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

I was a hair length away from purchasing a Fritz Carbon 7 SE MKII before leaving for TG holiday out of town and found a heavily discounted demo Audel Magika MKII made in Sicily similarly by a 1 man operation.  The birch plywood quasi transmission-like design intrigued me as did the drivers used (SB Acoustics and Seas) so after reading the reviews I made the purchase. Both the Audel and Fritz use drivers while different, cost similarly if purchased separately. 

The next day they were sent out but 2 days later Fritz runs a sale that while still more than the Audels, I would have jumped on.  I did consider it but I made a lot of purchases for the holidays and needed the dust to settle as well as selling off my larger/older gear first.  

I wanted smaller speakers but there really are none in the size I want that matches what a somewhat larger standmount offers.  Looked at other brands as well and am not regretful of buying the Audels.  They are nice sounding speakers, transparent enough and easy to listen too and if anything given the reviews and forums, the Fritz would be somewhat smoother, definitely different as the Audels are quite unique in certain ways from what I was used too.  Don't know if the Fritz are so much better, still they likely would be the next purchase in speakers if I decide to buy another set even over highly regarded others I had looked at as contenders.

Right now, looking at possible end game amps whether integrated/amp/pre or monoblocks and if one of the brands I am considering makes a (for me preferable) class D integrated with balanced inputs, that would be perfect for size, weight and simplicity.  That brand is Atma-Sphere and I suppose, other companies may offer high performing class D in the coming months or year as well in that form.  Hopefully anyhow. 

Will have to save diligently for what for me would be end game over and done for amp/dac and speakers (I know we all say that).  

So, for the time being, I will enjoy the Audels with my modest CA-1 and D70s while selling off my other gear.

@hilde45 yeah, for me I wouldn't characterize his speakers as "cheap" in price or budget. He did just have a cyber sale on US Audiomart...the Carbon 7 SE MKii for $2200. Which I watched a stellar review of them on the YouTube. Personally I don't consider $2200 cheap either..but from what I read/heard about them I get the feeling that all of his speaker designs have a somewhat similar sound signature in the midrange/upper frequency & amplifier friendly phase response. 

When I mentioned a smidge emphasis on the upper half of the frequency response I didn't mean it as a tilt or rise in that area. It's a very clear & open, effortless vocal/midrange area & upper frequency. It is different in a good way vs many other bookshelves I've owned. My Fritz pair has the newer Revelator 7 inch driver, SE crossover & the Illuminator soft dome..not the ring tweeter with the little hersheys kiss wave guide. I don't know if it's the tweeter or the series crossover (probably both) but it is the best tweeter I've ever heard in my home. 

I see and hear the value of his years of experience & the tweaking of his designs. We all have different preferences in sound & what we like but if someone is in the market in these price ranges I would recommend to give Fritz a call and inquire about his goods. I'm really not trying to come off as a schill to other readers. I think Fritz is a brand that is at least worth a listen..just as much as any other speaker out there. 

At one point I had both Fritz Carrerra BE's (Fritz brought 'em around to my apartment and we hung out for a few hours) and a Quicksilver Headphone Amp. I've since upgraded both, but those were both excellent in quality and value.... 

I've been very happy with my Fritz Carbon 6s which I drive with a 5 Watt/channel tube amp. They play nice together- I have them in my bedroom system. The speakers also work great with our class D amps; we showed with the Carbon 7s at AXPONA in 2023.

@corelli Did an extended comparison of Fritz with the Akitika GT-102 Z4 vs. the Pass Labs XA-25. There was no comparison -- with the Pass: bass tighter, greater clarity in the soundstage, wider soundstage, more presence.

That said, the Akitika really surprises you when you first turn it on. It is a $625 kit (this one is maxed out with $350 in additional parts) and really sounds fantastic. Of course, the Pass is in another league, so not really a fair fight. I’m selling the Akitika.

For anyone curious, the Akitika was maxed out, thus: "The unit is internally dampened, has upgraded VH audio hookup wiring throughout (roughly $100 worth), plus Pulsar CUii signal wire ($80/m). All caps upgraded including a new massive Muse cap for power ($85 cap alone), BPs on the boards and all components matched during the build. Copper lugs, gold plated speaker terminals, Cardas silver solder and more. With the chip shortage these were sold with clone chips for a while - however this amp has genuine TI chips inside."