it is this sad thread that needs to die...
You are right, let's talk about amps with meters.
Poor Fritz
There’s no better value and no one as willing to make bespoke speakers out there than Fritz and these forums treat his speakers as if they cost $200K.
They don’t. They are remarkably affordable and yet potential customers put him through the absolute ringer, asking for custom features, going through 2 or 3 models of home auditions and maybe not even buying any of them.
Look, you buy what you want to buy, but I think not enough credit is given to the man or his speakers in terms of the overall value proposition and I think this is a disservice overall. If you write a 5 page review, please keep this very much in mind that you are not reviewing Wilson or Focal's flagships. Maybe he doesn't deserve quite the same scrutiny.
They don’t. They are remarkably affordable and yet potential customers put him through the absolute ringer, asking for custom features, going through 2 or 3 models of home auditions and maybe not even buying any of them.
Look, you buy what you want to buy, but I think not enough credit is given to the man or his speakers in terms of the overall value proposition and I think this is a disservice overall. If you write a 5 page review, please keep this very much in mind that you are not reviewing Wilson or Focal's flagships. Maybe he doesn't deserve quite the same scrutiny.
Showing 24 responses by erik_squires
Sorry, I need to clarify something, I wrote: The other benefit he claims is that because of how the parts are arranged, they stay out of the path of the drivers. A $30 cap in his speaker is equivalent to a $300 cap in others. What I should have written: The other benefit he claims is that because the crossover components stay out of the path of the drivers in a series XO (which is true) a $30 cap in his speaker is equivalent to a $300 cap in others which greatly reduces the price he has to sell his speakers at to reach equivalent performance with a parallel crossover. |
HI NN, On fritz website he shows that how smooth the impedance of his spkrs over the audio freq vs others. Yep, that's a function of the series crossover design the man is fixated on. :) Does it mean for the same db of music in a room the other spkrs demand a large watt/current amp for the db of music ? No, what it means is, regardless of frequency, the impedance is relatively constant. It is a super easy load and particularly beneficial to tube amps. To compare it to a random, typical commercial speaker, like these monitor audio: https://www.stereophile.com/content/monitor-audio-silver-300-loudspeaker-measurements With a high impedance amp (i.e. tubes) the frequency response changes to match the impedance curve. This is less troublesome to solid state amps. Also he mention about series xo .Any comments on this would be valuable. The other benefit he claims is that because of how the parts are arranged, they stay out of the path of the drivers. A $30 cap in his speaker is equivalent to a $300 cap in others. The schematic and series XO theory bear this out, but I've not done a listening comparison. However, given that I think he has very good ears (based on listening to his products and conversations) I have to believe he's onto something. |
I knew a lady who made violins, violas and cellos. She was a silver medalist in the US. I loved the sound of her instruments, and the horror stories she had over selling direct were such that she never sold direct even to friends. The care and feeding of the musicians was so great she couldn't possibly make violins AND take care of them, and this was in fact something her dealers did very well. This is also something I think about when I think of Fritz and other one-person shops. They not only have to make the speakers, they have to market them, they have to put up with people nickel and dime ing them, criticizing them like they would do no major brand, and deal with the entire sales process. I simply cannot imagine wanting to be in that business at all, so if you find a bespoke speaker maker you like and trust and buy from, please, treat them well. Best, Erik |
When in doubt, look it up: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/comparable?s=t My original sentence was correct. |
This is exactly the thing I meant. People are nit picking Fritz in a way no one would analyze Wilson, B&W or Joseph Audio, or Magico. Because he's a small shop, who uses comparable drivers, suddenly a handful of arm chair speaker builders (whose opinions on this subject are entirely questionable) we are asking him to get special parts for the purchase cost. Give me a break. No one sells parts for even retail. You can't run a business this way and it's not worth the phone call. Best, Erik |
FYI, the 7" ScanSpeak mid-woofer are in fact 6.5" and they are among the best in the world. Not only are they very good sounding in the bass to mids, they also have amazing extension in the right cabinet. There’s a reason why they’ve appeared often in statement products. Also, in case anyone is trying to gauge them by the specs, the specs lie. The measured frequency response is actually better than spec, a fact I’ve confirmed with a couple of speaker makers with the ability to measure. Best, E |
So, the point of this thread is how inexpensive Fritz speakers are, and how good they are an how others still unfairly compare them to speakers much more expensive. This post which I have partially quoted is the perfect example of the type of reviewer/audiophile who forgets what the prices are already. And by the way, there’s a lot here I would debate on the merits of good ideas if Fritz speakers cost 2x as much as they did, but they don’t so I’m just going to look in awe at this post and it’s complete lack of self awareness. Fritz use top grade drivers ,my only complaint in the past say 4 years ago |
I should maybe note that one thing that worked for Fritz during that show which might have made it a standout. He brought his own room acoustics instead of relying on ASC and his own electronics. For some reason the gear provided by ASC seemed to suck out the mid bass, and every single room besides fritz had this "one note bass" phenomenon, where no matter what was playing, or what room I was in the bass sounded exactly the same. Really never heard anything like that. I stepped into Fritz's room and that all went away. I've heard Fritz at another show since then and it was still very good, but other rooms didn't sound quite so bad now. :) Best, E |
Hi @decooney I have not owned Fritz speakers, nor do I have financial interest in his business. I first heard them in Oakland at a show, and they were amazing. Easily the best sound of the show. I was absolutely amazed at the components he was using and how inexpensively he was selling them for. I remember at that show Blue Coast Records (DSD downloads!) was there and I got to meet a couple of their ladies, I cant’ remember if both were musicians, or one was a musician and the other a recording engineer. Both independently also mentioned they thought his room was fantastic. Another really amazing thing to me was that he did a lot of custom work. Sending speakers to listeners, and modifying them to taste. Here’s the thing: If those speakers had a Wilson badge they would be 5x as expensive and to my ears comparable sound quality (and better than older Wilsons) given the size restrictions. Here is a man producing $15,000 speakers for a song, with customized finished and even sound profiles. It’s like lusting after an Armani rack suit you can’t afford and finding a tailor who can make you a tailored pair with better with equal or better fabrics for half. Best, Erik |