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To Fritz, Quicksilver, and all the exceptional makers trying to get the word out

It's been a while since I've posted. When you're in the sandwich generation, life intervenes. I've not had much chance to keep up with the conversations here, but I've managed some changes in my system, including a new set of speakers from a local audio fixer and DIY genius. These new speakers are wide baffle design with JBL woofers (15") and Beyma AMT tweeters. 97db sensitivity. I've put a picture on my system page.

But I've been thinking about Fritz and Quicksilver for an odd reason. There's an interesting guy on YouTube, Andy Edwards. He's a drummer and teacher with interestingly provocative analyses of rock, jazz, and music. Recently in a video entitled "Ten things non-musicians get wrong about music," he was pointing out how the music industry tends to advance very select fractions of talented people. There is a tremendous funneling effect that excludes a huge percentage of talented people. They are better than many of the most popular musicians, but they cannot get a hearing. They have to make a living in other ways -- but they are extraordinarily talented, nonetheless. This tends to skew the public perception of what a good musician is because people hear what they hear and then celebrate it because it's what they know. Subjective bias leads to (false) objective estimations of how good musicians can be. (Take one case in point: Kazuhito Yamashita. Look him up. Staggering genius on the guitar who didn't become a worldwide phenomenon.) 

This made me think about two of the pieces in my system -- Fritz speakers and Quicksilver amps. They are complete unknowns to 99% of the buying public, and if you look around on YouTube or other media, it's pretty hard to find much promotion. It's all word of mouth, and even if they did advertise, who would hear them? With Klipsch and Focal and Yamaha et al. taking up most of the available attention economy, how could their message get through? 

I am so grateful to the members of this forum for helping guide me to Fritz and Quicksilver. They are the most listenable, comfortable, and high-quality gear I've owned. I've heard amazing things about other brands -- such as Audio Note -- but I'm paying for college, soon for two kids, and that just ain't happening. These are not the best things money can buy, but as value propositions, you really cannot do better, IMHO.

For those whose ears are perking up about Fritz for the first time, I have done two reviews of what I think is his better speaker, the Carbon 7 SE MKII. 

Written -- https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/review-fritz-heiler-s-carbon-7-se-mk-2-bookshelf-speakers?

Video -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpI6eAvc4_M

I've tried them with everything: they're tube friendly (Quicksilver, 60w); they're class D friendly (DIY Hypex-based amp, 275W); they're class A friendly (Pass XA-25, about 25-80w); they're class AB friendly (Adcom, Akitika, 60w). 

I like them because if I focus in on them, they perform but if I just want them on in the background, they're lovely that way, too. 

Hope everyone has a good 2025. 

128x128hilde45
decooney
2,099 posts
 

@hilde45 ...but if I just want them on in the background, they're lovely that way, too. 

 

It's a great point, leaving them on in the background, being able to walk around the house listening while doing various things. Just leaving it on and not having to sit in front of a system is desirable too.   I miss the old days systems where we just flip it on and leave it on not worrying about over-heated Class A amps or high $ tubes burning down. Its the OCD side or frugal side some of us have, I'll admit it :) 

I'm revisiting what I refer to as [new value tubes vs NOS] and integrated SS amplifiers too as a result. Some of my older Sansui integrateds were the best.  Kinda miss that era. Seemed less complex, so easy, fun listening.  

The Fritz Carbons are a speaker I've referred to friends based your reviews @hilde45. Finding such a speaker you can just let play and enjoy with different amps is pretty darn cool.  Thanks for all of your time and energy on this @hilde45 

middlemass
921 posts
 

Never had the opportunity to experience Fritz but Quicksilver is another story...everything Sanders produces is just outstanding by any measure.

neonknight
393 posts
 

Heck I remember Quicksilver from the 1980s I believe? Their 8417 based amps were highly regarded and sought after. Never owned them but I did have a pair of Silver 90 monos.

bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,852 posts
 

 

An excellent post @hilde45!

 

Most of my favorite artists these days are known only to their small, cult-level audience, whose members tend to be older music lovers. But in exchange for being fewer in number, they are more faithful in their love. Flash-in-the-pans come and go, fading away as quickly as they rose to stardom, but a lot of superior artists soldier on, year after year, making one great album after another. They never make a fortune, one reason they keep working! By the way, Nick Lowe has a new album out. He actually DID make a fortune from one of his songs---"(What’s So Funny ’Bout) Peace, Love, And Understanding." He’s out on the road now, backed by Los Straitjackets.

 

The hi-fi business has it’s equivalent; small, often 1-man operations, where the designer is often also the one making the product. Roger Modjeski of Music Reference even wound his own transformers. By the way, Mike Sanders of Quicksilver was one amplifier designer/builder whom Roger expressed admiration of. Tim DeParacini of EAR-Yoshino was another.

 

I have made bringing to the attention of Audiogon members the Eminent Technology LFT loudspeakers---a planar-magnetic loudspeaker sharing some similarities with the far better known Magnepan models---a project of mine. I’ll guess that Magnepan sells at least a thousand pair of Maggies to every pair of LFT-8’s ET sells, in spite of the fact that---imo---the LFT-8b is far superior to the MG1.7i, though the two are almost identical in price. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. wink

 

mark200mph
230 posts
 

Have a set of quicksilver on my voice of theater and work great.my lft 8b require more wattage.have talked to the owner developer of eminent technologies.he is very supportive and smart.clearly they are undervalued.as are the quicksilvers.enjoy the music stay healthy.

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