I met this guy in a hotel room....


Many years ago, in a dark hotel room I heard a pair of relatively small two-way speakers with excellent tonal balance, clarity and absolutely glass smooth response. Literally among the best sound at the show, the only other contender in a room there in Oakland being a top of the line Vandersteen driven by $60K worth of electronics. Nothing else in the entire show actually sounded as good in room as these little gems.

I ran into Blue Coast records (an excellent and under-appreciated audiophile DSD label). Cookie was there, along with two lovely musicians who had finished their tour. The musicians also praised the room. Cookie had not heard the room, I beleive. She was busy actually working! She did sell me a portable DAC that was amazing though. (I may be mixing up 2 different Cookie stories). Sadly it died six months later from some power supply issue. I miss that little puck. Anyway, going back to my story...

In the room I speak of was Fritz and his speakers. For under $4,000 he was selling really unique crossover designs with world class drivers. $4k for the parts he was using is basically a song, and to be put together in such lovely sounding speakers was an amazing feat.

Today, looking for an interesting new DAC, I came across the Montreal Audio Show coverage in Stereophile, and I found a pair of speakers using similar components and they run almost exactly 10x the price.

I don’t really have a moral, except maybe that audiphiles need to get away from looking at price tags for sound quality and that if you are looking for sweet 2-ways, and have been following any of my postings about how you can get a lot of bass out of two way monitors you should look up Fritz.

 

erik_squires

Fwiw, along the same lines, take a look at @hilde45's reviews of Fritz speakers. He's demo'd the soft and metal dome versions with favorable feedback, and I thought he did a video too as he was exploring monitors and floor standers. 

I've used some of the same drivers in my own custom builds, and its clear to me Fritz has figured out building nice crossovers and getting a musical sound out of the drivers and his enclosures for his speakers. Great respect for Fritz, price, value, and his gracious program he's exercised with many here on Audiogon too. 

 

In the room I speak of was Fritz and his speakers. For under $4,000 he was selling really unique crossover designs with world class drivers. $4k for the parts he was using is basically a song, and to be put together in such lovely sounding speakers was an amazing feat.

@erik_squires I recently picked up a set of Fritz's Carbon 6s (partially based on some of your prior comments). They have convincing bass down to 40Hz and quite frankly IMO make world class sound as long as you don't push them too hard. The cabinets are nicely finished and don't vibrate. The woofer is very fast, owing to carbon fiber re-inforcement, is also pistonic and free of breakups (so they are smooth and detailed). They would be ideal IMO in a smaller room (like you often encounter in audio shows in hotels)!

I'm a fan. They are very well thought out and classy (the speaker grills are fixed to the cabinet with magnets- a nice touch). They are a good example of how high end audio is driven by intention rather than price- they are very reasonably priced and allow you to build a world-class system without high cost.

 

@erik_squires - Before I even saw your mention of Fritz, I could tell what you were talking about just from the first paragraph - I had a similar experience the first time I went to a trade show in Oakland or Emeryville or wherever and heard Fritz's speakers. Ended up buying a pair many years later; Fritz brought 'em over and we hung out for awhile, too - great dude! 

@erik_squires 

Nice speakers. I m surprised that they supposedly go lower than the Watkins Gen 4 which I have heard. Watkins is the same man who developed the Watkins dual drive bass. The Gen 4's go down to 41hz. I heard them  with no sub and I believe that.  I was shocked at such low and clean bass. The only reason I didn't purchase them was my room size. Yet they fkilled a 15x20 (or bigger) room They got TAS Golden Ear & Editors Choice since introduced in 2017. I've never heard the Fritz so I cannot comment. But they .look interesting. Thanks

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we always hear good feedback on Fritz speakers pity it is not manufactured industry scale & marketed but as handmade speakers.

 the writer didn't mention which model and writing is distracting with other subjects poking in.

 

Cool story.  Not everyone can evaluate and compare at your level of understanding.  it is always an advantage to understand how things work.  This helps you recognize quality.  

 

Many would have looked at the price and dismissed them as "cheap".

Fritz is an awesome dude, he really is.  He promised something to me and then when things changed on his end, he still kept his promise to me.  Nobody else in the audio industry has gone out of their way for me as much as Fritz (and Paul from CLear Day cables) has done for me.  Lifes been extremely busy / complicated for me this past year so I haven’t talked with Fritz for awhile and I do miss our conversations.  No one else out there that I am aware of is a one man show like Fritz.  He does everything and his Veneer work is awesome.  I’ve not seen another speaker that is book matched down the center, bookmatched left and fight, with a waterfall edge (?).  All of his speakers use top notch drivers.  His enclosures are super solid and he lines the insides with no rez.  Most of all though, his speakers sound fantastic.  I highly recommend his speakers.

I own the Fritz Carrera BE speakers that replaced Harbeth M30.1 in my home office system. You won't find a better bookshelf speaker for anything in the ~3K price range. It has such a balanced presentation from top to bottom that it's hard to find any faults. Also agree with everyone that the bass coming out of these little guys is amazing. I wrote a review on these speakers a few months ago ..

 

Great post.  Fritz is awesome.  I’ve been tempted to buy a set and integrate them with small musical subs.  

I always grin and shake my head at all the reviews giving high praise to the latest 2-way stand mount or bookshelf speakers. I’ve listened to many at audio shows and here - many are much more expensive than Fritz’s. None have impressed me as much as the Fritz Carbon 7BE. If I were in the market, Fritz speakers would be my first choice. Plus Fritz goes out of his way to please his customers.

 

There are a lot of inexpensive (relatively) two ways that sound terrific...I'll keep my wharfie 225's for life, even though I run tannoys right now. 

I enjoyed a pair of high quality Fritz Carbon 7 SE MK2. Ultimately I sold them . Could've been my amp, source' entirely. But while clean, coherent and engaging, there was, for me, something a bit reticent on the high end that I couldn't shake. I am confident that the wellspring of accolades he receives is well deserved. 

I just emailed Fritz and gave him the URL of this thread in case he hadn't seen it yet.... 

Smaller two way speakers in a small room may net good bass response at moderate volumes.  I do not see how it’s possible in larger rooms or at louder volumes without either big woofers or multiple medium sized ones. I doubt anyone has ever heard truly differently. I never have.

Hey @jonwolfpell 

While you can't create new physics, as I've written, the actual bass response of a 2 way in a room is not what most people think it is when measured.

Of course, it is impossible to get loud 16 Hz test tones without a lot of surface area but a lot of 2-ways have meaningful output down to 20 Hz in a room. Depending on music tastes and the volume this may be all you need.

That may be so but just because a speaker can produce quite low frequency tones doesn't necessarily mean it can produce realistic bass notes from a bass guitar,  bass drum, kettle drum etc in a a tight, dynamic fashion at any decent volume in any decent sized room. There are very few if any instruments that produce 20 hz notes & a speaker that "only" goes down to 35hz but has good definition & dynamics will likely sound much better than one that can go lower but can't match it otherwise. 

Funny, I just commented on a recent post elsewhere here on AG with comments saying there was nothing much new in speaker design. Yet every year… new items drop into the market.

Good share Erik, thumbs up 👍