I first must say that I am a part of Fried...
Dodgealum, thank you for this thread! Where did you hear the speakers, if I may ask?
I have had differing experiences with the imaging, like you. I believe that the room first, and ancillary components second play a huge role in the way they will image. I have heard them not image very well, and I have heard them image in spectacular fashion. In the end, I will say that if you do wind up owning a pair, and get the other things right, you will find that they seem to image as least as well as any large floorstander has any right to.
Still, I believe a truncated pyramid is the king of imaging. No getting around physics there.
TRUE Transmission Line bass, implemented well, is surely something to behold. Deep, powerful, tuneful. Not much else to say beyond that it sounds real, and other alignments do not compare in terms of absolutes.
I have also heard the midbass sound a bit cooler than I personally prefer, but I have again found it room and system dependent. I also wonder if the superlative deep bass response that we are not usually used to makes the midbass seem not as warm as it actually is.
Not much to add to your statements on the midrange and treble, except to say that despite their musicality, the amount of detail and refinement is something that I am quite proud of. It sometimes takes a while to realize it, as I think we often get lost in the music as opposed to the tic tac toe analysis with a speaker like this.
As you mentioned, 50 watts more than powered them. Despite the specs, these are incredibly easy speakers to drive. Even at 4 ohms, my Atma Sphere M60 OTLs absolutely love them, more than any other speaker in fact. The quality versus quantity (parts count) of the first order resistive series crossover makes this a speaker that does not conform to a lot of the patterns we are used to. Please note that Frieds were Ralph Karstens long time speakers in the past, and that will explain a lot. I'm part of the low power SET and OTL tube crowd myself (Bud LOVED that - I say sarcastically).
I will pass along your comments, along with my own opinions to the company. As you mentioned, we are a company who believes in continuous improvement. Always seeking to extract the absolute maximum we can out of the product. Constantly making them better. The last point I want to make is that they were only $4995 in the recent past, and though I am happy to hear you feel them to be a good bargain at $6495, my goal is for us to always to offer the best product we can at the lowest price. I would be more comfortable at $5000, but I also cede (though kicking and screaming) to some of the realities of economics. My long term hope is twofold - to forever honor the legacy of Bud Fried and to be part of an American company that proves that we can more than compete with the best of the rest of the world.
Again, thank you very much!
Joe Trelli
Dodgealum, thank you for this thread! Where did you hear the speakers, if I may ask?
I have had differing experiences with the imaging, like you. I believe that the room first, and ancillary components second play a huge role in the way they will image. I have heard them not image very well, and I have heard them image in spectacular fashion. In the end, I will say that if you do wind up owning a pair, and get the other things right, you will find that they seem to image as least as well as any large floorstander has any right to.
Still, I believe a truncated pyramid is the king of imaging. No getting around physics there.
TRUE Transmission Line bass, implemented well, is surely something to behold. Deep, powerful, tuneful. Not much else to say beyond that it sounds real, and other alignments do not compare in terms of absolutes.
I have also heard the midbass sound a bit cooler than I personally prefer, but I have again found it room and system dependent. I also wonder if the superlative deep bass response that we are not usually used to makes the midbass seem not as warm as it actually is.
Not much to add to your statements on the midrange and treble, except to say that despite their musicality, the amount of detail and refinement is something that I am quite proud of. It sometimes takes a while to realize it, as I think we often get lost in the music as opposed to the tic tac toe analysis with a speaker like this.
As you mentioned, 50 watts more than powered them. Despite the specs, these are incredibly easy speakers to drive. Even at 4 ohms, my Atma Sphere M60 OTLs absolutely love them, more than any other speaker in fact. The quality versus quantity (parts count) of the first order resistive series crossover makes this a speaker that does not conform to a lot of the patterns we are used to. Please note that Frieds were Ralph Karstens long time speakers in the past, and that will explain a lot. I'm part of the low power SET and OTL tube crowd myself (Bud LOVED that - I say sarcastically).
I will pass along your comments, along with my own opinions to the company. As you mentioned, we are a company who believes in continuous improvement. Always seeking to extract the absolute maximum we can out of the product. Constantly making them better. The last point I want to make is that they were only $4995 in the recent past, and though I am happy to hear you feel them to be a good bargain at $6495, my goal is for us to always to offer the best product we can at the lowest price. I would be more comfortable at $5000, but I also cede (though kicking and screaming) to some of the realities of economics. My long term hope is twofold - to forever honor the legacy of Bud Fried and to be part of an American company that proves that we can more than compete with the best of the rest of the world.
Again, thank you very much!
Joe Trelli
