly windy place?

In any case, if he wanted to do full frequency range measurements, he could solve it somehow.

 

[ta240]

Just the thumbnail is more than enough for me. Cable lifters? About as good an indicator of being completely lost in the Audiophool Woods as I can think of.

Cable lifters always make me nostalgic for this

 

[ta240]

Good heavens. I had no idea Danny was operating on that scale. What am I doing wrong?

There is a lot of money in folksy youtube sales pitches disguised as helpful information from a friend with a dash of fear of missing out.

 

[BeeKay]

He comes across a lot better than he does on his own videos. Who’s this Jay guy. He is quite irritating.

Exactly my impression. Gary is a bit awkward in his own videos. Way better / authentic here. Still don’t like his way of conducting business. This other guy is just pathetic. Should focus on too tight shirts and gyms.

 

[mhardy6647]

Cable lifters always make me nostalgic for this
View attachment 439473

Artist's conception of a cable lifter installation to support True Audiophile Dolby Atmos (TADA)!

 

[Looneybomber]

That is about the small, bookshelf Wilsons on the table.

That is the top half of the Wilson Watt Puppy 8 he did a video on. At about 14:30 Jay asks about the WWP8 and around 14:50, Danny says, “there’s a top right there”. At 15:00, Jay puts his hand on the top and says it’s the WWP8.

Edit. I guess the tops are removable?

 

[amirm]

@amirm what did you find interesting about the video?

1. Didn't know he was about to get into selling mostly useless diffusers.
2. First time I have seen the full shot of his "listening" room. Haphazard and again, mostly useless diffusers thrown around. And thick curtain behind all of it absorbing just high frequencies.
3. Interactions between Jay and him, coming from opposite worlds. Wonder how the former will rationalize what he is doing.
4. Use of the metal containers for storage.
5. Use of "chip amps" for this amplifiers and lead acid batteries with charger plugged in. I would think he would at least use Lithium and keep the charger disconnected. Or was that an inverter with all the "noise" it could inject into the line.
6. Speaking of which, his grid tied solar inverter will like provide its own source of "noise" and voltage variability.
7. A bunch of intangibles that comes from seeing his total operation, parts inventory, etc.
8. Got a kick out of him continuing to praise the little driver out of his LGK speaker: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...research-lgk-2-0-speaker-review-a-joke.34783/

 

[SIY]

What about a video of “I visit Amir in Seattle” certainly more appealing

I tried, but he (wisely) sicced his dogs on me.

 

[Blumlein 88]

That is the top half of the Wilson Watt Puppy 8 he did a video on. At about 14:30 Jay asks about the WWP8 and around 14:50, Danny says, “there’s a top right there”. At 15:00, Jay puts his hand on the top and says it’s the WWP8.

Edit. I guess the tops are removable?

The tops are separate. Originally there was just the WATT. Was meant for on location monitoring when Wilson did recordings. His recordings are excellent btw. He made his monitor a commercial product. It had nothing below 100 hz (and was lean in the lower portion anyway) so he needed a woofer which he named a Puppy. You mostly see both together (maybe that is the only way they sell them now, not sure). But for some years you could and sometimes people did buy just the WATT portion.

Here is a review of the first WATT. It was a sometimes difficult load with a drop to 1/3 of an ohm right around 2 khz. Sounded weird with a tube amp. Its off axis directivity was a roller coaster. Oddly, this gave it a reputation of being ruthlessly revealing because setup for best sound was exceedingly picky. When it fact it was simply a result of poor design.

Wilson WATT loudspeaker | Stereophile.com

Landmarks in speaker design have been few and far between.

www.stereophile.com

PS-I would add the original WATT was about the most inert cabinet you could imagine. It was much heavier than you would expect and the knuckle rap test would only result in sore knuckles. It was like grabbing a stone if you picked it up.

 

[Matt_Holland]

Thanks.

1. Didn't know he was about to get into selling mostly useless diffusers.

He showed them in a video last year I think. Trying to build interest. They look very poorly researched!

2. First time I have seen the full shot of his "listening" room. Haphazard and again, mostly useless diffusers thrown around. And thick curtain behind all of it absorbing just high frequencies.

Agree although no doubt better than no treatment and helpfully absorbs the awful off axis response of those open baffles.

3. Interactions between Jay and him, coming from opposite worlds. Wonder how the former will rationalize what he is doing.

There definitely seemed to be a disconnect between them. Jay seems quite hyper. I need to watch his other content to understand what he’s about. Or maybe not bother?

4. Use of the metal containers for storage.

Seems reasonable if you can control condensation.

5. Use of "chip amps" for this amplifiers and lead acid batteries with charger plugged in. I would think he would at least use Lithium and keep the charger disconnected. Or was that an inverter with all the "noise" it could inject into the line.
6. Speaking of which, his grid tied solar inverter will like provide its own source of "noise" and voltage variability.

All very weird imo.

7. A bunch of intangibles that comes from seeing his total operation, parts inventory, etc.

Didn’t look very organised in some places, but could have been worse. I didn’t know what to expect really.

8. Got a kick out of him continuing to praise the little driver out of his LGK speaker: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...research-lgk-2-0-speaker-review-a-joke.34783/

yeah. He can’t get enough of it! Also he’s desperate to promote it because he is launching a new speaker in partnership with Ron from New Record Day which uses two, one forward firing and one rear firing with a band pass filter on it.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Seems reasonable if you can control condensation.

I noticed some containers had fans mounted on them. Probably for condensation control and in Texas heat build up.

 

[MattHooper]

Its off axis directivity was a roller coaster. Oddly, this gave it a reputation of being ruthlessly revealing because setup for best sound was exceedingly picky. When it fact it was simply a result of poor design.

And amazingly enough that still seems to be the case. Reviewers, Wilson owners, and Wilson themselves emphasize that Wilson speakers, especially the ones with adjustable drivers, benefit from a dealer, setting them up. And we always hear about how incredibly picky, the process is as the dealer angles the speakers and adjust the driver distances minutely. We are often told “ even a quarter inch movement of the speaker yielded significant results.”

It’s amazing that this seems to be promoted as some sort of feature instead of a bug in the design.

Whenever I read that stuff, it just comes across to me as “ bad design.” They are probably having to accommodate all sorts of wonky dispersion issues.

 

[Steve Dallas]

There is so much wrong with what I saw in that video, I don't even know where to start. Surely some of that nonsense has to turn off some of his fans. How could he not know much of what was revealed could hurt his business?

• Poor measurement rig
• Laughable diffusers
• Haphazard 'listening room' with weird treatment choices
• Cheap chip amps
• Power wiring that doesn't use his expensive cables
• Etc.

Just bizarre. One might say, 'cheesy.'

 

[Mart68]

Regarding the listening room in fairness he did show his dedicated listening room is currently under construction.

The battery thing is nonsense though, why do people persist in thinking that's worth the bother?

I was quite surprised at the scale of the operation.

 

[RickS]

I do find it remarkable that his NRD speakers use the driver from the LGK2s. I suspect that Amir’s review may have hurt its sales and now he is seeking others ways to move them. Note that adding a rear firing one means he moves twice as many for each speaker he sells. So despite its obvious shortcomings, could be he has other motivations for heaping praise on it. It follows from the same reason he promotes line arrays, they move more drivers than a single woofer design.

 

[Heinrich]

When it fact it was simply a result of poor design.

Wilson WATT loudspeaker | Stereophile.com

Landmarks in speaker design have been few and far between.

www.stereophile.com

I still remember vividly how much they were praised when they came out. If the amp doesn't make it, its your fault, not theirs. The WATTs were considered to be the 'real thing'. The design is as bad as it gets, period. A winning contender for the infamious "... at work" and also for the overly eager customers an "instant carma".