Poor Fritz

Did not know that LSA’s came from china.  I thought they were from here for some readon.  Interesting...

I’d like to add that anyone in Colorado Springs ( non smoker / shoes off environment) or surrounding areas is more than welcome to come to my house and hear the Carreras for themselves!

Ohm and maggies are 2 I haven’t had, but will someday!

Well said decooney!

If the shoe fits...

I haven’t tried the LSA’s but they look nice as well.  I agree that there are many nice speakers out there, especially when you start looking at used as an option.  

Fritz is an awesome guy.  I was interested in his speakers and then out of the blue, he pm’d me and asked if I’d like to review his Carreras.  I accepted, reviewed them, fell in love with them and then had to send them away to a buyer.  
I loved the Carreras so much that I thought I’d probably love any of his speakers, which is still probably true.  He sent me a pair of Carbon 6’s and as good as they sounded, I still longed for the Carreras and Fritz knew it.  I was going through a difficult time, still am a little bit, with a broken leg and no work. Fritz offered to work with me on a pair of new Carreras in a gorgeous walnut finish.  I had no money and didn’t know when I would have the money to pay him but it didn’t matter to Fritz.  His exact words were “it’s not always about the money”.  

He sent me 2 pairs of Carreras and a pair of Carbon 6’s without me giving him a dime.  I secretly think Fritz may be Saint Nick but I haven’t confirmed this yet, so don’t quote me.
Anyhow, I’ve now given a nice chunk of change to Fritz but still feel that I owe him and will continue paying him as I can.  His speakers are worth every penny of his asking price and when you actually add up the cost of materials, labor, shipping, and his expertise, you quickly conclude that he is doing this because he loves it.  I think his best pay days are when he gets to see people fall in love with his speakers.

I know of no other speaker builder at his level where1 man is doing everything.  The only thing he doesn’t build are the grills, thats it.  
I absolutely love the Fritz Carrera BE’s and if possible, they will be with me for decades.  I feel a connection to Fritz because of his speakers.  I thoroughly enjoy the escape his speakers provide, daily.

I hope that the positive reviews of his speakers will get him many, many good buyers and many, many happy audiophiles.

Thank You Fritz for being the best boutique speaker builder out there, and Thank You for having a true passion for audio and sharing that with others!

Ny, I thought the same thing.  Good to hear that wasn’t the case.

@kenjit , getting you banned for a month was easy.  I just showed the moderator 5 or 6 of your posts.  You’re nothing but destructive to this site.  I’d leave because of you but then you win.  Fortunately, all the regulars around here know that your a troll, and a joke.  We’d all be better off around here without you. You offer nothing good or productive.  You try to destroy.  Thats why I don’t like you.  Being totally conceited and completely ignorant is not a good look Kenjit, maybe you should change.

I’ll be ignoring you now Kenjit simply because you aren’t worth a second more of my time in this or any other thread, ever

@bob540,
good questions!  The tweeter used in the Carrera is a high end, SB acoustics Beryllium tweeter.  A single one is close to $400.  That 7” paper driver is a Scan Speak Revelator and the are around $250. These are high end drivers and you will see them in other high end speakers that cost quite a bit more ($5,000+).

you are correct in assuming that bigger speakers with more drivers will be more impactful, they’ll have more dynamic punch so to speak.

The Carreras in a small to medium room though are plenty big enough.  I like loud music and dynamics as well, and the Carreras with a sub, in my small room, are awesome.  Tekton is making some cool speakers but most would be physically overbearing in my room.

Im also of the belief to buy the best, then bigger if you have the wallet!

Oh, and the series crossovers in Fritz’s speakers are pretty unique.  Does anyone know any other speaker designer using series crossovers?

Was that just a tip?

Omg guys, so my system has been blowing my mind.  I got a Belles Aria and have been in heaven.  Schiit Gungir Multibit, treated room, ap solo crystal oval 8’s and my setup is ridiculous.  So my buddy comes over today and we ran Sonarworks and corrected the Freq response and bam!!  Next level stuff here.  I can not believe where my system is now and I really can’t believe what is sounds like running sonarworks even more.  
My in room response was decent.  A little lumpy but with 6 db the whole range.  Corrected, it was flat and I couldn’t believe it.  I’m getting Sonarworks and I’m done.  I thought I needed more subs but I don’t at all.  Truly amazing afternoon!

And these Carreras are friggin’ awesome.  Best ever.
Somone mentione ghat they were expensive comparatively...

Can someone show me a ScanSpeak 7” revelator paired with the more expensive neodymium SB BE tweeter for less than $3250 shipped to your door brand new in your choice of veneer?

Boutiques speakers like Fritz and Salk offer exceptional value.  Far more than the big box brands at the same price.

I’m more about Fritz, Salk, Spendor, Harbeth, Joseph Audio, etc.  Tekton is aweome as well but big and the aestheics aren’t for everyone.  Tekton is doing some cool stuff with his designs though. Both Salk And Tekton use the SB BE tweeters too.

I’d like to add that I’ve looked inside the Carreras and Carbon 6’s and they both use a good amount of no rez and the are braced really well.  They are very solid and pass the knuckle test no problem.

Fritz explained that the cost of doing any rounded cabinets and the cost would go up substantially.  He also said that he had experimented with various materials and cabinets that were completely inert and he felt that these cabinets had the best blend of being inert but still alive enough to impart the music with life.

Fritz’s speakers are fun to listen to.  They are not overly bright but yet they have great detail.  The Carreras are so special that listening becomes an occasion.  I’m in hifi heaven with the Belles Aria and the DSP I have going on now.  
I could go on for days about how delicious these sound but I’d rather you just have Fritz build you a pair and then you can see for your self!

Just for the record, that Ara kit is $1900 with the BE tweeter, not $1400. You’re also getting a 6” SB Scoustics driver vs a 7” Scan Speak Driver. I’d rather have an understated, rectangle box built and braced like a brick, with gorgeous Veneer on it than some trapezoidal, orange peeled Chinese cab. And then there’s Fritz’s crossovers, which are awesome, which you can’t build because your not awesome.... Fritz uses probably close to $100 in no rez for his 2 Cabs, that kit
comes with cheapo filling.

Another thing to consider is resale.  Fritz speakers don’t come up often but when they do, they hold there value really well.
And have you ever punched a screwdriver through a driver screwing them in?  Insta extra port!  When you start damaging $400 tweeters during assembly your saving go right out the window.

Come to think of it, your right Kenjit, Fritz really should be charging more.

From my knowledge, Fritz does not use modified drivers.  What he does have is great knowledge of the different drivers.  He stays up to date with any revisions made to drivers as well. He memorizes the weights of the cones and which drivers use what drive systems.  He understands that Seas Excel Drivers, while being great, and drivers he has and will use, actually ring above a certain frequency.  In order to overcome that ringing, you need to make a more complicated crossover.  Fritz likes to use the highest quality drivers and keep his crossovers as simple as possible.  
Fritz is a speaker chef.  He knows what ingredients to put together in order to create delicious dishes.  The ingredients are the drivers he pairs together, the seasoning is his crossovers, the dish is his speakers as a whole.  His house sound, to me at least, is like those vintage speakers in their warmth, tone and fullness, combined with the accuracy, imaging, detail (sparkle and shimmering- Carreras) and accuracy of a thoroughly modern speaker.   

Some things in life are more special than the sum of their parts.  Fritz’s speakers are one of those things.  His Carreras are awesome and if you are on the fence, just get a pair already.  Im sitting here listening to them right now and I promise you, you would love what I’m hearing.  I’ve spent hundreds of hours listening to good sound at Audio Shows so I have some frame of reference.  Fritz knows how to build a high quality, fun to listen to, rock the house monitor speaker at a cost that I don’t think can be matched except for a few rare others (tekton, salk, etc).

Fritz explained to me that there is too much risk with floorstanding speakers because if 1 is damaged in shipping, you have to re-veneer both in order to get the veneer bookmatched.  I also think that the floorstanding ones got damaged more than the smaller monitors.  
He packages his speakers really well but I could see being concerned about damaging floorstanding speakers.

I’m sure Fritz would build a pair of floorstanding speakers but you’ll pay and there will be no trial or refund.