Why no Danley fever?


I've never actually heard the Danley SH50 'Synergy Horn' (full-range speaker), or the Danley DTS 10 (subwoofer). However, I recently surfed into them on the web, and am a believer that 'measured specs don't lie' (and no one seems to dispute their specs): the sub will reproduce 10 htz at over 100 db!; the SH50 is nearly ruler flat from 50 htz - 20 khtz. SH50s are extremely sensitive (100db) yet able to handle 1000 watts, producing 130 plus db, if I remember correctly.

There are but scanty reviews online (non-existant really for us home theater types), geared to the pros, and these are extremely positive.

The unique SH50 horn design, in which all of the drivers are loaded load the horn, is unique and theoretically far superior to that most commonly employed: attaching drivers to the face of a box.

Has anyone heard these guys?

What explains, besides the fact that they are not pretty, their relative obscurity in our neck of the woods?
pmcneil
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These are pro or live-sound speakers. Extremely few audiophiles are open-minded enough to even consider them for their home use. However, a very small number of lucky music lovers who have discovered them and took time to understand the design theory and have studied the verified 3rd party performance specs (try to get that from audiophile loudspeaker manufacturers!)behind these synergy horns are richly rewarded beyond their wildest dreams with these very reasonably priced products!! They can easily compete with "audiophile" speakers costing 10 times or more. There are some in-depth subjective comments in several forums, look for them and prepare to be surprised.
Johny_1 is correct - these are pro-audio speakers. However, as remarkable as they are - and they are very good for the genre and much better than the vast majority of "pro audio" equipment (most of which sounds horrible), they are no match for any decent home equipment. Pro-audio has entirely different requirements:
ability to play at very loud volumes without strain (i.e. fill a performing arts center or a stadium)
high efficiency
reasonable weight so they can be setup and taken down for shows (plywood cabinets that aren't too thick (lots of cabinet vibration)
reasonable cost or no sound contractors will spec them - simple black paint, fly points, very simple crossovers.

Yes - I actually do have plenty of real experience in pro-audio and in home audio. If you want the ability to play 120 db in your home, Danley is a far better choice than most other pro audio gear. If you want to hear resolution, accuracy and balance at something less than saturn rocket levels then most any decent audiophile speaker will handily outperform because the design considerations are completely different.
Peace
mgrif,
Couldn't disagree more. I've recently been running some speakers built on the Synergy design in my home system and can report they do things for home audio that nothing I've heard approaches (that includes very good ESLs, ribbons, cones from Vandersteen to Wilson, and exotic horns). They do not sound like speakers, they are hard to locate in the room by sound alone, can have an immense sweet spot when properly positioned, they have a unified solid sound that is hard to describe, they have resolution that can make you shake your head in disbelief. I don't see most even way-above-decent audiophile speakers even being evem in the same league, and would suggest anyone listen to a Synergy setup in a home setup before making any judgement.

Sadly, there aren't a lot of setups like that, as Danley doesn't promote to the home market (audiophiles are too high-maintenance types to support and tend to be more influenced by cosmetics than the pro world), but that may be changing as more people actually hear these. In many ways the ultrawideband fullrange point-source horn is more of an advantage for the home (which doesn't need the high SPL levels) than in the large venues (which aren't as concerned with closeup listening). If you get a chance, go have a listen. I've not heard of anyone who did not being impressed.
Bwaslo: I think you may have misunderstood my response. I think Danley makes some of the best sounding pro audio speakers out there. I spec'd Danley for a new performing arts center and they modeled out great in the analysis. The facility is being built, but I expect it to sound terrific when finished.

However...
I stand by my previous comments that their different design objectives mean certain compromises have been made in important areas such that they won't fully stand against most speakers that people on this forum would consider good.
Physics are at play here. Unless you believe that cabinets, crossovers, etc have no impact on sound,there's only so much that can be done. The design objectives are very different for the two markets.
Again, Danley's are probably the best sounding pro-audio speakers out there - and I've heard very many of them when doing sound. However, to my ears, I'll take well engineered home audio equipment for my home. Of course, my $.02 only.
Peace.
you'd probably want an outboard crossover to integrate their sub with the mains, but the mains themselves do not require outboard crossovers.

Also, please be aware that the synergy horns are highly directional by design- a 50 degree radiation pattern. They do this so you can control where the sound goes - more importantly, where it does not (i.e. avoid washing the walls of a performing arts theater where the reflections might cause smearing and phase/frequency cancellations).

They operate as "point source" speakers because all drivers are loaded into the same horn so they appear pretty focused in that regard. However, I believe the crossovers are not adjusted for phase accuracy (my understanding though I've never really looked into it) or time aligned. So, while they sound like point source, there are likely to be some discontinuities when listened to in a living room. These are immaterial in the settings in which they're normally used - most listeners are probably 50' to 200' away. A living room is practically near field listening.
That said, they'll make a killer system if none of the above are discouraging.
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