How To Make Cheap Speakers Sound Unbelievable.

[@marcopignone9386]

I like that you don't oversell the impact of the no-res. That's honest salesmanship. I tried your no res on Klipsch Forte IIs and I definitely noticed a difference and was glad I did it. Whether it's a good "value" is subjective, of course, but if you like your speakers already I think it makes sense in most cases depending on the build quality. It was also just fun to see what difference it made as I was skeptical that it would make any noticeable improvement.

[@NosEL34]

I think you make a good point about already liking your speakers. Awhile back I put $400 worth of Iso-Pucks under some speakers. The improvement was noticeable so I just couldn't return them. But I already liked the speakers..I wasn't trying to fix them in some sort of way. Was it a good value? I don't know..but I liked the results.

[@TuiCatNZ]

Can't wait for you to do a dissection of the Polk r700 tower!

[@JMJM75257]

nice! i have the r200 anniversary addition with the nice crossover. i actually ended up upgrading the crossover even further by replacing all resistors with same value jantzen superes aswell as upgrading all the caps on the woofer side with jantzen cross cap aswell as claritycap pur on the tweeter. the inductors in the ae version are already all air core so i didnt bother with that. good to know they are decent in your opinion. all in i have $700 in them so im rather pleased.

[@NosEL34]

Was there any electrolytic caps in the AE version? Are you still using your R200's?

[@JMJM75257]

​​@@NosEL34 Woofer circuit used polyester caps and tweeter circuit used polypropylene. 10w sand cast resistors throughout. Inductors are nice already so when I upgraded i left them alone. I used superes 10w resistors, a mix of jantzen cross cap and clarity pur range. And yes they are still in frequent rotation!

[@NosEL34]

@@JMJM75257 very nice 👍

[@NosEL34]

I bought a pair of these couple years ago for under $600 new. Not bad. They are worthy of upgrading/modding imo. I put oversized iso-pucks under them which helped a bit. I still have the larger R700..they have some similar issues. I took a look at the R700 cross overs...whole lot of parts involved. Expensive upgrade. If you can set the R700's up right (have the space) they are good for under $2k mainstream speakers. I enjoy them but already looking for something different. I like trying different speakers

[@Adywerty88]

I bought the upgrading kit with sonicaps for my polk r200 and and it is a very big improvement sounds so much better

[@AndrewB23]

I guarantee there's no audible difference

[@Dondonsifi]

good to hear that. I have R200 too. I am looking for an amplifier to drive her instead of costco onkyo av receiver.

[@NosEL34]

​@@AndrewB23well he actually changed the values of the passive parts. There probably is an audible difference

[@NosEL34]

So what do you think six months later? Did you have any issues with "Brightness" using the Sonicaps?

[@VIctorCarruyo]

Had these for a couple of weeks, they indeed rang like bells. Returned them. Got Encores and never looked back.

[@troutnut68]

Encores? Is that the name of the speaker or the brand?

[@johnbutner2570]

So much praise for these and now the truth surfaces finally.

[@VIctorCarruyo]

@@troutnut68 Gr Research XLS Encore.

[@jonathanmucklow4252]

Love this guy. Never have a clue about what he is talking about. But I know all speakers are bad and if you take them apart and run tests you can prove it.

[@Linkmat97]

Regarding the presence of steel along the electrical path, does a single piece of steel spoil the circuit, or is signal degradation cumulative? In other words, does the amount of steel present directly correlate with the level of signal degradation?

[@dannyrichie9743]

It is cumulative. The more there is the worse it sounds.

[@analoglooney]

@@dannyrichie9743True. The conductivity and resistivity of steel is at least three times worse than copper, plus the electromagnetic effects of steel make it a no-no.

[@shawncollins6039]

@@analoglooney what should structural elements be made of? stainless?

[@analoglooney]

@@shawncollins6039 Which structual elements are you referring too?

[@shawncollins6039]

@@analoglooney whatever was being made with steel that caused the problems. fasteners, I don't know.

[@paulstearns93]

I know you mostly focus on electronics in your upgrades, but with these woofers in steel baskets and a ringing at ~1,100 hz, would it make sense to try some dynamat type material on the woofer baskets, before attacking the xover? This seemed to provide an audible (and visible on the waterfall plot) improvement on my Klipsch Cornwall IIIs.

[@dannyrichie9743]

That will help with basket ringing, but the break up in the woofers response at 1,100 Hz is the woofer itself. Damping the basket won't change that.

[@paulstearns93]

@@dannyrichie9743 I am not saying there aren't other problems. I am just suggesting you pointed out a potential issue, the steel basket, but didn't further investigate whether it was contributing to the problem. Lowering the Xover frequency and taming the peak obviously reduced the stored energy. All I was asking is, "Would damping the basket provide an audible benefit?" I do not know the answer to the question, but it might be interesting to find out.

[@dannyrichie9743]

@@paulstearns93 Damping a stamped steel basket is always a good idea and will always have some benefit.

[@superspeeder]

@@dannyrichie9743in other assessments you’ve indicated that rounding over the edge of the hole in the baffle can help with distortion in the ~1kHz range, but you made no mention of whether that was an issue here, instead moving into the crossover for a solution. I think if the roundover wasn’t an issue you should have at least mentioned it. Or were you convinced after seeing the decay data?

[@dannyrichie9743]

@@superspeeder We have a special reverse radius bit that will round over the inside edges of a woofer through hole. Unfortunately it is not that easy for our customers. So I have to focus on upgrades that they can do.

[@michaela.6698]

I’m still loving my Encores Danny! Best bang for your buck. My “best value” system is Outlaw Audio R2160 mkll, Wiim pro and Geshelli Lab Jnog2 DAC. Great sound!!!

[@BoRerunn]

What music do you listen to. I'm thinking of buying a J2 DAC.

[@mitlaufer4798]

How is a half a grand speaker considered cheap ?

[@greenbeginner9221]

All things are relative ... Especially at 2024 prices ($18.00 for McDonald's???)

[@Old_Sailor85]

$500 is not expensive for a pair of decent speakers. Some people feel $5000 is cheap, and $50,000 is just getting there... Not me, BTW.

[@musiccritic8704]

Brokie

[@johnsmith-i5j7i]

I'd say upper range for budget speakers. Certainly not expensive.

[@dannyrichie9743]

That means they had to build out the pair, including boxes for about $200 pair. That is very cheaply made.

[@jaysaudiolab]

I look forward to to doing content with you Danny. It was a pleasure to meet you !

[@dannyrichie9743]

Absolutely! We'll do some stuff together for sure.

[@ChicagoRob2]

I would love to see a collab!

[@jowblow2171]

Me too!@@ChicagoRob2

[@tallpaull9367]

at 8:42 in video, when comparing before and after frequency response, why aren’t the two graphs setup identical. why is one showing from 70-90 and the other 75-100? Wouldn’t it look less suspicious if they were identical?

[@dannyrichie9743]

The scaling is the same. One is just moved up 5db.

[@tallpaull9367]

@@dannyrichie9743 Why have any difference at all, keep them all exactly the same

[@alexw890]

Anyone who can read a graph will not be confused. If anything, the way he displayed it, his appeared to have lower sensitivity.

[@trauma50disaster1]

@@alexw890anyone who works for adults won't put up with that ametuer shit, I give presentations to VP's and you don't fk around with changing graphs in a comparison.

[@trauma50disaster1]

@@dannyrichie9743 why have red stop signs then, anyone can see a blue stop sign. If you're going to do graphs there is a correct way to show it, or do it like a 5th grader.

[@allanwhittle3041]

Very good review from a very knowledgable man , refreshing change .Thank you !

[@anxiousappliance]

Is there a part you sell, that could replace one on the existing cross over, to get rid of the residual energy at 1k?

[@Dondonsifi]

What system you guys drive the R200? I current have costco Onkyo AV receiver 😔and a pair of R200. I will get the upgrade kit from GR-research.

[@MrSteveCasper]

Have you tested the polk audio R700 yet? I was thinking about buying a set they are $2200. What towers would you recommend in that price range? They will be used primary for music but also as a home theater system and pushed by a Onkyo TX-rz50.

[@hoth2112]

We've only had someone send in the crossover for the tweeter/mid section to map out and send new parts for. We've not looked at the full speaker yet.

[@stevenbullock9276]

Do a search and you'll find an on-line retailer (not sure if I should mention them here) that has the Legend L600's, factory refurbished, for $2K. I have purchased many pieces from them over the years, and all look factory-new and I haven't had an issue yet. They also have a Polk 2-year factory warranty. And... Danny reviewed them and thought they were pretty decent, stock.

[@MrSteveCasper]

​@@hoth2112How were the quality of parts on the crossover?

[@MrSteveCasper]

@@stevenbullock9276Thanks I'll research that speaker and see what the test and reviews say. I did notice that it only has a 7 inch woffer though and was thinking that a 8 inch woofer would be a lot better for rock music?

[@hoth2112]

@@MrSteveCasper same quality as the L600 and R200 networks, decent to poor.

[@mchrome3366]

Very good information regardless if you feel the need to upgrade. Thanks

[@chowd.a.d.8309]

Well done. Q; do the manufacturer provide the test schematics (FR, SD, CP etc), same as you have done?. I could be interesting to see comparison on test results!. All the best.

[@joecharpentier6636]

Would this upgrade benefit the L100 speakers at all, or is it a totally different animal? If not, will you be offering an upgrade kit for the L100's? I have had them for a few months and absolutely have fallen in love with their sound. However like any good audiophile, things can always be better 😮. I did remove the drivers and lined the cabinet with 10mm closed cell foam and some wool batting. Tight quarters to say the least but the cabinet for the L100's is built like a tank and the lining has improved bass response and impact more than i expected. I run an 8 inch sub with dsp to fill in the lows and i swear out of the MANY MANY bookshelf/stand speakers ive owned throughout the years, the L100's have provided me with such enjoyment. Im talking Kef, Elac, Monitor Audio, Klipsch, Q Acoustics, even my beloved Heco Celan Revolution 3's!! I loved those speakers. And i can honestly say the Legend 100 is just better. Granted I am pushing 185 watts of B&K Reference quality into them with the absolutely amazing Nad M51 Dac. God I love that thing. I think it could make a couple of coffee cans with a string sound good. Thats enough rambling. Love your work!!

[@keantoken6433]

I've always suspected that production drivers vary significantly from what manufacturers used to design the speaker. The driver may have been designed with the right amount of damping to eliminate the 1k peak, but during production something changed, maybe some machine in part of the cone making process had a part shift, or maybe the temperature in the factory changed, or a chemical was old or mixed slightly differently.

[@tomhill4003]

Thanks for the great video! Can you share the testing equipment you used so mere mortals (hobbyists) can explore?

[@alexw890]

I believe Danny uses the Clio system.

[@dannyrichie9743]

Alex is correct.

[@tomhill4003]

Thanks! It's a bit pricey for my needs, but I may work my way up to it.@@alexw890

[@dannyrichie9743]

@@tomhill4003 Check out the Pocket Clio system.

[@tomhill4003]

Thanks! I will@@dannyrichie9743

[@ITWINGMAN]

Is it possible to get the same results with DSP from your AVR like Direac?

[@dannyrichie9743]

Not at all. Using EQ still leaves all of the cheesy parts in the signal path that are degrading the signal.

[@ITWINGMAN]

@@dannyrichie9743 I hope one day you can evaluate the Polk L800

[@TalkinAboutTheDude]

I have some early Advent speakers from the great Henry Kloss. Are there component upgrades I could install at home for these units? I'd love to see a video on the topic!

[@wolfblaide]

The verticle off axisis is certainly an improvement, but the rest to me seems personal preference. The Polks are designed to have a certain sound that makes them a bit easier to listen to (I have these, and its true, they are quite pleasant and easy to listen to), and that appealing character will be reduced with these changes, unfortunately (IMO, as others make prefer that). Powered monitors are probably better for people who like a flatter sound signature or to control the speaker more.

[@dannyrichie9743]

Not really. A smoother response curve is just a small part of this upgrade. The major improvements in this case are in clarity, detail levels, a more natural vocal region, less smearing, better imaging, a deeper sound stage, a more layered sound stage, etc.

[@wolfblaide]

Hmm, really. Half of those things you mention are just the response curve. Sure, you'll get slightly better sound maybe with better quality parts, but how much is audible to most people is debateable. And like I said, you then lose the point of the speaker. People should really consider getting a much better (and probably cheaper) flat result by buying powered monitors if that is what they are seeking.

[@dannyrichie9743]

@@wolfblaide No, the response was pretty flat to begin with. It just had a stored energy issue that is now gone. The sound quality isn't slightly better with the high end parts. It is considerably better. Also, the typical powered speakers in these price ranges are really bottlenecked by the cheap electronics. The powered monitors are not even close to these in performance when used with good gear.

[@wolfblaide]

@dannyrichie9743 do you have them? They certainly aren't what I'd call flat. And the measurements show that also. The Polks are great for the price, but I've had monitors that were a fair bit better for around the same. Some monitor brands put lot better electronics in at this range, it will depend on the brand and model.

[@dannyrichie9743]

@@wolfblaide They are far from perfect. That is why they were sent in for an upgrade. They aren't exactly in the same league as any of our DIY kits, but after the upgrade, they are not bad.

[@mrodeif]

Do you have any "before and after" sound demos?

[@Shawn1987-WoodNAudio]

I just looked at ebay these go for $800-1000 with shipping. This $500 from what i am seeing in the market to upgrade a pair of speakers is inline with other vendors. This speaker will now compare to $2000-2500 factory speakers in my opinion.

[@TrueLies23]

$2000-$2500 doesn't denote performance nor quality so I don't think that makes any sense unless you are only looking at cost. What if I find a $2000 that sounds like crap? Point made.

[@Shawn1987-WoodNAudio]

@@TrueLies23 I agree with your point, most speakers are built to a price point. We find more that sound worse and will not compare. Danny is right about the 5x cost to get the speaker to market. Even when Bose was big I could tell junk, twice the cost of mine. I met people and thought they were as great as buying sliced bread, better than my $2000 system, Klipsch and Denon. Why did we choose this hobby? It's just like paying $400-500 for a softball bat and your 14 years old daughter cracks it in the first game yet it was in the top 5 bats. Hard to get quality anything these days.

[@philipteater3714]

Shawn, I agree with your “general” point. Some people are sensitive to how ideas are expressed.

[@1moderntalking1]

That polk woofer actually looks heavy and lo-and-behold, it actually measures heavy.

[@donaldspaulding6973]

What is the best

[@gregmatula9749]

The new vertical response is a big improvement and is what bothers me the most about mine.

[@kdolanjr]

Ever look at something like the Overnight Sensations? Curious about whether anything there is worth an upgrade

[@dannyrichie9743]

Sometimes it is better to just start over.

[@hoth2112]

We generally don't look at competitor's products. (Parts-express, Madisound, CSS, etc.) And on the rare occasion we do, we don't publish that information. It's for us and the customer who sent the speaker to us.

[@marksomer5790]

I have the R 200 anniversary edition, they sound great. That's all that matters !

[@MrViper7121]

They'll sound better with a gr research upgrade

[@ChicagoRob2]

Wow, that is incredible neutrality. Looks like +/- 1.5 dB, or better. You could mix/master with these.

[@doglovemimijumable]

With 1/3 smooth? C’mon man! I tuned with 1/24, 1/3 is delusional, can’t tell shit, where is the frequency below 200 anyway ?

[@dannyrichie9743]

@@doglovemimijumable 1/3rd octave is an industry standard. If you want to see the response with zero smoothing then look at the spectral decay.

[@chrisclague5578]

Hi have you come across Quad Z3 floor-standers? I recently bought a pair but I’m really struggling to enjoy them the mid-bass doesn’t sound right to me

[@Evolved_ue7]

Same with the S4 something not quite right, I sold them .

[@rexxx927]

Thanks Danny

[@Glip65]

Hi GR, I own a pair of Vienna Acustics Bach speakers… is it posible to upgrade them?? How should I start?? Thanks for your space.

[@dannyrichie9743]

Yes, just about anything can be made better. You are welcome to send one in and I will take a look at it.

[@RennieAsh]

Imo just a little notch at the 1k peak would have been enough. The new off axis is different but also not perfect

[@joeclayer5282]

Always incredible vids!

[@TheGregWallace]

Question?.....why do customers only send you one speaker to upgrade.......? Do they end up doing the upgrade on the second one themselves by copying what you did buy buy a kit?

[@Blacklighting]

What is a better starting point, this or Polk LSiM 703? Both same price.

[@paulgood2218]

Where you finding both for same price ?

[@burton7023]

If you can find the lsim for even close to 500 you should buy them now

[@tylerhackman6832]

703s are $400-600 used all day. Amazing deal for the performance

[@paulgood2218]

@@tylerhackman6832 where I checked eBay and market place in my area only found 1 single speaker for 600 nor a pair

[@MechAdv]

Be extremely careful buying used LSIM speakers. The tweeters were known for burning out, and Polk does not make replacements. Forums are full of guys asking for replacements and modding cabinets to install aftermarket units. I sold my 703s a couple years ago when I found this out. Kept my 704, but I only use it in my bedroom at extremely low listening levels so I’m really not concerned it’ll fail.

[@rajugupta-chaudhary6467]

My friend firstly awesome videos and capabilities you have. I wanted to ask have you ever done radio shack genexxa pro lx5. In the uk the guys were called tandy. If not i will consider contacting you to see what can be done.

[@dannyrichie9743]

I have not.

[@ChicagoRob2]

Hey Danny, I see you’ve gone to JB capacitors. They seem to be well reviewed. How do they compare to Sonicaps?

[@dannyrichie9743]

Not quite the clarity of the Sonicaps, but not near the price either. I think they are the best budget level caps out there.

[@Aubury]

I found this video hugely instructive.

[@MechAdv]

Quick question, I’ve noticed in a lot of your crossover designs that the horizontal off axis response loses more midrange energy than the original, causing a humped up response at 3khz at the widest dispersion. It’s odd to me because that area of the FR should be well past the crossover point, and I would expect the tweeter radiation pattern to narrow somewhat linearly from bottom to top of the treble region, and then fall off a cliff above 10khz at 45deg and beyond. Can the crossover components in the tweeter circuit affect radiation pattern, or is it more of woofer beaming issue. Thanks.

[@dannyrichie9743]

As the tweeter plays lower the output levels exceed the plane of the front baffle and begin to reflect off of the baffle. So they pick up some surface reflections from the baffle.

[@MechAdv]

@@dannyrichie9743 Understood, but I’m still not understanding so why is there less energy in the crossover region at your widest data point. I’d expect that vertically but not horizontally. Especially when the original has a more linear roll off at wider listening angles.

[@JohnSheerin]

@@MechAdvThe woofer's pattern is narrowing at the top end of its range in the new crossover. You can see the same narrowing (roughly) in the before horizontal response in the 1-2kHz range. The farthest off axis measurement is down maybe 4dB from on-axis in both cases. But in the original crossover the system more or less keeps a constant beam width from 1.5kHz up to ~7kHz. It's possible the original designer prioritized the evenness of the horizontal beam width over other factors and pushed the crossover up until the beam width of the tweeter more or less matched the woofer over that wider frequency range. The new crossover is going to emphasize the 2.5-4kHz range a bit more due to exciting the reverberant field of a room a bit more in that range. Personally I'm not sure I would make that decision as I like less output in that range.

[@MechAdv]

@@JohnSheerin I tend to be quite sensitive to the 3-4Khz region, and will typically EQ it down if a speaker does not have a downward sloping in room response. I also tend to do stuff around the house while I’m listening to music, and I’m not always seated in the sweet spot when we’re watching movies and shows. I was just trying to figure out is this behavior that I’ve seen in a few of these crossover designs by Danny was specifically a trade-off that he was making to accomplish a more flat on axis response.

[@NosEL34]

@@MechAdv I am the same way.. im certainly not looking for any emphasis in the 3-4khz area.

[@D1N02]

Those bumps on the midwoofer cone are a put off to me. Wharfedale also does it. Do you ever test the internal binding posts on the tweeter and mid/woofer for ferrous material. If they are, what to do about it?

[@Luke-qs2cg]

They are almost always copper. They terminate a copper thread going from the voicecoil to the termination, usually glued or threaded to the spider on nicer drivers. No need to change material Also the bumps on the cone are the retain rigidity of the structure. Odd driver design for sure though. Probably just as much an aesthetic choice by polk

[@D1N02]

@@Luke-qs2cg I was curious and tested some old Wharfedale Diamond III's I had opened for an upgrade. Both the tweeter and mid woofer had ferrous posts.

[@rikardekvall3433]

Look at Purifi’s midwoofer 😳

[@D1N02]

@@rikardekvall3433horrible! A dead snail surround

[@rikardekvall3433]

@@D1N02or the worms in DUNE

[@alexw890]

Hey Danny. How low do you sweep your tweeters?

[@Openeyesopenheart42]

Very small brooms 😂

[@dannyrichie9743]

We measure using a MLS tone.

[@tommyK7282]

I would like to see the crossovers you make for the speakers in the video.

[@dannyrichie9743]

You can see a Polk crossover in this one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYSynauCq7iFa5osi=ZjJ0oXyfZ2yHnBwn

[@NeilBlanchard]

I'd say dollars to donuts that the 1100Hz resonance is a cabinet issue; possibly combining with a woofer issue?

[@dannyrichie9743]

It was not a cabinet issue.

[@NeilBlanchard]

@@dannyrichie9743 Okay, good to know.

[@anxiousappliance]

@@NeilBlanchard You lost a donut.

[@anthonymiriello5029]

Danny , what do you think of Ascend Acoustics speakers? Very curious to hear your thoughts on them.

[@dannyrichie9743]

Send one in and I'll let you know.

[@ChicagoRob2]

I have the Sierra-1 V2s and they are amazing for $948/pair. Bamboo cabinets, SEAS drivers, and extremely neutral sonic signature.

[@dannyrichie9743]

@@ChicagoRob2 Yes, but look inside. The crossovers are all made in China using very inexpensive parts. The wire is PVC coated and they use push on connectors made of Tin. I think there may be steel parts in the binding posts. They even use sand caste resistors. There is a LOT of room for improvement.

[@ChicagoRob2]

@@dannyrichie9743 Yes, but their in-room response is near perfect. However, I’m sure that better parts would take them to a new level.

[@danielbrrio]

An audition at the end of the video would be fantastic. A before and after of your update. A reference song. You're welcome? It would be perfect!

[@pauldavies6037]

I t would be a good idea

[@BoRerunn]

I believe the old fart but a demo would go a long way

[@54tristin]

I flatly refuse to believe him without sound demos. Everyone with any knowledge in acoustics knows that if changing the cross over parts makes the speaker louder, by even a non noticeable amount it will sound better on playback. Less than 3 db increase and the volume will sound the same but appear to be “ better”. This is just one issue, there are many! So Danny no love without sound samples. Sorry!

[@shawncollins6039]

@@54tristin but would the sound comparison be done at the same "amplifier gain" level? or the same db sound level?

[@MakerManu]

hello from Argentina, everything is expensive here, if I gonna to buy a upgrade kit what speaker worth it se200 vs r200 (r200 x2 the price of the se20). Please help me. Thanks.

[@jeffconley819]

Man I love to send my Klipsch RB81 2’s in. There not high end enough to fool with unfortunately .

[@VIctorCarruyo]

No need, they have major design flaws that can not be addressed with a new xover. The no rez does help them a ton. You are better off ordering a kit or complete set.

[@paulgood2218]

Why do they need be high end ? You can get great performance out of low budget speakers and alot of times beat high end stock speakers

[@einarbk885]

had a pair of the previous model, RB35, sounded weird. loud treble + shouting from the 8" metal woofer because of a way to high crossover. sold them after a few weeks.

[@1moderntalking1]

Damn it Danny, wish you were in Australia! Enjoying your vids at least.

[@johnbutner2570]

Just get a pair he praises that is convenient for you. Like maybe the 3-way Polk. I personally think the elac ub5 are decent, especially with JBL studio 580. Or you can get the cheapaudioguy's cheap $450 system (Sony and Wiim). Or pay shipping one time and try Danny's bookshelf.

[@davidstevens7809]

I would have offset the tweeter so it wasnt centered..theres a formula to know where to put it

[@DodgyBrothersEngineering]

You don't need to apply a formula to work it out... On the front of any speaker baffle you have four edges. just make sure that the centre of the drivers is not equidistant to any of the four edges. So top edge, both side edges and the the bottom edges are all different lengths from the centre of the driver.

[@alexw890]

Why though? Where is the big diffraction issued you would be trying to fix?

[@DodgyBrothersEngineering]

@@alexw890not so much an issue with modern speakers with a narrow front baffle, but it never hurts to do it. There is no downside to offsetting the drivers other than cosmetic considerations.

[@davidstevens7809]

​@@DodgyBrothersEngineering. I agree thats correct for the most part

[@anxiousappliance]

@@DodgyBrothersEngineering Manufacturing 2 specific sets of speakers is cost and complexity - so that can hurt.

[@MasterofPlay7]

so which one is better? The rp600m ii or this one?

[@dannyrichie9743]

This one has MUCH higher quality drivers.

[@MasterofPlay7]

@@dannyrichie9743 sonically which one do you prefer before and after mod?

[@NorthernGateway72]

Thanks Danny, I learn more everytime I watch your videos!

[@captwholey]

Do you guys have an upgrade kit for the Infinity Column II speakers?

[@dannyrichie9743]

I have some Infinity's in house right now, but not that model.

[@captwholey]

@@dannyrichie9743 Just took my pair into the shop for a tuning up, but the tech is having trouble getting the caps etc. Do you guys have any of those parts for this speaker?

[@trpimir0000]

Nice t-shirt...greetings from Croatia!

[@markusr1715]

Why not show the speaker response under 200hz?

[@dannyrichie9743]

I can change are alter the bottom end. So it is not really relevant in the upgrade.

[@rvsteve583]

ever do polk sda's? i think that would be very interesting.

[@johnnyhiett]

I have the SDA-2 which uses a connecting wire. There's a guy with a website that does the upgrades to the crossovers. Many optional levels of parts. But I'm unsure if there is alteration of the circuit.

[@Adywerty88]

You are doing an excellent job

[@Adywerty88]

Please make a crossover for r600 and r400

[@dannyrichie9743]

Send one in and I'll look at them.

[@davidtomsett]

0:55 Love the script notes on the back of the speaker.

[@dannyrichie9743]

That was the note from the customer with his contact information. We always tape customer contact information on the speaker. Usually we can stick it on the back side.

[@Chris-hy6jy]

Can you review Monitor Audio Silver 100 7G?

[@rikardekvall3433]

Danny don’t do reviews. He does upgrades on speakers that people send him and then he makes a YT video. If you got these Monitors, send them to Texas. Look at his other upgrades before you post anything.

[@Chris-hy6jy]

@@rikardekvall3433 I live thousands of miles away so that ain't happening. Hopefully someone who lives in the US can send him some. Oh and he does review the speakers. Measuring them, taking them apart and analysing the crossover components is absolutely reviewing them.

[@Pete.across.the.street]

Thanks for the video! Do you have an upgrade for the Polk R700?

[@dannyrichie9743]

Not yet. Someone will have to send them in.

[@gordangrgic7532]

Polk R700, please🙏

[@jshomper8291]

I have these speakers and enjoy them. I must have iron parts in my ears.

[@davidtomsett]

Ah! No matter, just keep up the great videos!

[@petertimp5416]

Thanks

[@seanjoell]

Cool stuff!

[@danashay]

Peerless. Where else are we gonna get this? Thank you Danny.

[@rhannay39]

How complicated is this? I've never done anything like this before. I'd hate to ruin a speaker.

[@dannyrichie9743]

Not hard at all.

[@rhannay39]

@@dannyrichie9743 Awesome.

[@metroboom25289]

Cheap made to sound gratingly bright with upgrades

[@dannyrichie9743]

Not so at all.

[@Adywerty88]

R600 and r400 also needs an upgrade

[@dannyrichie9743]

Send one in and I'll look at them.

[@Adywerty88]

I would like to send but i live in Spain

[@Starch1b2c3d4a]

Danny is fed up 😂

[@stevenbullock9276]

He does sigh and shake his head a lot 😊

[@trauma50disaster1]

bout what?

[@shipsahoy1793]

Polk should have stuck with their old passive radiator designs, and improved the development of those, instead of the backwards step to ported design. Polk has also historically been cheap about the design components ultimately used in volume manufacturing. I don't think that was their intention in the 70's, but it went that route after too many consumers were unwilling or unable to pay the high prices required for carefully crafted speaker designs.

[@orcaflotta7867]

"How To Make Cheap Speakers Sound Unbelievable." I'd prefer my speakers to sound BELIEVABLE!

[@rikardekvall3433]

With this upgrade they will. Phase and alignment is great, now.

[@jackykimes]

@@rikardekvall3433These are your speakers?

[@rikardekvall3433]

@@jackykimes nope, but correcting phase issues and better crossover parts will HELP this speaker. Tried it myself on vintage speakers and they came to life, again, but better. Even though my hearing is from a 59 year old guy.

[@robdixson196]

The disapointing thing is good isn't hard or expensive to acheive. They either have absolutely 0 cares, or they are deliberately keeping our expectations low.

[@anxiousappliance]

Look at the price of the crossover kits: $400-500 for just the parts. Doesn't sound cheap to me. Now if you had an expensive speaker with obvious cost cutting, I'd say yeah. These are inexpensive speakers that a lot of people love. So better than good. If you want even gooder, they sell a higher price version.

[@robdixson196]

@@anxiousappliance It is absurd how they turn a few inductors, capacitors and resistors into 500 dollars.

[@anxiousappliance]

@@robdixson196 Things are expensive. Which brings us full circle.

[@yeorges]

Now do the triangle br03s

[@dannyrichie9743]

We had one of those sent in. It measured rough and had a bad resonance issue in the woofers response. The problem was that it was really tough to get the drivers out and we didn't think that the average customer would be able to remove the drivers.

[@larryfleming7295]

Here’s a challenge $150 /pr a woofer tweeter set up 50 watts rms

[@AvalancheUKOfficial]

In terms of notch filters, why are companies designing speakers that produce unwanted peaks? And releasing them with filters on to mask the problem? Seems ludicrous. Your services are different, customers are asking for you to increase the accuracy and balanced response, but the manufacturers?!

[@nyobunknown6983]

Nothing wrong with stamped steel frames.

[@dannyrichie9743]

If you don't mind a little ringing.

[@nyobunknown6983]

@@dannyrichie9743 That is false.

[@dannyrichie9743]

@@nyobunknown6983 No, it's true. They all have a resonance frequency and by design a stamped steel frame will have a considerable ring compared to a caste frame or a polymer frame.

[@nyobunknown6983]

@@dannyrichie9743 The best sounding speakers I ever heard were my old Klipsch Cornwalls from 1969 that had a woofer with a stamped frame. If they had the ringing you claim I couldn't hear it. I owned those speakers for over 25 years until I sold them because of their large size, and I wanted a home theater. Those Cornwalls were the most realistic live sounding speakers I have ever heard. with an amazing sound stage. They sounded like a live band. Other speakers that had a purer sound did not sound realistic and live.

[@dannyrichie9743]

@@nyobunknown6983 You really need to hear other speakers.

[@jondonnelly3]

Great fix and clearly invested a lot of time on these, but speakers that low end are not really worth upgrading. Get rid and get something better.

[@gotchagoing4905]

I would also suggest after getting rid of those speakers buy one (a pair) of GR's speaker kits. When my small shop is finished, (if a shop is ever finished), that is what I plan to do. I won't even consider any others, be it kit or ready made. I decided that before building a shop at home. What was I thinking...

[@dannyrichie9743]

Actually the end result compared to money spent (total) make it really hard to touch in the commercial speaker market.

[@jondonnelly3]

I totally agree @@gotchagoing4905

[@jeremyphilander8833]

Worth 1500 ...in that range

[@antoniojoseandreomartinez9710]

👍♥️🫂. Gracias.

[@thomasschafer7268]

410-489$Upgrade for a new pair 599€ 🤔🤔🤔

[@pandstar]

But the end results will yield a speaker with sound quality worth quite a bit more than the $1000.00 spent. And even if one were to take that $1000.00 for the speakers and the upgrade kit, and buy a set of, lets say, $1500.00 - $2000.00 speakers, you will still get a speaker with crappy crossover parts, that will still lack the detail, better imaging and soundstage, that this upgrade will get you. So, there will still be more compromise with a more expensive speaker, that there will be with these speakers upgraded.

[@DodgyBrothersEngineering]

@@pandstarand this is what a lot of people don't get. They get sucked in by a slick salesman peddling a particular brand, or justifying the cost of these more expensive speakers that we have, but seldom does anyone look past the lipstick on the pig. I have owned several sets of speakers costing 5 figures, and inside them you expect to see something wonderful in terms of a crossover and box design, but it seems the majority of the money is spent on the outside of the box to justify the high price, while mediocre parts are used inside. That is why over a decade ago I went DIY to get real value for money. I will never produce anything that looks like 5 figure looks, but I can produce something that has 6 figure sound. In fact the drivers I am using are featured in several 6 figure speakers.

[@benjoe999]

This is what I do with vintage speakers. Really cheap to get them,nice design,good engineering,easy to modify.

[@solomonstewart1025]

Fiber glass insulation!!!!!

[@Starch1b2c3d4a]

I guess he ran out of no-rez...

[@joeclayer5282]

type! c'mon

[@photronic]

Surely we actually want them to sound believable?

[@anxiousappliance]

LOL - Having bought good speakers, I have discovered that most of the music I like was recorded like crap. Who knew?

[@flashgordon1695]

the cost of the kit makes those speakers expensive ...

[@pizzaearthpancakesandother2549]

Danné, I explained to you what you should see when you look across a 20 mile wide lake and what is "missing" It's an optical phenomenon and not a "physical one" I've been looking into this for 9 years so I know what we know about this very complex deception. Stop hiding from your fears bruh! Anyhow, I'd throw some norez in that box, along with some polycaps and Gucci tube binding posts and then Rawk Out man! Phish Babaaay!

[@dannyrichie9743]

If the earth is flat, then where are the edges?

[@pizzaearthpancakesandother2549]

@@dannyrichie9743 Don't know. Do you know what the Ant ark Tick treaty prevents? I do. Some good documentaries show the extent that travel/research is controlled S of 60 degrees lat.

[@pizzaearthpancakesandother2549]

@@dannyrichie9743 commons.wikimedia (dot) org/wiki/ File:Flat_e *rth_map_found_in_a_Japanese_temple.png

[@jackykimes]

@@pizzaearthpancakesandother2549 Why do I feel so lost in this comment?

[@lazarprodanovic8373]

I wont be too harsh with you as after all you did menage to address part of the problem and lower THD but more on twitter side along with ringing at 1100 Hz to a expense of lower impedance which is not acceptable to me foliage to 3 Ohms. Why on earth you didn't add high pass just above Fb I will never understand. Simply put for less than upgrade cost you can buy Elac's DBR62's and Andi did box great for minimal budget and when crsssed at Fs 120 hz with pair of sub's those have waterfal to desire.

[@dannyrichie9743]

We have had a handful of the Elac's in house. Andrew did a great job with the design, but they were REALLY built to a price point and need an upgrade worse then the Polk's.

[@lazarprodanovic8373]

@@dannyrichie9743 yes but he had peanuts budget and most of it went to cabinet which is deacent. I play with digital crossovers which don't change impedance. What's the use of better caps and components if they will fail faster thanks to higher operating temperature thanks to increased amperage. Not complaining to you just saying. Another point is individually taking into account actual space when doing digital one's but it's not for everyone nor will ever be. Have a nice time and thanks for the answer.

[@tinamarrier1386]

Everyone said that the legend series was to expensive that polkaudio was catering to people with money. So Polk gave them what they wanted and now they are complaining about the quality.

[@richardriley3543]

Love your videos.i have similar,elac 5.2 bookshelf.😮 Thanks

[@blackdaan]

to be honest.. you should just buy a full speaker kit.., those production speakers are way worst than he chooses

[@RanTausi]

At this price range there are few better speakers. Polk could do a better job

[@anxiousappliance]

what are they and how are they better?

[@RanTausi]

It can measure ok , but after auditioning them at the store I didn't like them at all. Sorry not my cup of tea even though the cabinet looks pretty well built.

[@dannyrichie9743]

Considering the parts quality used, that is not a surprise.

[@n.lyndley.9889]

Pretty well built

[@RimfireAddicted70]

In the scope of quantity that larger audio companies are producing speakers I wonder how much it would actually cost them to improve internals by a factor of 1. I am not saying use the best their is but a step up from current basement level components. In doing so they would counter other brands with their improved sound and measurements as a selling point. I guess the reality is 95% of the consumer market can't tell the difference between a speaker from Walmart and $2000 speaker from a higher end company. Turn the volume up on a cheap one and most will say it's better.

[@paulsmallriver6066]

Why not purchase better speakers in the first place. $400 to $500 for an upgrade?

[@dannyrichie9743]

You can spend $10,000 or more on speakers and usually won't get to the quality level of the parts used in the upgrades. The upgrade by far is the biggest bang for the buck.

[@DashcamRevenge]

Love your videos but in this case you’re wrong about the port.

[@dannyrichie9743]

Nope. This port is a gimmick. You can simply make the port a little bigger in diameter and equally bigger in length, to keep the tuning the same, and the air velocity would be reduced and there is less port noise.