To Fritz, Quicksilver, and all the exceptional makers trying to get the word out

@decooney Thanks for the kind words.

@ghasley Hello from your CO neighbor!

@tksteingraber I like the way you phrased your praise. There is this weird, unassuming naturalness to the speakers, the experience of music "just happening to be in the room." I suspect that these speakers might be best for my life just set up simply, in a living space with a small, well integrated rather than in my "audio room." They are great there, too, but I see them just becoming part of daily life listening, as @decooney described.

Eminent Technology LFT loudspeakers is on my short list of speakers to try.

@sns Hi back to you! Boutique+used is a path to some really interesting gear. It requires up front research, and that may be a hurdle for some. I like the idea of a world with more small makers -- and more local techs to help with a fix or upgrade if shipping is a problem. I know a lot of people on the forum have said that small makers are great...but what if they go out of business, etc?

@thecarpathian Both are easy to drive and tube amp-friendly.

The ribbon tweeter and the soft dome tweeter make one difference; the Fritz are softer up top but not blurry-soft. They tame most recordings that are a bit bright (e.g. Fagen’s Nightfly). The Ascends are clear and brighter -- but not as bright as, say, a Beryllium tweeter (which I cannot stand). The RAAL ribbon is quite high quality and it provides a kind of airy transparency to the highs which are almost always not-too-bright.

The bass on both are good, with the Fritz being surprisingly good for a bookshelf. It’s not "fudging" the bass -- it really digs low in an honest way. The Ascends are the same.

Fritz’s midrange is perhaps the "killer app" of the speaker. They have this way of putting instruments or voices "in the room" but not in that freaky way that some extremely expensive speakers do. There’s just this presence that seems to be happening without a technological interface. The midrange on the Ascend is excellent, too; honest and not too forward. But it’s not "magical."

The soundstage on both is very good and detailed, with extra size and articulation going to the Ascends; if I listened to *mostly* symphonic or large and complex music and I had to choose one speaker, it would be the Ascend. For small ensembles, jazz, I’d say Fritz. For a lot of hard-driving rock, it’s a tie based on your ears.

The Fritz are like my good leather jacket; comfortable, nice looking but casual. The Ascends are like my nice peacoat -- sharp looking, stylish, classy but also easy.

I had the QS linestage (non-remote) and upgraded it. But after a few months of trying it back and forth with a 6sn7-based preamp, I sold it. It’s solidly made, and quiet as hell, but really doesn’t add much character, even with some nice tube changes. If I had to choose btw a good solid state preamp and the QS line stage, I’d just eliminate the tubes from that stage of my system, altogether.

@mesch Hi back to you! Hope you're well.
@waytoomuchstuff    Very kind — thanks!
@thecarpathian 

"Question: If you could keep only one pair, between the two which one would you choose?"

If it was my ONLY speaker -- probably the Ascend because of the soundstage and ribbon tweeter for classical music.
As a SECOND speaker, probably the Fritz. It really has a unique sound that is so consistently very good to excellent across genres.

@corelli Need to try the Akitika. Will let you know.

@mattw73 I really like how you described it and would agree. Fritz’s speakers are not cheap but there’s no middleman and I feel like people are getting his 40 years of experience in this very evolved model. No one begrudges a good chef at a unique restaurant the prices on the menu. Granted, it cannot be one of the restaurants that hedge fund managers go to -- there, the high price is actually part of what they want, for social reasons. But if I go to a good restaurant and pay a slightly higher price, I don’t say, "The Cheesecake Factory would have been just as good."

@corelli Did an extended comparison of Fritz with the Akitika GT-102 Z4 vs. the Pass Labs XA-25. There was no comparison -- with the Pass: bass tighter, greater clarity in the soundstage, wider soundstage, more presence.

That said, the Akitika really surprises you when you first turn it on. It is a $625 kit (this one is maxed out with $350 in additional parts) and really sounds fantastic. Of course, the Pass is in another league, so not really a fair fight. I’m selling the Akitika.

For anyone curious, the Akitika was maxed out, thus: "The unit is internally dampened, has upgraded VH audio hookup wiring throughout (roughly $100 worth), plus Pulsar CUii signal wire ($80/m). All caps upgraded including a new massive Muse cap for power ($85 cap alone), BPs on the boards and all components matched during the build. Copper lugs, gold plated speaker terminals, Cardas silver solder and more. With the chip shortage these were sold with clone chips for a while - however this amp has genuine TI chips inside."

@vthokie83

When these threads don’t spin into pissing contests, they are actually filled with well meaning people that just want to pass along what they have learned.....and have been invaluable in my re-education.

I totally agree. That’s what got me going on the forum and I’ve learned a lot. I joined an audio society and also reached out to individuals in my town to hear things not carried by local stores.

I wound up trusting Quicksilver because of @decooney who had a long history of trial and error with gear and was a speaker builder at one point. I knew he had nothing to gain by recommending QS and he kept asking me about my sonic preferences, budget, and plans for the system. Everyone has brands that they like and stand by -- that’s cool because they’re conveying what has worked for them. In my mind, had I not come across QS and/or had a slightly higher price point, I would gravitate immediately toward @aricaudio -- the cosmetics are lovely, he’s responsive online and on email, and (for preamps) he builds around the 6SN7 tube and (for amps) does single-ended. QS does not build those designs, currently. I’m thinking hard about a lower-watt amp as an alternate (I have very sensitive speakers, 97db, now), so I plan to review his stuff. We’ll see. (It’s just those darn kids in college, ya know?)

@yogiboy Thanks for the reference. Will take a look. Nice to be back. I was hitting social media overload and life was pushing all that stuff to the rear burner. If I'm on Agon, it means I have time to listen, which means that things are better. Take care!

@johnc5

First, I owned the Carreras, too, and my listening impressions agree with yours. I didn’t keep them and I also sold a pair of Salks with that same tweeter. It is unforgiving.

The Carbon 7’s also seemed a little brittle in the upper mid-range and treble.

I suspect your gear, here. I have run the Carbons with every possible amp I can try (including a very dry, powerful class D) and it never sounds brittle. You may be confusing it with the Carreras or it may be a tube or something else. I don’t think the soft dome tweeter on the Carbons is making that happen. My two cents.

@johnc5  I don't think that's would explain it. Maybe you should call Fritz.

@whiteknee  I know only the Carreras and the Carbons. From talking to Fritz, I know he is really focusing on the Carbons. I have powered both with my XA-25 (no problem) and with lower watt amps (tube amp with KT77 tubes). I've not tried the Carbons with even less power, alas. My guess is that the Sit 3 will run out of gas. I don't know the Cary. The Fritz do enjoy some power, though. When I hooked up at 300 wpc Class D amp they were really moving! But I think the mid-monos would do pretty well with the Carbons. I'd say call him. Super nice guy.

The Volti story is a hoot. I don't know how someone gets that kind of treatment and doesn't buy a speaker, in the end!
 

@corelli Sorry! Already sold it. I didn't build it. I did just buy a Dynaco ST-35 though ;-)

@burtlake That will be my next experiment -- ST35 + Carbon 7s!