I, too, have jumped on the bandwagon. I should have my speakers in the next few days. They are actually not for me, but my fiance. She demanded a GOOD pair of speakers for our(her) soon to be assembled family room system. For $300, I don't know how they can be passed up.
A very good friend of mine was a dealer for Fried. Also, the company was 5 minutes from my home. Have my share of stories to tell, as everyone does. While I do not recall the A/6, our impressions were always that the marque featured good bass response, and a warm, musical presentation. Not the easiest speakers to drive was always the impression we got, although they were never a tubeophile's nightmare.
How does the brand stack up against the rest of the world? Well, in my opinion, if this speaker was introduced today, it would carry a $2500+ price tag. Of course, some things would need to also be updated, mainly the drivers and cosmetics. Both of which would drive the price up much above the $2500 figure I just threw out. Drivers have come a long way in the past decade. I would also expect that the crossover parts quality could take a step up. Like drivers, passive parts are now a lot better than what was available a decade ago.
Personally, I have entered into a sort of infatuation with series crossovers, which Bud Fried has always been a staunch proponent of. In my opinion, what a series crossover offers is a cohesiveness of sound unmatched by any speaker(just about every speaker made) featuring a passive alignment. Somehow, the sound of a multi driver loudspeaker melds into the sense of there being only one source of the sound. The most descriptive word I can think of is "natural". Series crossovers are just so smooth; it's kind of unreal. While my seris crossover experiences have not been with Fried, I am keeping my fingers crossed...
Fried has also been a proponent of another rare loudspeaker feature, the transmission line. This was the defining point of Fried. It's complex, more difficult to design, expensive to build, less efficient. But, for those people who are into transmission lines, no sealed or ported box alignment can ever come close. Very deep bass.
My faint recollection of Fried was a sense of naturalness, musicality, and richness. Like the man himself, more suited for classical than rock(which he always referred to as the music of drug addicts). And, like I said, not the easiest speakers to get volume out of(hope I am wrong here).
I will definitely be keeping a keen eye on how things evolve during break - in. Fried(like Coincident) always carried the reputation of taking a LOOOONG time to break - in. I have already warned my fiance to expect them to sound horrible the first few days, as any new speaker does. Ewha, the fact that you are already pleased with your pair is a great clue as to them being long term keepers. My rule of thumb has always been, if you like a speaker right out of the box, you will absolutely love them next month.
