Fritz vs CSS vs Ryan

I had the Carrera’s and could not tame the beryllium tweeter. Harsh and bright in more than a few song segments.

Two different houses, three different rooms. This was with Odyssey Audio hot rodded Khartago amp and Candela pre with Amperex 7316 pq tubes. Also had Ascend Acoustics Sierra2’s with a RAAL ribbon tweeter with same gear. Sweet as could be.

I got the Salk SS6M's over the Carreras — because of the look of the wood in Salk's cabinets. Truth be told, I could never tame the tweeter — I have tube amps and even tried softer tubes in my DAC, in my Amp, in my preamp. Could have been my room.

I have nothing but good memories of the Carbon7. I wrote a review of that, too. I think the detail and sparkle of the Be  tweeter sucked me in over the Carbon7, but looking back, that was the stand mount I should have kept. 

To resolve my tweeter problem, I sold the Salks and got the Ascend Acoustics Sierra2’s with a RAAL ribbon tweeter. Now I'm happy. But the Carbon 7's would have stayed for good. Live and learn.

@jackd by chance were you able to compare the new Rev7 SE speaker with the ScanSpeak Illuminator Ring Radiator tweeter to the other Satori BE tweeter version speaker?  

While I've never tried Fritz speakers, I've followed him through @hilde45 's journey some and I've personally used some of the same Scanspeak drivers in my own speaker builds with great success. That new Rev7 SE version looks interesting. 

Why not trial both the Fritz Carrera BE and the Carbon 7 SE. I did. They both have their plus and minus…i had upgraded Raven Blackhawk as my tube integrated amp. And this trial was after already owning prior Carbon 7. To my ears, I liked the Carbon 7 SE, due in part to my previous Fritz speaker (beautiful mid range, voices…listen mostly to Jazz) and my lack of patience in taking the time to let my ears readjust to the beryllium tweeter which will definitely bring forth the higher frequencies. That said, I could certainly afford speakers 3x the price of Fritz speakers. But the whole package of personal service by Fritz, going through the personal journey of speaker education coupled with his dogged determination to build speakers based on his successful implementation of a stand mount speaker design with multiple bespoke wood finishes, while always searching for the best drivers is why I would wholeheartedly recommend the Fritz speakers. I don’t need to explain the amazing sound they produce as their are many, many reviews from numerous reviewers. I also do not sell them for Fritz !

A bit late to the party here, but I wanted to weigh in on my Ryan R-610s which don't seem to be getting much love here. Since I live within pretty easy driving distance of Fritz, and once upon a time (about 7 years ago) I had a Hegel H200 integrated which he wanted to hear, he was kind enough to bring by some different models of his speakers for me to audition. At the time I had a pair of Proac Response 1SC's that weren't such a good match with the Hegel. Fritz's speakers were all really nice, but to my ear a little TOO nice, that is, they seemed to smooth off the music's edges a bit too much for my taste. I eventually traded up to a pair of Proac D2's but in the end, they seemed a bit too shrill. That's when I found the Ryans and I give them my very highest recommendation. These speakers are beautifully balanced from top to bottom, preserve the music's edges without sounding etched, and convey plenty of space in the stereo image. While I have nothing but great things to say about Fritz as a person and technician, I just couldn't fall in love with his speakers. Anyway, if you can, I'd recommend giving the Ryans a listen--I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

I plan on doing a shootout between the Carbon 7, Ryan R610 and a Monitor Audio Gold 100. This should be interesting. Anyone in the Seattle area that might want to ad to the mix please DM me. The more the better.