Help with making a decision - Fried Studio V mars

Bobana0, Bud Fried DID use Focal drivers during the time when the Studio V were produced. I know they were also used in the Valhalla System. Beyond those two, I'd have to do a bit of research.

Not that you'll be happy to read this, but here's how sourcing moved from Focal to Gefco according to what Bud told me...

Focal drivers garnered a lot of hype, praise, and came at a premium pricing level. Always wanting to produce the best loudspeakers possible within sane technological and cost constraints, Bud decided to go with them. However, he noticed something didn't seem right. The drivers didn't match their specs; not even close. They went back and forth over the course of a few orders, with each side adamant in regard to their position. To make a long story short, Bud, who spent 1/3 of the year in Europe and the UK, dropped in on Focal for a visit. He demanded they measure the model of drivers with him present. Things came out exactly as Bud experienced. Subsequently, he went in a different direction.

Thankfully, the series crossover masks a lot of wrongs, and I'd think those Studio V still sound wonderful.

If you are happen to be looking for a replacement, Fried Products was selling Shanghai Silver Flute (Yindi) drivers, but you can purchase them from Madisound. These (quite) modestly priced drivers do much better than one would otherwise expect. Obviously, you want to confirm the dimensions first before moving on them. You could also go with something from Tympany (Vifa, Peerless, ScanSpeak). The third, and most overlooked, element of what I refer to as Bud's holy trinity is low Qts drivers (series crossover and TL representing the other two), so aim for that in your replacement.

Bobana0, thank you for the background. Understood.

If I may ask, which woofers need replacing on your Studio V?

Congratulations on your first ad! Everything looks great.

Some lucky buyer will end up with a pair of speakers that surprise and delight them as the discover they compete with most anything currently produced.

I wish you the best of luck with the sale!

You will have no trouble selling them. I'll say right here and now I am willing to buy them from you myself.

Though most do not know or have forgotten the legendary Bud Fried and his loudspeakers, there still exists a small, but fanatical following. There is no finer loudspeaker, period, for the AtmaSphere OTL amplifiers.

I listen to a lot of audio components, and in my opinion, my Fried A/6 compete with anything made today up to $5K. My Studio V, with their true TL bass and midrange loading are even better, and will run with most loudspeakers, irrespective of price. The Valhallas move another step forward. The only criticism I can level against these three is that despite their excellent low-frequency tunefulness (the TL truly without equal), their 8" woofer will obviously not go all the way down, and their crossover parts quality (though not bad for their day) warrants an upgrade. The Valhalla could be special ordered with the 10" O subwoofers, which do produce the lowest of lows.

One other thing about Bud, he brought both the Lowther and Quad ESL57 to the USA, and even after five to six decades, you'd be hard pressed to find better loudspeakers than either of those.

Thank you. I was originally going to make a suggestion, but after thinking about it overnight, I recommend sending both of your 8" Focal drivers to Bill Legall of Millersound http://www.millersound.net/service.htm for repair. Bill's a very close friend of mine, and THE best loudspeaker driver repair person in the world. The price will be most reasonable.

Here's a couple of stories about him
http://www.6moons.com/industryfeatures/forbidden/forbidden_9.html

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/roadtour13/roadtour13.html

Yes, Bill can fix most anything that wrong with a driver. Voice coils, magnets, cones, spiders, etc. He replaces spiders when he installs new surrounds because both work together and form the driver's suspension. Though the driver will work again after a simple refoam, in Bill's eyes, the job's only half done (actually less), and the driver is still broken.

Regarding voice coils, Bud Fried left me his very own loudspeakers prior to his passing. After using them a bit, I discovered an issue with one, and took them to Bill. Bud's speakers obviously had some "hot rod" in them; in this case, a 1" dual voice coil in the 6.5" Gefco. Bill hunted around through his incredible supply, and actually found a pair, which he claimed was only the second time (though, obviously common in larger drivers) he'd seen this in more than 40 years. In no time, he had installed new ones in both drivers. I figured he wasn't going to find these unusual voice coils, and wondered if my next move would be to shop for new drivers. But he assured me he could have them made up for him by his supplier within a week or two.