I can see why some might get offended by someone disparaging their favorite brand. I agree Danny does no favors by doing that.
There are lots of things that can be objectively improved by swapping out OEM parts with better parts. Cars, boats, computers, etc. But considering how poorly many factory speakers measure, it’s no wonder why people send their speakers to Danny.
When I first heard about Danny I was still learning about audio circuits. Speakers crossovers weren’t on my radar until then. Curiosity got me to experiment on the speakers I had at the time. Simply swapping out the cheap caps on the tweeters made for an immediately noticeable change. I didn’t have to buy anything from Danny to try this. Just the idea that the parts included in a factory speaker could affect the sound this dramatically kinda shocked me.
I explained this to a friend of mine and he asked me to see if I could improve his cheap Polk tower speakers. I contacted Polk to get the crossover schematic and not only were they fine doing so ( for discontinued models) they even gave me the most recent version of the circuit. I was surprised to find each tower had a different version of the crossover! I swapped out a cap on the tweeter and a coil on the woofer. It sounded more detailed, had tighter and better defined bass, and even seemed to improve their power handling. You could push them louder without them sounding like they were straining. My friend was blown away by the change! At that point I trusted that Danny knew what he was doing. And I didn’t have to buy anything from him.
Around the same time I heard speakers he designed and again was very impressed. I had owned B&W, Definitive Technology, Aperion, Paradigm, Klipsch, and Gallo. AV123’s speakers, designed by Danny, beat all of them up for the money. They were well braced (which you don’t see in lower cost speakers) and came with higher quality parts in their crossovers. In direct comparisons they highlighted every flaw the branded speakers had. Since then I replaced all of my speakers with Danny’s designs. Are there better speakers out there? Absolutely! But you will spend more money to get there.
I get why people don’t like his lack of tact. For me it’s a level of honesty I don’t see very often in an industry filled with hyperbole and marketing bs. It’s similar to why I’m a fan of Schiit. Jason and Mike are honest about their products and the industry. A lot of us get a kick out of Mike saying things sound like ass. Granted he doesn’t name names. At least not in public. But there is a similarity with the idea that you shouldn’t have to spend a fortune to get great sound. And that’s what Danny is all about. Yeah, he makes digs at these big name brands but when you see how they’re made, how they measure, and how they’re priced, sometimes they kind of deserve it.
