GR Research A/V-1 (1 Viewer)

[Yousaf]

Well, I recently bought a pair of GR Research A/V-1s, and they are simply amazing. I did buy them used, though, and it turns out that they are actually an older model (tweeter on bottom and woofer on top) with an older crossover (which Danny believes to be pre-series crossover). Since I also needed shielded drivers (one speaker killed my hard drive I think), I am using this as an opportunity to redo the crossovers as well and add the Sonicap as well as the Blackhole 5 upgrade. I will post results as soon as I get them built!

Sorry that there isn't really anything in here, but I'm so excited I just had to get it out somewhere...wait a week though and I will be back!

The customer service thus far has been outstanding. On another note, I must say that Danny has a very soothing voice (and I mean that in a non-sexual way)...talking to him about ordering parts for 10 minutes was like a trip to a psychologist; you feel so much better afterwards even though you're out several hundred dollars! :b

 

[george king]

You are going to love them even more. I finished my A/V-1s a couple of weeks ago with the Caps ugrade and BH5, and they are simply amazing speakers. Danny said the caps need about 100 hours break in, so be prepared to hear lots of improvement over the first period.

I agree, Danny is a great guy to deal with, so is Brian if you decide to build some more and need cabinets.

 

[Billie]

Yousaf, did you do the frequency and impedence measurement after you asssembled your GR Research A/V-1s. Just Curious of DIY stuff, how would you know what you are getting? -billie

 

[george king]

When you buy the kit, the woofers and tweeters all have measurements with them. Besides, in some respects the proof is in the pudding so to speak - the speakers just sound really great - nice and smooth. They are geared slightly more toward music but they are also great HT speakes.

 

[Danny Richie]

Good question there Billie,

Actually we post the impedance responses and frequency responses of all our kits there on our web site. We even post off axis responses too.

We also shoot responses of the drivers before they go out and the tweeters are pair matched as well. This is obvious as the response measurement of each tweeter is attached to each one that goes out.

If we send out a fully assembled speaker then we also include the response measurements and impedance measurement of each speaker.

Often we have hobbyist measure our speaker kits after they have assembled them. Their measurements do confirm our own.

Yousaf did not assemble the pair he bought, nor has he measured them. The pair he bought we produced for AVMS several years ago. They were measured during a review they received in the Audio Critic. Their measurements confirmed our own as well.

 

[Martice]

I have had the AV1+'s for a long while now and they are wonderful speakers. Infact, I had an engineer over that worked with Shenia Twain as well as Lean Rhimes (he came with a friend of mine) and he loved them. I am having another friend of mine over who is a producer over and he's bringng his Mackie powered monitors over so that we can do some comparing.

Wonderful speaker.

 

[Randy G]

I'd also be darned curious to hear how they compare to the Mackies...I assume the 624's, right? They'd be closest in size, but the 824's are by far, the more ubiquitous.

Randy

 

[Chris Tsutsui]

IMO, the paper cone GR drivers have a very natural sound to them that really helps bring vocals to life and helps smooth out hiss and grain. They are very forgiving on recordings and electronics, and seem to have been designed based on how euphonic (pleasing to the ear) they were.

This makes them more like audiophile speakers rather than studio monitors because they may not reveal everything on the tracks that others may hear. However, the things they do reveal can be quite astounding and pack plenty of emotion.

The one thing I noticed when upgrading his AV-3s to the sonicaps was some added detail with no sign of nuance (Slight change in tone). This proved to be a good thing as I thought I wouldn't hear a change, but it became immediately noticeable on many of my favorite tracks. What would be nice is if I can A/B test them to see how big of a difference it really is.

I'd say that although they are a bit laid back, I love the sound they produce, probably more than if I had a pair of revealing studio monitors.

 

[Yousaf]

Billie:

Danny already answered you question, but for me, I don't really pay too much attention to those things. I am going based primarily on sound before upgrades and sound after upgrades, and if the sound is better after the upgrades that is all it will take for me to be happy.

 

[Martice]

I will let you guys know what I find when we do the comparison. I will also try to take some pictures of the event, include sources used and all of the other good stuff to thoroughly record the day.

 

[BradJudy]

I have a demo pair of the AV-1s on the way and will be comparing them to as many things as I can while I have them. I'll post my thoughts here and on other forums once my demo is completed.

 

[george king]

BradJudy,

Those comparisons will be quite interesting. What other speakers are being compared.

 

[BradJudy]

George,

Arrangements are still being made, but if all goes as planned I'll have a chance to compare them to:

Ascend Acoustics CBM-170 (mine)
Paradigm MiniMk3 (mine)
Onix Rocket RS150
Onix Rocket RS250
Onix Ref1
Norh 4.0

There may be others, but this is the planned list for now. Hopefully all of the arrangements fall into place and I will be able to hear them with these speakers. I also have a coworker who wants to listen to them on his system, but he has high-end Infinity towers (don't know the model), so it isn't the same as comparing to other bookshelf sized ones.

 

[george king]

Well, it will be interesting, especially with the cross forum events surrounding the Rocket - A/V1+ comparison.

Have fun.

 

[Billie]

Yousaf and Dan, thanks for the reply. My experience is that sometimes I can't tell the lesser quality speakers from better ones. Only prolong listening with different softwares, that I start to notice the weakness and strength of perspective speakers.

Dan, have to let you know I have been thinking of getting a pair of speakers from you. You'll know when I ring you up!

-billie

 

[Shawn Solar]

I have a pair of av1+'s that still need building. Should replace my paradigm studio 40's. Too bad I can't them built before spring/summer.