Fritz Carrera or other possibilities!

Fritz does offer a 30 day money back guarantee. He is easy to work with and a pleasure to speak to. I can’t speak to the Carerra’s but at the end of the day the Carbon 7’s were just not for me.

From the stuff I’ve heard, the Vandersteen VLR CT could be a good fit.

Thanks, I will check those out!

Fritz Speakers are under rated and under priced in my opinion. I have done a number of audio shows with Fritz and his speakers image extremely well and have a very smooth load making them compatible with many amplifiers, including a 300B SET amplifier we used at a show once. People kept looking around the room for the subs but found none. With the 30-day trial you don't have much to lose.

Have you head the Rev7 SE? 

Heard! 

@johnc5  I own a pair of the Rev5 SE and listen to them 2 channel near field and as fronts on my Home Theatre Midfi system.  Absolutely amazed at their sound quality for Midfi.  The driver’s are top notch and continually amaze me.  No need for a sub here when going 2 channel listening mode.  I enjoy listening to them as much as my 2 channel main system it’s just different.  Highly recommend Fritz and his speakers!

there are 2-3 threads every week about "which monitor should I get in the 2-5K category"

maybe we need something like

Wow! Sorry, I did not mean to offend anyone.

Hi @johnc5  -- happy to weigh in a bit. I did a couple reviews of Fritz's speakers. I have a preamp very very close to the Dehavilland Ultraverve III tube preamp (great score) and also have 2 Rythmik F-12 subwoofers and a third sub, a REL R-328.

I had both the Carrera and the Rev7 mk 2 SE in my possession for a number of months, and ultimately went with towers, but were I to choose a standmount, I'd go  with the REV 7. Why? I could not tame the Be tweeter on a similar standmount (the Salk SS6M) and I remember the absolute ease and lusciousness of the Rev7. I believe it is an extraordinary speaker, easy to drive, capable of both clarity and mellow musicality. If I was going with Fritz, I'd go with that one.

I've owned the Carrera's and they are a great monitor but if you are looking for "warm and detailed" I would look into the Rev 7 SE and not the the Carbon 7 SE as the Rev 7 SE uses the same level of drivers as the Carrera but replaces the Be tweeter with the Illuminator tweeter.

https://www.fritzspeakers.com/DreamWeaverFritzREV7SESpecPage.asp

if you are in the northeast we would invite you in to our showroom we have 

numerous great choices in that price range including alta audio kef paradigm and Atc

so yes there are still places in the northeast to hear monitors

Dave and Troy

Audio Intellect NJ

The S/B Acoustics 29 BE tweeter is fine with my sensitive ears.

This is what John is using in the current Carrera iteration.

The 7" Mid woofer by Scan Speak is similar to one used by

Wilson.  

I use a small REL sub with them.

During the August 2022 SpeakeFest event I had about 15 different

standmounts all below the $3k MSRP cap we chose.  After two weeks

of listening I decided :  The Triangle 40th Annv Comete, Philharmonics,

Totems, ATC. See AZAVCLUB.com for more details.

Price-wise the Fritz were just over our arbitrary cap of $3k.

But they are a great value and covered more of my needs

so I went with them. 

@johnc5 

sorry for what? You haven't offended anyone

@johnc5 I have the Fritz Carrera BE speakers in my home office system. I have gone through a number of speakers in this system and to date nothing has come close to Fritz at that price point. Of course, you can find better but you will have to spend double if not more. Last week, I moved the amp used in my main system (Audio Hungary a50i) to the office just to see how it works with Fritz speakers. Boy was I amazed! The holographic imaging, deep and wide soundstage and perfectly proportioned bass that I was getting from these little fellas ... almost like a floor stander. What this tells me is that the high quality parts and design allow these speakers to scale as you throw more expensive amplification at them.

Last year, I had done a shootout between Fritz Carrera BE, Harbeth M30.1 (which I had owned for a couple of years at that point), and Proac D2Rs. You can read my review here ... https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/fritz-carrera-be-vs-harbeth-30-1

To make a long story short, I sold my Harbeths and purchased the Fritz after a month of auditioning them. The sound quality, build, and value that Fritz offers in this rather unassuming speaker (in terms of appearance) is fantastic. And these speakers will match and scale along with much more expensive gear in the future should you go in that direction.

The one caveat that I can offer is that the tweeter in the BE series can be a bit hot on the top with some solid state amps, especially if they lean towards neutral or thin sounding. You will either need a warm sounding SS amp, or better yet, a tube amp. They are not hard to drive so even a moderately-powered tube amp will drive them well. To me, the tube and Fritz Carrera BE combo is very special. They are very balanced top to bottom and have more of a crisp modern sound with just enough warmth to make your music enjoyable. Also, the bass that comes out of these fellas is also quite something. Fritz offers a generous return policy which not only makes it easier to audition in your home but also tells you something about the confidence he has in his speakers.

A couple additional caveats: Since it’s a rear ported speaker you have to make sure you have at least 18 inches of clearance from the wall behind it. They can sound a bit boomy if placed too close to the wall. Also, the break-in can be rather long, but not unusually long. For me, it took almost 150 hours before they showed me what they were capable of.

You should definitely give them a chance. Made right here in the USA by a master craftsman who has been at it for almost 50 years now.

@clio09 

People kept looking around the room for the subs but found none. 

Yep, that sounds about right. With my previous speakers I was using a REL T9i to augment the lower frequencies. The bass that the Carrera BE's produce is so satisfying and balanced that I sold my sub. Not needed anymore.

arafiq,

Thanks, I did read your review with great interest. I just spoke to Fritz and he reassured me that with the room and equipment I am currently using, I should be fine with the Carerra's. 

jeffseight,

Thank-you! I will most likely go with the Carerra's!

@johnc5 Should be good!  While I've never heard the Carerra's personally, a few colleagues here have owned them and/or some returned them, to then refer back to them over and over about how much they liked their Fritz speakers. 

Seems to me the guy has found a real niche and design people can really latch on to and enjoy music listening. This is what I've read and not worrying or continuing to look for other speakers if you decide to keep them. This alone is worth it if you like the sound of them, no more looking, and to just sit back and listen, nice! 

Take a look at the Ref 3A de Capos  detailed rich sound dont need a lot of power i run them in a room a bit bigger than yours off a 4 watt Deware amp

Never heard them but something i would consider

Two Rhythmic subs and GIK bass traps?  You’re my hero man!  I see absolutely no way going wrong with Fritz speakers.  I’ll just throw out used Joseph Audio Pulsars or new Usher Mini-X Diamonds (yeah, a diamond tweeter in speakers under $4k — unreal) as a couple other options to ponder.  With those subs you gonna be in hog heaven no matter which you choose. Best of luck!

Thanks Soix! Fritz pretty much told me the same thing! He assured me that I would not be disappointed with the Carerra's.

Love the Fritz.  If you are going with a sub you _might_ experiment plugging the Fritz.  May give you a smoother transition. 

erik_squires

Someone else who reviewed them mentioned plugging the ports and setting the crossover to 50Hz. I will give that a try.

@Johnc5 - Don’t get me wrong, I love those speakers, but alone they have a LOT of bass. You may have an easier time with a sock in the ports, and that will let you raise the sub crossover position. I’d measure to do it right.

Thanks for the suggestion, I will certainly give that a try!

Another possibility is the Dynaudio Contour 20i. Really nice mint pair on USAM right now. With these you may be able to get away with not using subwoofers.

CSS  Criton 1tdx. Check them out. They are like 2200 delivered or kit for less. Got a pair on a trade and and am super surprised. For one they have top notch components and are voiced really well IMO. I had low expectations cause I never heard of them. Never heard the Fritz but would love to do a side by side with these.  

Wow! Those CSS speakers look impressive! 

I have to agree with those who prefer the sliced paper cones with the non Be tweets.  The Be variants I think are better for bringing out detail at low volumes, but the ring radiator is nearly perfect.  Does the vanishing act perfectly.

I have the Fritz Carrera Bs two things (using tubes): treat the room and good stable/heavy stands will make a big difference. Just got my Sound Anchor stands after almost 2 months wait. That B tweet will splash around in an untreated room. Good stable stands stop any smearing and tighten the bass very nice. Everything sounds very balanced top to bottom and disappear here setup to the thirds rule of the room. Very good indeed!

That B tweet will splash around in an untreated room.

That's a really good point.  The ring radiator has a narrow dispersion, which works for me and for those with more limited spacing.  I've not heard the Be tweeter with enough room / treatment.