Fritz Speakers Morel 6

Like many of you reading this, I've been on the audiophile's journey - in my case, going on about 30 years now. Over the years, I've had over two dozen sets of speakers and probably a similar number of amps, sources, etc. As with all of us, I've been seeking the best sound for the dollar, vacillating between cheap and cheerful, the big name brands and some expensive boutique brands. Over time, I found myself spending more and more time dissecting the sound of my gear vs. becoming enveloped in the music. I tried all kinds of doo-dads and gizmos, marveling at what little detail was being teased out of a recording, all the while losing sight of the big picture. This leads me to my current state of affairs.

For various life reasons, my main rig is relegated to an 11' x 11' bedroom, with an 8' ceiling. Decidedly NOT the best environment for an audio system. I have invested in some GIK products and the room is much better damped/controlled thanks to advice and products from GIK. When the system was first put in this room, I was using Trenner & Friedl Art monitors. These are expensive, beautifully built small monitors, with much bigger sound than their size would indicate. I loved their speed and emotional connection to the music, but there was a problem - they sounded their best over 40" out from the front wall, and even then, the low bass overloaded the room at a narrow band of frequencies. Having speakers 4' out into an 11' room doesn't make for much room to create a decent listening triangle, so I decided to move on.

Next in line was the Harbeth P3ESR. I figured a sealed box, with less bass output could be placed closer to the wall, giving it a bit of boundary reinforcement - a perfect solution, except it wasn't. The Harbeths are magical speakers in the mids - voices and acoustic instruments sound absolutely stunning, but even with some boundary reinforcement, I felt they were a little bass shy for my taste. This leads me to the Fritz Speakers Morel 6.

I first encountered the Morel 6's at an audio bud's house during a marathon two day listening fest. In his room, he had them relatively close to the wall. I remembered feeling they were a nice, balanced speaker, with maybe a little get up and go needed. These impressions were formed on a virtually identical amp to mine, but with a tube CD player vs. my Auralic Aries/Mojo Audio R2R DAC front end.

As I thought about what to do in my room, I kept coming back to the Morel 6's for some unknown reason. After thinking through the differences in my system vs. my audio buddy's, I decided to give the Morel 6's a try and called Fritz. A brief conversation later and a walnut pair of Morel 6's was in the build process for me. Throughout the build process (about three weeks) Fritz called me and let me know how things were going and we talked about all things audio. Fritz is a really nice guy and is genuinely interested in your audio journey, things you've heard in the past, what you thought of them and what you're looking for.

Now that the speakers have arrived and I have a couple of hundred hours on them, all I can say is I'm delighted with this purchase! The Morel 6's play music in a balanced, engaging, unforced and unfussy way. I don't feel any obsession over dissecting the various elements of sound - I'm just enjoying the cohesive whole as presented by the Morel 6. It's a hard thing to quantify, but it's very relaxing to just be having fun again listening to music and focusing on the forest vs. the trees. I'm not saying the Morel 6's don't communicate details in music or that they homogenize the sound - they don't. They just present music as one of a piece and not as a bunch of disparate sounds being played back at once. Every song sounds different as it should, PRaT is spot on in my book and any hint of sluggishness I perceived at my friend's house is nowhere to be seen. Of the many speakers I've had over the years, the Morel 6's rank as one of the most balanced and enjoyable, regardless of price.

When you buy from Fritz, you're supporting an entrepreneur who's offering great sound at a reasonable price, not a bunch of factory machines churning out product. Fritz speakers are very well built and sturdy, but they are crafted by a human and not a machine. In my case, I unknowingly chose a veneer that was a bit thin and difficult to work with, so there are a few warts at the edges of the veneer, but Fritz was able to confine them to the back of the speakers, so they're not something I see and have no impact on the great sound you're getting for the dollar. If you're obsessive about the veneer on your speakers being perfect on every surface, you'll want to mention this up front and work with Fritz on a veneer choice that's thicker and easier to work with. Do I wish everything was absolutely perfect? Sure, we all do. Do I consider this a major detractor to purchasing Fritz Speakers? Absolutely not! I for one am happy to support a craftsman trying to provide his customers with the best value for their hard earned dollars.