Dynaudio | How “Special” is the 40?

Order your kit now: www.gr-researc...

[@craigbowman1947]

I've had the Dynaudio Special 40s for about 3 years now, driving them with a NAD C-390DD and they sound incredible. Absolutely incredible. And I listen to a lot of speakers in that price range and higher before I purchased. I understand the measurements but I'll trust my ears and the ears of many reviewers and users who also love them.

[@dannyrichie9743]

If you liked them stock then you'll really like them after the upgrade. I guarantee you, I can make you love them a whole lot more.

[@bigjay1970]

I would believe Danny's response!

[@ej20tscully]

Enjoy the speakers as they are. Mod them and they become worthless. let the bullshit start....

[@dannyrichie9743]

@@ej20tscully Actually they will have more value after the mod.

[@brewt1mer]

I’ve had mine for a few months now and also love the sound of them...

[@martinhallback5815]

Interesting video. Measurements are interesting for sure but most important is how they sound and it is not necessary the same as how they measure.

[@dannyrichie9743]

They sound even better than the measured improvements.

[@rxonmymind8362]

True.

[@phoebus]

I've used Dynaudio drivers in DIY builds for close to 30 years and I have never seen any of their woofers have a peak like that. Most are very flat over their intended range of use. Not saying your measurements are wrong, just never seen it before. Also Dynaudio cones are not a simple polypropylene.

[@MrZenderOne]

for cheap monitoring and home speakers dynaudio using polyprolylene cones

[@bobking7347]

@jon dough wrong

[@bobking7347]

Truth hurts my man, measurements don't lie, these speakers are junk for 3k, even those cheap Sony's destroy them, especially after his mods. I've seen other people measure these 3k paper weights, nearly the same result...

[@MrZenderOne]

@@bobking7347 the truth is that dynaudio knows how to make speakers:) junk or not junk depends what kind of sound signature somebody likes

[@musiccritic8704]

@@MrZenderOne lmao stored energy is not a sound signature

[@danzampich3792]

I would love to see blind tests of before and after reviews

[@franciscoortiz6980]

Or even audio samples... hundreds have questioned him about sound clips, before after. Or even clips of gr speakers... not goig to find them.

[@igaldins]

@@franciscoortiz6980 This guy is very funny 😆 I have those speakers for more than a year. They are not perfect but they really play music. Excellent speakers. Very difficult to replace after you got used to their sound signature. I tried.. but still have them. Addictive sound

[@phantomplastics6582]

Sold! - UPDATE - I bought this upgrade. It's easy to install, even for a complete novice. The sound is much clearer and more engaging now. Transients are faster with much more impact. I was actually startled at one point. Female vocalists like Mary Chapin Carpenter now have a lifelike breathy quality and the soundstage is way more open. This is the kind of upgrade I would expect from buying the Special Heritage which cost $7K (co-incidentally, that has similar quality parts to what GR Research offer for a few hundred dollars). Try it and be amazed.

[@RingwurmD]

This is good to hear. By "complete novice," what do you mean? Could you please list the precise skills needed to upgrade these? I'm asking because I'm an S40 owner and have never tried to modify speakers. Thanks.

[@phantomplastics6582]

@@RingwurmD you just need to be able to solder and twist the component wires together as shown in the supplied circuit diagram. I had not seen a circuit diagram in 30 years and it was still easy. He has videos on how to solder too. If you want to instal the tube connectors then you need a drill and 7/16 bit (he has a video on that too).

[@toucheslapper]

Make a video and let’s see the finished product. Otherwise, I call BS. How much did Danny pay you for your comment?

[@IDontExist14]

@@RingwurmD this channel is a total sham to sell his kits, if all u needed was a smooth frequency response everyone could make a world class speaker

[@phantomplastics6582]

@@toucheslapper what a childish comment. Time to grow up perhaps?

[@AllboroLCD]

Great job Danny, your doing gods work here sir!! Its downright EVIL to build speakers with budget parts and then charge the customer as if it were made with the good stuff inside. Its bad juju all around if ya ask me. You hold brands feet to the fire exposing these injustices with your expertise and its greatly appreciated.

[@martybousum1010]

Amen!

[@romeonoah7101]

you all prolly dont care but does someone know a tool to log back into an Instagram account..? I was stupid lost the login password. I would love any tips you can give me

[@frederickjamal1808]

@Romeo Noah Instablaster :)

[@romeonoah7101]

@Frederick Jamal thanks so much for your reply. I got to the site through google and im waiting for the hacking stuff atm. Takes quite some time so I will get back to you later when my account password hopefully is recovered.

[@akyhne]

All that matters, is how the speakers sounds. If they sound excellent, it doesn't matter, if the speakers were made out of :bananas.

[@mfr58]

I'm constantly amazed at how prestigious speaker manufacturers sell expensive products with such obvious design issues. All grist to your creative mill Danny....

[@hushpuppykl]

I wonder what’s in their heads. Seriously ...

[@brainache555]

@@hushpuppykl Money... These went out to all the usual suspect circle jerk reviewers... Who of course gave them rave reviews.

[@xsamitt]

@@hushpuppykl Don't you mean their wallets???

[@hushpuppykl]

@@brainache555 ... but they do sound nice as is 😂🤣

[@brainache555]

@@hushpuppyklGood for you if you like them :)

[@danashay]

No mercy. Another easy-to-absorb lesson. Don't ever change Danny!!

[@BPTVch]

Your channel is becoming one of my very favorites. I absolutely love and appreciate the honesty of your content, you tell it like it is regarding of the brand name. Your content has made me realize that the next time I'll spend a few grand in a pair of speakers it will be a kit that I'll put together knowing exactly what's going into it. I will never again pay thousands for a pile of junk that looks beautiful on the outside regardless of brand name or reviews.

[@fcamiola]

Word.

[@stevenichols5708]

I would love to see a follow-up video from the customer of these speakers to see the reaction of the changes.

[@martybousum1010]

Great idea!

[@acimbobby]

it would be a good move, depending on the distance and time invovlved. Just trust this man he is very skilled I know.

[@JosephTongret]

Agreed! Maybe Danny could try to work out a post-upgrade interview or follow-up?

[@Rob1972Gem]

There's a good possibility they are still trying to notice the deference and were there money went

[@dannyrichie9743]

We'll see or hear from them soon. I have already sold six of these upgrades.

[@tobiaxelsson]

I really would like an actual listening test before and after, just like how cables should be treated. Nothing against measurements, but listening is the real test. At least in my opinion.

[@RyChanneler]

That's the thing I feel is missing from the content on this channel. Measurements are great but speakers are made to sound appealing, and measurements are only one part of this.

[@klaushaunstrupchristensen7252]

Strange I just wrote something almost similar as a comment to the Kef’s presentation, so I obviously agree

[@IDontExist14]

@@RyChanneler he just does these to sell his kits

[@RyChanneler]

@@IDontExist14 Obviously, and thats ok, I'm sure that the kits improve the speakers. I suppose since audio is such a subjective thing (what we enjoy) the only way to really "improve" something is to try to use objective means.

[@IDontExist14]

@@RyChanneler only noobs fall for this guy, if a flat response is all u want then everyone can make a world class speaker, don't u think dynaudio couldn't get a flat repsonce for 3k dollars, plz consult someone who is well versed in audio and has actually made speakers from sratch

[@assai74]

I would love to see a impulse response in adition to a frequency response. Frequency response is just one side of a coin. I witnessed poor sounding speakers wich had a well balanced frequency response.

[@PierreVilleneuve88]

Isn't spectral decay similar to impulse response in terms of what we learn from it?

[@bobking7347]

@@PierreVilleneuve88 It is, but impulse response looks at things from a different way, you might be able to see ringing a little better, than the broad overview that a spectral decay offers. Though it can take more work. He's already doing far more than nearly anyone in the industry, so people should cut him slack for the thousands of man hours behind the scene's.

[@TheTuckmon]

I agree the Sony's if you can make them sound great with your upgrade is a greater value than expensive speakers you have to still upgrade. I would consider one of your kits myself

[@maxkady9478]

Mdf is very dense and that’s why speaker manufacturers use it. These are good sounding speakers. A little colored but good sounding.

[@Skyshakerrrr]

100% more than good. Excellent.

[@lanx0003]

Could you post the music sample clips before and after, so we could get a sense to what degree the sound improvement is.

[@chewy560]

Hi-Fi such a rip off nowadays. Can’t trust most reviewers either.

[@georgedoughly8682]

Agreed!

[@tobyiy]

KS Digital might be the only brand that i have noticed is actually getting better with each generation. if you want non-rip-off companies to thrive, check em out ksd-audio.de/A-Line/A100/

[@louishamilton9648]

LOVE it when this guy rips ‘expensive’ speakers.

[@AyushP306]

As one of the comment below pointed, it would be damn interesting to have a blind listening test of Dynaudio Special 40s before and after the modifications! It's hard to believe that it would sound better after the intervention without listening to it.. 😅

[@rickp6731]

The all new Dynaudio Focus 50 Active Wireless speakers are the best I've ever heard at any price !

[@dannyrichie9743]

You might want to do some more listening. There is a whole new world out there.

[@cremersalex]

Why don't we see the altered result with the new parts?

[@dannyrichie9743]

The measured results are right there in this video. What bb foto has stated is a complete and total lie. If you look in the upper righthand corner of the measurements you'll see the word Clio. Clio is a measuring system. It doesn't model responses. Each measurement shown is an actual measurement made with a network on that speaker. Nothing I do is modeled.

[@toucheslapper]

@@dannyrichie9743 - You also never answered the question. You can play semantics all day, but the fact that you NEVER show a finished “upgraded” speaker pair speaks volumes to those with common sense.

[@dannyrichie9743]

@@toucheslapper Are you kidding me? You haven't been watching all of my video's. I took the Klipsch RP-600M and shot five video's on the whole assembly process from beginning to end. I did the same with our X-LS Encore kit.

[@bigjay1970]

@@dannyrichie9743 Danny I know a way how to make your KZbin channel much more successful than it is even now. Just buy/ rent Randy the mic system off of Adorama and have it properly set up and do a before-and-after of the speaker that you're going to modify. Heck, you could even put the speaker together then ship it to Ron for him to do for a small fee it would make it worth your while! I promise you it would pay off huge. I realize you're going to have to modify the speaker and put it together unless you're sending it back to the customer to do it themselves!🤔🤔😉😉😇 It would put all these as you call them flat-earthers doubting opinions to rest. Wow, just watched Ron's channel as he just mentioned he's coming down to help you out! Man, you took my great advice even before I offered it!!🤔🤔🤭🤭🤭🤭😉😇😜 As you can see, I know what I'm talkin about and evidently so do you!😬

[@dannyrichie9743]

@@bigjay1970 All in the works.

[@dilbyjones]

Heck yea... still building my subs but just a bit here and I’ll have THE BEST subwoofer setup under 5k ! Excited

[@LayMeInTheRiver]

You’re my favorite Chinese KZbinr

[@E.Frey2002]

Literally the first time I heard spoken a negative sentence about this speaker. I'll have to be honest, the way I heard it, I liked it. And I think it's generally a bit of a specific taste, upgraded or stock.

[@davep2945]

There is no such thing as intrinsic value. There is only the value assigned to a product by the purchasers wallet. If these speakers had included all the crossover parts Danny believes they should would anyone who thinks these speakers are a rip off as is suddenly think they're a good deal? Well, if you answered yes you're not thinking clearly. Yes, the crossover parts Danny recommends are more expensive but not even remotely close to being enough to warrant a $3000 price tag based on parts content alone. If you want great overall value from a parts versus performance price then build yourself a kit. Like, seriously, almost any kit. Buy Danny's kit. Buy a kit from Madisound or Parts Express or any of a variety of other sources and you will definitely get more for your money than any commercial speaker will give you. Every product on earth costs more than it's parts content alone and no one man is the absolute arbitor of what those parts should be regardless of price. Are the parts Danny recommends better than what came from the factory? Technically speaking, absolutely. But will changing out the factory parts for the GR-Research parts make this speaker the performance equivalent of a top notch $3000 kit? Not even close! Heck, many people will prefer the sound before the parts change. As I've said before on this channel. It's your money, spend it how you wish. But all anyone can do no matter how skilled they are with speaker design is change, not fix, the sound. The end result of that change may or may not sound better to you. Some people like a bass or midrange bump. Some people like recessed mids or high or even thin bass. Geez, I think some of y'all would sell your house if Danny came along and found that your wall studs, though perfectly safe and installed correctly were southern yellow pine instead of Douglas fir. If it works, you like it and feel it's worth the money, buy it. But If you're buying $3000 bookshelf speakers in the first place, well, I'd say that no matter how good the parts are inside, your perception of value is too skewed to worry about anyway!

[@Coolesttech]

Amen

[@erics.4113]

When you spend the money you also invest in a company. The level of components you get for your money is only a fraction of the value you get in return. If you want the manufacturer to pay salaries, rent office space, do research and development etc then you assume your 3k isn't getting you 3k in parts. The product you receive is only a fraction of that. If it weren't, there would be no company to buy speakers from

[@1997inspire]

PERFECTLY SAID.

[@BowmanDk1]

Hi Danny! Thanks for your speaker upgrades and measurements that explanes much of their benefits. I think subjective responses like the Phantom Plastics, are very interesting, maybe also a comment from you, about each speakers sound after your upgrade.

[@Shawn-wy1pb]

He has address that already, once you do an upgrade you know exactly what improvements you will get so commenting on each upgrade is redundant and a waste of time. I doubt if Danny spends anytime listening to these speakers after all the upgrades he has done. I am speaking from experience as i did the same to my speakers, no crossover changes just better parts and improvements were instant and obvious since I did the upgrade one at the time and listened to both at the same time. This test left me with no question or doubt.

[@Gary_M]

He doesn't even listen to them. He is a con artist.

[@igaldins]

If the parts are so bad, how the speaker sound so good? Maybe because there are 40 years of research and development behind this speaker? How do you calculate 40 years of R&D into the speaker price?

[@phantomplastics6582]

I bought this kit and they sound far, far better with the kit.

[@igaldins]

@@phantomplastics6582 Really? Please post 1 minute sound sample on your channel. I subscribed to your chanel so I will not miss it.

[@Starch1b2c3d4a]

@@igaldins lol bro

[@ibz925]

@@phantomplastics6582 stop shilling

[@igaldins]

Still have them. Now with McIntosh. They are kind of dense in the mids but sound good with any music. Bass is perfect. Wanted to replace them with more transparent and expensive speaker but returned to the SP40 after a week. Very musical and pleasant speaker with good bass. This guy in the video don’t really know what he’s talking about. Funny guy 😄😄

[@Coolesttech]

Has everyone on here that bashes every brand reviewed ever looked inside the boxes of their electronics or do they also build their own electronics? You're in for a shock if you look inside. Is every kit GR sells beyond reproach or have compromises also been made and further improvements could still be had? Buy what sounds good to you and move on. If the Dynaudios were $2000 would people here be more accepting, not likely, they'd still complain and say they got ripped off. It's hilarious. If you only want to pay the cost of the BOM build your own, I'm sure they'll sound perfect and be super ugly.

[@thorstenhoffmann5586]

I am kind of confused after 30 years of Hifi and DIY speaker building looking at all your videos. Seems you think to increase sound of every commercial speaker by flattening the frequency response on axis and 30°. But is it that easy? To be honest: I did not hear any of your own speakers or any speakers modified by you. But I am kind of struggeling to believe becuase from my experience the big companies like Dynaudio know very well about speaker sound refinement. What about impulse response or THD in higher power levels? I cannot believe changing poly caps to more expensive poly caps and corretly rated iron inductors changing to air inductors change the world. (and I have changed many poly caps in my live) From my opinion it is more the developer feeling to understand how to adjust the crossover to get the speaker sound good. And I believe that Dynaudio for sure recruted the best developers for the job.

[@thorstenhoffmann5586]

Hi GR-Research, please give me a response so that I can understand it. I am at least not a complete noop , german diploma in electric engineering since 19 years. so I think I should potentially be capable to understand what you would explain.

[@ericjensen9091]

​@Thorsten Hoffmann Give him a phone call, I called him once because I was having trouble ordering no-rez product on his website. He was nice and helpful. However, I wouldn't expect him to have a long conversation, he's busy running his company.

[@rcdude86]

Again i thank you for your info!! I love this channel cause i am researcher when buying my products. I want to know what i am getting for my money cause i want to know its good and proper. These reviews are so informative! People miss that in these reviews! Thanks Danny again for info. Awesome how you do this stuff and hope this create more people researching there products for anything they buy and not let the world go to oh just cheap speakers are fine!

[@nicknoh]

I believe these speakers were supposed to be "fun" and were voiced accordingly. Dynaudio certainly has a house sound, much like Harbeth or Sonus Faber, etc. that you either like or don't like. Fixing the cabinet resonance and flattening the curve (especially without consideration of the speaker's polar response or the room) is counterproductive and will absolutely ruin the resale value. If you want a "neutral" sounding monitor you should just purchase one to begin with.

[@dannyrichie9743]

Actually, the polar response has been improved as well. Also, only part of the upgrade is balancing out the response. That nasty woofer resonance is not part of a house sound either. They just neglected to correct it, and it needed correcting. These were also being held back by the parts quality. The upgrade is a transformation from a lifeless and problematic speaker into a pretty decent speaker.

[@irawong]

What an eye-opening video. Unbelievable.

[@rondegroot1508]

Buy the sonys

[@ibz925]

@@rondegroot1508 lol

[@ericharrelson32]

Danny, A little Texas pride, I love it. I Sport my Texas colors frequently too. Watching your speaker analysis upgrade videos is so fun and revealing. Every speaker I research these days regardless of the accolades and positive reviews, I think to myself, how could Danny improve these babies, are they Unicorns or a bag of issues? I'd like to see you include with you modification kits another option with even higher level of parts, even if the cost no object parts won't fit inside build an external XO. Keep 'em coming Danny, I'm a fan boy of what you do. Much Thanks, Eric Harrelson

[@eurly93]

The problem with 'upgrading' crossovers like this, is the assumption that perfectly flat is the best way a speaker could measure. What makes a dynaudio sound different from a KEF or a Focal speaker in large part is those little peaks and valleys through the EQ range which either accentuate or soften certain frequencies. Making it flatter isn't inherently better, it's just different. As far as wiring quality, etc. it's been pretty well disproven that that stuff makes any difference at all. That being said, it is pretty sleazy that these companies are selling their top tier speakers for thousands of dollars and still using the cheapest materials inside that they can

[@dannyrichie9743]

Sorry, but that ringing in the woofer cone (break up), and smearing caused by cheap parts wasn't what they were shooting for. Those are not house sounds. They are problems not addressed properly.

[@kimeland6427]

One question... How does it sound before and after?

[@user-mo9mt6yu8y]

Good question!

[@johnsweda2999]

It's a hot steamy one that......

[@dannyrichie9743]

Instead or me telling you what I think, let's wait and hear from everyone implementing the kit.

[@richardjohnston4682]

@@dannyrichie9743 That's a bit of a cop out!

[@chrislesnar]

@Yael Jerome I thought it took only 15 minutes?

[@JoelBursztyn]

It is refreshing to hear somebody professional who's really talks with engineering sense!! There are a lot of people who speaks about Audio seems smart but are not really. I like your video and going to search for more of yours article since you sound really professional with integrity. Joel

[@giriprasadkotte9876]

What's the issue with PVC coat?

[@vivianvaldi7871]

It's kind of the heaviest, with bad numbers. It completely changes the signal speed in the cable. Lightest is the best, with air inside,. Best is air, bur technically difficult. Some high-end even goes for cotton, yep grandma's underware cotton, like Duelund.

[@vicentemonsalve5884]

Well, to me the FR plot after the “upgrade” looks worse than the original on some frequencies, while he flattened a bit the 1K region he also created a deeper valley on the 6K region, also I don’t buy the individual “woofer measurements”, since the woofer has been tweaked to work along with the original crossover, what I would ONLY do is replacing the inexpensive parts in the crossover with higher quality parts but keeping the original values.

[@pliedtka]

My point is actually a bit different - I'm not so sure the tweeter is able to handle low x-o freq proposed in the upgrade. While the bump in midwoofer freq response looks terrible, most 6" drivers have the cone edge artifact. To me the crossover could be optimized better from the factory, but I wouldn't cut the tweeter so low unless I'm 100% certain it can take the extra signal without introducing it's own distortions. Actually I have nothing against the original voicing of this speaker.

[@minus3dbintheteens60]

The drivers are just pulled of a shelf and the crossover and box is designed to suit. They basically only make 1 bass/mid driver, in various sizes. They all have the same motor, the same cone material and basically the exact same T/S parameters apart from the sensitivity, resonant frequency and overall bandwidth. So any speaker they make using this driver with the 3 inch coil is going to have the exact same issue. Even the cars like VW that have these drivers just with a plastic basket I bet have the exact same issue, unless its caused by the basket but the frequency is way to high to be caused by solid cast alloy

[@vicentemonsalve5884]

The thing is that I don’t get why the original crossover has to be flawed, every hi-fi loudspeaker on the market has its signature sound, if you want a flatter FR go get studio monitors period, I myself own the S40’s, I can tell you that with the right electronics and the right placement these loudspeakers sound very life-like and sweet, I really like them, are there better loudspeakers?, of course there are, but at this price point these loudspeakers are very, very, very good at soundstage, dynamics and detail, besides that there’s no “perfect” speakers on the market, they all have colorations and distortion.

[@minus3dbintheteens60]

I think you are asking "why is the shape of the response a flaw and not a feature"? Well, I guess you could look at it that way. A song should be recorded perfectly, and a speakers job is to play the song back with nothing added or taken away. The speaker should never be able to make a song sound "better", only worse. A speaker that doesn't not play like a flat studio monitor is adding peaks and distortion information that should not be there, or it is taking away info that should be there. As I said, the song should be recorded perfectly so that when it is played back 1:1 with a flat playing speaker it sounds the best.

[@vicentemonsalve5884]

I think there is a misunderstanding about hi-fi loudspeakers and studio monitors loudspeakers, hi-fi speakers usually have some pleasant colorations, they could be on the neutral side of warm or they can be a bit bright, some others can have a slight V shaped sound, so a flat FR in hi-fi speakers is not always a desirable feature, in fact is not expected, this is what audiophiles are looking for, some audiophiles find flat FR speakers boring and uninvolving, but a flat FR is desirable for studio monitors. The S40’s are considered a balance sound loudspeakers with a touch of warmth and air at the top. This is why I find this kind of crossover “correction” completely pointless.

[@ukaszdubiel7584]

He's trying to sell us KITs. We need to have that in mind. if the mid/low woofer should be cut at lower freq, it would have been done already by Dynaudio (it doesn't cost extra money). We can't design speakers on the paper.. But anyway whole topic it's quite interesting.

[@GRResearch]

The point in me doing this isn't to sell upgrade kits. It is to help improve the listening experience for those that have these speakers or any speakers. It also introduces people into the DIY market. And eventually we can step them up into some of our higher quality DIY kits.

[@ukaszdubiel7584]

@@GRResearch Thanks for response. To dispel all doubts it would be nice to not only see the speakers already equipped with KIT but also to have listen session and a kind of comparison. The point is that I just can't understand how the heck these speakers are so popular, very well rated across the globe while in fact built from shitty parts. I do own a pair of these, I've had compared with many other (even with slightly more expensive ones) before I bought them , and for me there is no better speaker in this price range. I never took a look at the paper, only listen. And of course I know, this is only my personal subjective opinion :)

[@dannyrichie9743]

@@ukaszdubiel7584 No better speakers for the price range? There are way better sounding speakers out there for a fraction of their cost. Our base level X-LS Encore kit at $249 a pair will beat these up pretty well.

[@ukaszdubiel7584]

@@dannyrichie9743 it sounds so much commercial (KIT again) For me it now seems like there are no any good speakers on the market and we need to get them all equipeed with KITs :) I give up here :) Good luck with your business

[@dannyrichie9743]

@@ukaszdubiel7584 Why not make a speaker better? Any speaker can be tweaked or upgraded. Even our kits come with a list of additional upgrades. That is part of our never ending quest of making our systems sound better and better.

[@nathankohler7621]

Wow how disappointing for such a high pedigree speaker! Great review and keep up the good work ! we consumers are lucky to have someone like you exposing these so called hi end companies worts and all! I know they need to turn a profit but that’s robbery.

[@danielduesentriebjunior]

This chap still believes into significant differences between cables, capacitors and coils. I tried this in the 1980's (young ears) several times without result. Useless approach, except for the providers of such parts. Buy better speakers, if you are not happy, and please do not waste money on esoteric nonsense!

[@willbrink]

While I agree that changes in some of those will not alter the audio signature, he does show actual improvements in objective measurements from the upgrades. Regardless, he's right in that for that $, it should not be full of low grade parts. That brand seems a terrible value for $.

[@Starch1b2c3d4a]

Ok boomer

[@zebarzebra]

@@willbrink Sorry mate, but he is straight up lying to you and then you repeat it. 1) He did not fix anything - all he did is change the frequency response - which he can do, but that does not make the speaker better just because it is flatter. 2) Dynaudio is one of the best known brands for their high quality speakers with top notch parts. That is the reason why a pair of Focus 340 I bought used 5 years ago 2.000€ are still worth that money now. 3) This has nothing to do with dollers - these aren't your typical cheaply made American speakers - these are done by engineers from Denmark. To each his own - if you don't like Dynaudio or you aren't even into hifi - fine with me, but stop repeating something without doing your research.

[@willbrink]

@@zebarzebra 1) He did not fix anything - all he did is change the frequency response - which he can do, but that does not make the speaker better just because it is flatter. A: Flatter speakers are generally a better speaker, but you can debate that if it makes you happy. 2) Dynaudio is one of the best known brands for their high quality speakers with top notch parts. That is the reason why a pair of Focus 340 I bought used 5 years ago 2.000€ are still worth that money now. A: you must have watched a different video. He literally shows the low grade parts in the box, unless you think he faked what was in there? For that $, those are low end parts. 3) This has nothing to do with dollers - these aren't your typical cheaply made American speakers - these are done by engineers from Denmark. A: Of course has to do with dollars, and some companies charge a fair price for they offer, some, not so much. Like speakers from Europe, US speakers ranges from very well made to not so great, and what matters is what they cost for the value. As far "done by engineers from Denmark" you're poorly informed: "Dynaudio is a chinese company with a chinese majority owner. Some of the lower lines are FULLY MADE IN CHINA. The cabinets are outsourced, and the higher lines are assembled in Denmark." Dynaudio was acquired by Goertek in 2014 To each his own - if you don't like Dynaudio or you aren't even into hifi - fine with me, but stop repeating something without doing your research. A: Not I who needs to do their research obviously...

[@akyhne]

@@willbrink Dynaudio is a Danish company, owned by Chinese. It is located in Skanderborg, 30 km from where I live. 250 of their 350 employees work there. All development happens there. According to their website, production also happens there. The latest info on cabinet production, is from 2018, and it says that their cheapest models' cabinets are produced in their own facilities in Latvia.

[@bretspangler8717]

Interested in how the Heritage models measure and what the quality of parts is, speaker companies make a living from ripping you off.

[@ericjensen9091]

Dynaudio uses Mundorf caps in their some modeks of their Contour and Confidence lines according the website.

[@graemeguthrie2054]

Dani great video, it is such a shame that the manufacturers cut costs on such important areas of the build. Watching all these videos of yours has seriously opened up my eyes to what goes on and how easy it is to fix with your technical knowhow. I would not have ever expected electrolytic caps etc in a 3k speaker or from a respected brand such as Dynaudio. I was looking at a pair in my UK dealers and have to say I was drawn towards the lovely finish. I will have to think long and hard what to buy now, shame not in USA as I would invest in one of your kits and flat packs. Anyway thanks for the insight.

[@richardsmith2721]

Do you ever listen to these speakers before and after your mods or do you just measure them?

[@dannyrichie9743]

A lot of time is spent comparing and listening to the differences in the parts.

[@richardsmith2721]

Thanks, but I'm referring to the actual speakers you are fixing. When you fix the response by redesigning the crossovers, do you hear these differences?

[@ok4486]

I would like to borrow your question to ask dynaudio

[@richardsmith2721]

@@ok4486 It doesn't look like they even measure their speakers.

[@phantomplastics6582]

I bought this kit and the speakers are way better afterward. Clarity, dynamics and musical enjoyment are far higher.

[@PG-rr8lb]

Great job as always, a fan from Portugal!

[@icecreamman1977]

Thanks for all your videos. Love em!

[@think2023]

Off axis freq and phase response needs to closely match on axis to achieve realism (according to Floyd Tooles research at NRC here in Canada)

[@the_niceking7011]

It's impossible with these speakers, there's a boat-load of diffraction at 3kHz

[@think2023]

@@the_niceking7011 understood. I wonder if the old trick of felt sheet around tweeter would make a difference.

[@yvesboutin5604]

Hi Danny! I observe the damping material seems to be a kind of fibrous stuff. Do you think it would have a benefit to put some other damping instead? In fact, I would like a video on this topic and I'm sure a great number would be interested to hear your thoughts on this, because we do not speak a lot on that topic in audio circles. Thanks again for a great video!

[@hoth2112]

Damn, Danny, that has to be the tightest vertical off-axis measurement I've seen you produce with a speakers upgrade! Very nice!

[@think2023]

Why dont you like PVC insulation? What audio degradation do you attribute to PVC?

[@dannyrichie9743]

I don't. It does not sound good.

[@barbiegamaestan456]

Pretty good upgrade in terms of measurements. Suprised the woofer measures like that. I'm a huge dynaudio fan, but opening up my sub amp that has failed shows very cheap components just like the cheap crossover components in this speaker. Bit dissapointing to honest.

[@phelanator5784]

I never read anywhere where someone has come forward and modded their speakers and stated it made a vast improvement. These must be all Danny s speakers he's modding.

[@dannyrichie9743]

Read more of the responses to our videos and post on our forum and elsewhere all over the Internet. Not only do the customer love the vast improvement. They become repeat customers.

[@krjohnson29]

I've upgraded 3 sets of speakers now with kits from GR, all cheapo no money speakers whose MSRP combined is probably less than 1/6 what this one goes for 😂. But I can say for certain the upgrades make a huge difference. I'm very pleased with how my system sounds and I paid less for a full 5.1.4 system (including GR upgrades on the 5 base level speakers) with receiver (bought broken and fixed) and blu ray player than a friend of mine paid for just one pair of high end KEFs. And I honestly prefer my system over his. Plus I got the fun of working on it myself. 😊

[@andrewwebb4635]

Very interesting video, particularly regarding the seemingly quite poor bass driver. But why didn’t an upmarket company like Dynaudio achieve this improvement with the crossover and cabinet damping in the first place?

[@connorduke4619]

Give their R&D department a call.

[@Starch1b2c3d4a]

Any upgrades for the Emit 20 speaker?

[@mikethebeginner]

"I'm amazed that I was able to get it that smooth with drivers that measured that rough." AMEN. I never liked Dynaudios! Everybody raves about them but all the ones I've heard just leave me cold.

[@MrBeblis]

Would love to see you take apart some of those overpriced 50k speakers that are out there.

[@addevries8163]

Disappoints me about dynaudio. I expected a higher quality from this brand. Can you make a sound comparison between the original dynaudio and the dynaudio, but with your improved version?

[@bobking7347]

Look at all these ignorant people bashing Danny who has an EE Engineering degree.... Dude knows his stuff, people who buy his kits are happy.

[@kayakuprising5914]

Absolutely crazy a speaker manufacturer would charge so much for cheap parts.

[@RennieAsh]

How long would the copper connectors last before you have any tarnishing issues?

[@dannyrichie9743]

All our Copper connectors are Gold coated. So no issues there.

[@RennieAsh]

Danny Richie that’s good, I assumed it was just copper when you said pure copper lol

[@johnmac1211]

Can you do a video where guide us through how to install the kit?

[@dannyrichie9743]

I can't on this one. It has been shipped back to the customer.

[@phantomplastics6582]

His other videos show you each step. It's the same for this speaker and really easy to do.

[@diy-audioro]

I belive that the new crossover frequency at 1.3 - 1.4khz i a bit to low for the tweeter to handle.

[@dannyrichie9743]

Not at all. The steepness of the filter protects it just fine.

[@lyndonramchatesingh105]

Hey gr research what about monitor audio gold 100 5g or 7g are they better than dynaudio s40

[@ericjohnson829]

He's incorrect about the speaker wiring being coated in PVC.. Dynaudio uses Van Den Hul OFC copper, it's PVC free, double insulated using using HULLIFLEX ® insulation material. Same internal wire used for B&W and other European brands.

[@dannyrichie9743]

It did not look that way to me.

[@mango6052]

Eric is right! I have the SP 40 it‘s van den Hul copper wire. I have the upgrade, it has higher resolution sounds more direct. Not very forgiving any more, now you need good sources and amps!

[@tb17351]

The special 40 are superb speakers. Don't ruin them.

[@davidtomsett]

There must be big margins for all sellers in the supply chain for upmarket speakers!

[@Coolesttech]

These videos are very interesting but having heard the Special 40s many times (they sound very good) I have to ask, what's the point of changing all these parts if it doesn't make them sound "better" to the owner? We should all know by now that measurements are not the only determining factor in how well we think a product sounds. Many manufacturers have produced things that measure very well but sound lousy. So I respect Danny's work, it's very important and informative, but without any qualitative listening comparisons before and after it's all moot. The bump in the 1k-1.1k range is well known and many owners of the S40s actually like it, so changing out all the parts for better ones is great in theory but if the sonic signature changes completely or enough that someone who would have bought them might no longer want to, then what's the point. This applies to all these speaker mods, not just the S40s. The HiFi world in general is very out of touch with VALUE, so let's not pretend Dynaudio is ripping people off, almost every audio company is ripping people off. Speakers are $3k, dealer pays ~$1.5k, distributor pays ~$750-$1000, costs Dynaudio maybe $300 to build the pair. That's the whole industry, nothing new there. Companies that sell direct like SVS are better perceived value because they cutout the distribution and dealer networks. They are still making the same profit as all the other companies. Can we get some videos of before an after from people who've done these mods? You can make a nice sauce with a cheap bottle of wine, or a really expensive one, but if the cheap one tastes great, and >%90 of the expensive one which would you choose? The proof is in the pudding as they say.

[@dannyrichie9743]

If you think those sound good, then you haven't heard anything yet. What I did will make them sound better to everyone. You are correct though that the measurements don't tell us how it sounds. The measurements will show if there are or is going to be audible issues. When you do this as often as I do you learn a lot of things that are given. By that I mean something that has repeatable results every time doesn't require confirmation every time to confirm the result. For instance, woofer break up and ringing is not a positive trait. It is not part of the input signal. It is an added coloration and is not desirable. Going from electrolytic caps to good poly caps reduces smearing. Going from cheap poly caps to Sonicaps improved detail levels and clarity considerably. No Rez removes cabinet wall resonances. Tube connectors and better wiring improve clarity every time. I don't need to confirm that every single time. And I get overwhelmingly positive feedback from customers that have implemented our upgrades every single day.

[@Coolesttech]

@@dannyrichie9743 that's great, glad people are enjoying the mods. I don't agree with you though about coloration. While in theory it's not desirable, everything we/you do is coloration isn't it? Changing cables, materials, resonance etc. You're just changing the original color to one you prefer. There's no Truth in Hi-Fi though everyone enjoys the journey striving for it. If everything measures the same we'd expect everything to sound the same. Who wants that? Everything can also be improved or humans would have stopped evolving but improvements can be subjective (though not always), especially in Hi-Fi. I prefer more pepper on my steak, my wife prefers salt. Neither one of us is wrong. I think what you're doing is great and very informative, keep it up. Would be great to get input from the manufacturers as to why things were done/left a certain way (aside from cost)? Have you reached out to any of them for comments on your findings and subsequent upgrades?

[@dannyrichie9743]

@@Coolesttech On measuring verses listening. I can make the same two speakers measure exactly the same and sound extremely different depending on the type and quality of parts used. And typically it is not about subjective preference. There are a given set of attributes that are always preferred. For instance, reduced smearing it pretty much always preferred over a smeared sound. And manufacturers reach out to me all the time. I spoke to one this week.

[@Coolesttech]

@@dannyrichie9743 and what are they telling you? Are they disputing your findings or justifying them or both?

[@dannyrichie9743]

@@Coolesttech It is different with each company. One company sent me a speaker for me to design and offer an upgrade for their customers. One wanted to know how I was measuring and what measuring system I was using. One didn't really care about the upgrades and called to ask me about unrelated design considerations for something new they have in the works. And two of them may be doing a video with me soon. I think we will have Ron and New Record day host a three way video chat with all of us. We'll see.

[@gregoutridge2266]

Obviously you didn't read the full review by stereophile and they know what their listening to after comparing speakers over the last 30 plus years. Do you listen to the speakers before you mod them for your own profit.

[@dannyrichie9743]

I don't have to read what someone else thinks to see what's wrong with them. And John Atkinsons measurements looked a lot like mine. He also commented on the woofer break up at 1.1kHz and the cabinet wall resonances. And yes, I've heard these speakers before.

[@PGRPGRPG]

Seeing all manufacturers appearing as crapy designers does not provide me with confidence about the one constently doing fingerpointing... There is definitely a common factor here. Wish you all the best.

[@Gary_M]

This guy gets it.👍

[@audiomacaudiomac5019]

I am a fan of Dynaudio and owned most of their Audience, Contour, and Confidence lines back in the early 2000s. I was going to buy their limited Heritage speakers but after seeing how cheaply their S40 speakers are made, I'm having a second thought. BTW, the S40s are now $3500. The $500 increase, I guess, is for lower quality parts and workmanship. lol. Nice job Danny!

[@mitulvenkataramanasamy5187]

Choose harbeth superhl5plus you won't go wrong with the sound and built quality.

[@jc51373]

The Heritage Series completely crushes the S40 and all the parts in are better than anything he is offering here as an "upgrade". All True 1st order crossover (SP40 is not), Mundorf Caps, Vandenhul wiring and a complete redesigned tweeter and the best driver Dyn has ever made pulled from their highest end Tower speaker. The SP40 is still a great speaker that operates above it's price point, so this fella can say whatever he likes, I had them for years and they were great. Once you hear the Heritage there is no going back to them however.

[@audiomacaudiomac5019]

@@jc51373 I really appreciated your comments on the Dynaudio Heritage Special. I've just read Steff Huff's review and my mouth was salivating. I assumed that you owned a pair. What amplifier are you using to get the best out of it? Do you know if they soldered the wires or used push-type connectors onto the drivers? That was so cheesy on the S40.

[@audiomacaudiomac5019]

@@mitulvenkataramanasamy5187 Thanks for your recommendation. I tried to like the look but it wasn't for me.

[@jc51373]

@@audiomacaudiomac5019 I am running a Class Integrated from Sugden, MSB Discrete DAC on the Heritage I am auditioning. I haven't pulled the trigger yet I want to hear the Tune Tots first...The wires are all soldered to the board.

[@thomaswipf7986]

Would you like to look at a set of Heritage Specials? They are good enough to make me want Confidence 20.

[@Infynyte]

Thank you for this review! To pairing with these Special Forty, wich integrated amplifier do you think will be work better, the Musical Fidelity M6si or the Atoll IN300? Regards!

[@ruger6049]

Has anyone compared a modded pair to a standard pair? What happens to the sound?

[@MrSplit57]

Hi Danny, great video! How to test some Wharfedales, Evo series? I would appreciate if you could!

[@andrecaron6195]

Hi. I liked your review on the Dynaudio Special 40. Could you do the same thing with the Totem Signature One? I would like to know if an upgrade is needed for that speaker.

[@dannyrichie9743]

Send one in.

[@bryang9290]

I’m scared to see this guy take apart a set of Focals. I don’t want my fantasy ruined about how great they are lol

[@dannyrichie9743]

Then don't look inside.

[@juandv930722]

then don't, if you enjoy them that much why even bother? what you like its the most important thing.

[@bryang9290]

@@juandv930722 I don’t have Focals yet

[@anthonyscott2368]

Have you ever looked at the Aperion Audio 633-T or a 533-T they are older but I wonder how they will measure. I love the science of this. Axiom Audio is another Direct to Consumer item you could take a look at.

[@billd9667]

Excellent job, Danny. Someone once said that they were not fond of speakers with oversized voice coils. I forget his reasoning. Question: what happens when the copper connectors become tarnished? Does the oxidation affect signal transfer? Hmmm...now that i hear myself, I think I know the answer.

[@1997inspire]

I believe that a 3 inch voice coil on such a small speaker results in a spider with a narrow wall.A small excursion of the cone stretches the spider a great deal exerting restriction om cone freedom to move. That voice coil; was used mainly to increase power handling and make the driver look imposing and impressive.

[@kos492]

Spending 3 grand on a pair of speakers, you shouldn't have to spend another $300 dollars to make them sound better, it should be done at the factory where they are made

[@Loken47anUA]

How do you like the legendary Yamaha NS-1000 and what range of new speakers do they compare to (build/sound).

[@stephanuhu963]

Id be very, very interested in an analysis of the NS-1000 Monitors. I own a beloved decades-old pair, and would consider modernizing the aged crossovers.

[@ericjensen9091]

​@@stephanuhu963 Send your old Yamahas to him.

[@gordiefrench5342]

hey danny yet again you show just how bad some can be i would love to see a before sound and after upgrades sound test with same music used

[@Gary_M]

Lol he doesn't even listen to them himself.

[@bobking7347]

@@Gary_M Ignorant comment

[@Gary_M]

@@bobking7347 Ask him, dummy. See if you get a straight answer. He literally doesn't listen to them. He says he "knows how the parts sound". Educate yourself before you call people ignorant.

[@bobking7347]

@@Gary_M Truth is the truth, you also missed the part in past videos where he said he has listened and compared many speakers already and also has tried every single part in every single order, every individual part, when you have enough experience eventually, just looking at a graph is all you need. Maybe if you knew how to actually read the information he presents, maybe you would understand, but perhaps that's asking too much. Measurements are measurements, they tell it like it is.

[@Gary_M]

@@bobking7347 If you want to believe his bs go ahead. There's one born every minute. I'm sure he'd love to sell you some of his cable risers. Ask him for measurements on those, maybe he'll have a pretty graph for ya. Besides, you just confirmed what I said, he doesn't listen to the speakers, he "knows how the parts sound" and he only looks at measurements. So what are you arguing about?

[@blackhawk2429]

Now I know most of those expensive speakers are way over priced.. Thanks for the video.. What do you think about ELAC speakers?

[@dannyrichie9743]

Budget level speakers that are well designed.

[@BARBELLS-AND-BUDS]

What do you believe is the source of the issues with that woofer? Maybe the VC inductance, or just the cone itself?

[@dannyrichie9743]

It's cone break up.

[@73kokitch]

Good to see you speak about things you understand quite well and not a flat earth!

[@fredfungalspore]

These Speakers should be called the Dynaudio 40 Dumplings series 😆 very good cookie boy..

[@iggypopisgod9]

time and time again, what one is really buying when they go up the line, is a furniture grade enclosure. thats 90 % of the cost. rarely, if ever, do they use true audiophile parts internally, even with exceptional drivers. to some degree, one is buying a "conversation" piece for their home , and with it high WAF:

[@sudd3660]

sound like it can be fun working on speakers like that, is it?

[@scottmichaels1764]

He often says upgrades are his favorite thing to do.

[@computerenthusiast402]

“ Home theater / Music listening room “ seems to be the trend today. Can you DIY kit a small Reference level bookshelf speaker for this purpose ?…..7 channel stereo speakers for small family rooms. 7.1 setup. So the Subwoofer will handle the base in 7.1 surround sound but in 2 channel stereo the bookshelf speakers need to be well rounded. But I don’t want to over do it. Just what I need for a small room and have the sound be easy on the ears for hours of listening enjoyment. This seems to be the Golden grail today for small home theaters. To find the perfect bookshelf speakers that are Affordable and produce nice quality reference level sounds.

[@stuart302]

Well done Danny. Great video!

[@pennfootball71]

Do your tube connectors work with regulars banana plugs?

[@veroman007]

nope

[@dannyrichie9743]

Yes, they except standard banana plugs. They just won't sound as good as using the supplied ends that come with the tube connectors.

[@daveshear]

Yes they accept the banana plugs. I have them in my NX-Studios and tried 🍌 in mine. No problem

[@marlboroblue]

Can I recien lace the woofer for something higher quality?

[@dangzh24]

You’ve just lowered their sensitivity and power handling. That poor tweeter is going to be compressed sounding.

[@BigFarm_ah365]

Of course I find this channel AFTER I got the parts for a crossover upgrade. It's Al K's design for the original Forte using Solens caps and Air Core inductors, but he did spec sand cast resistors and reuses the stock transformer. I guess other than the impedance, Klipsch got it mostly right, but since I'm running an Elekit TU 8600 with the Lundquhist OPTs, I'm hoping the better impedance will be a nice improvement, even if they remain a 4 Ohm load(5.5 Ohm actual) I'll have to hit you up for some tube connectors and wire to finish my list.

[@carlosoliveira-rc2xt]

Klipsch and 'mostly right' never belong in the same sentence. Klipsch never has gotten the crossovers right.

[@BigFarm_ah365]

@@carlosoliveira-rc2xt I dunno, they nailed the frequency response for these, a couple little blips down low and then only +-2db from 230Hz to 20kHz. And I won't even have a grand into 'em all done up better than new. I can have these, my custom full range and a set of Maggie 1.7i and at least part of a sub good enough to keep up for less than the "special" 40s

[@carlosoliveira-rc2xt]

@@BigFarm_ah365 Sorry, you lost me on your reply.

[@timw2407]

would like to see a upgrade for Klipsch KG 1.2

[@basukisugito3275]

I can see your point but the tweeter on Dynaudio sounds very different from the Sony that for sure, the Dynaudio sounds much faster for example. I never heard any tweeter for 30-50 USD (Seas, Peerless and other) sounds so fast as Dynaudio. So I know just upgrade the croos over for 200 in the Sony will never not be able compete with Dynaudio tweeter. YES i agree the Sony will sounds much better after you upgrade but a lot of the sound Dynaudio give can Sony never give

[@pliedtka]

What does Sony use? Their top of line years ago used ScanSpeak if I remember. Ah the 30-50$ tweeters, most of them drive me nuts, but there are some gems in this category. I agree with you on the Sony upgrade, the D260, 330 Esotec was kind of a special tweeter back when it was available to diy.

[@shean-koklim4197]

Thanks goes to Danny for his speaker reviews. It seems like the industry focuses on eye candies and customer ignorance to rake in the profit. I'm glad I got GR's x-Statix and its blowing away all my friends significantly more expensive speakers.

[@johndangerbenedictarnold7862]

What is it about 1100 hz? There always seems to be a dip there regardless of speaker.

[@rogerjames6956]

I never hear you mention music ?

[@IGB231085]

You upgraded any of the newer focal speakers especially the Kanta 2?

[@toddtonis]

Thanks Danny for the video on these speakers. They are really pretty speakers, but it was surprising the change you made for just $300 of parts. Maybe you could provide a video on how these components actually work in crossover at some point. You use descriptions like notch filter, but I'm not sure if that's a resistor or a capacitor you're referring to.

[@dannyrichie9743]

A notch filter is an inductor, a capacitor, and a resistor.

[@Kel1jas]

whatever u buy from a mass produced manufacturing of most brands and that's always stocks!!! only custom modification upgrades are always the perfect and champion way to do.... eg. cars, bikes etc.. etc...

[@hmagics]

Would like to see you Gut a GoldenEar BRX and see what you make of it.