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So, you think you’re an audiophile?


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I lifted this post from another forum ( https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=303204 )but thought it might be of interest here.  Not sure if this has ever been posted here - I did a quick forum search and found no history.  The WAPO article is a cautionary tale.  Hope the links work.
Please pardon me if this is a repost.

 

 

Ken Fritz. Approximately $1,000,000 USD. 27 years. A very custom 1,650 square foot addition to his house. 35,000 watt amplifiers. A 1,500 pound (680 kg) turntable with three arms. Three 10 foot main speakers, four 7 foot surround speakers, 24 subwoofers.

Just one little excerpt -

Quote:

“He crafted by hand the three 10-foot speakers that loomed like alien monoliths at the head of the room, with the help of Paul Gibson, a former employee at his fiberglass company. Each 1,400-pound slab pulsed with 24 cone drivers for the deeper tones and 40 tweeters — 30 shooting into the room, 10 toward the crimson curtains draping the wall behind — to project the upper-range sounds.”

 

Gift link. Possibly time limited.

https://wapo.st/47ErwZI
https://wapo.st/47ErwZI

Video


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4b2IOOhJmxw

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I've seen this before, maybe here.  Very interesting and would love to achieve something this large. I like how he talks about restricting yourself.  I don't have the cash flow, but I definitely have the ambition. 

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16 hours ago, sputnik said:

I lifted this post from another forum ( https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=303204 )but thought it might be of interest here.  Not sure if this has ever been posted here - I did a quick forum search and found no history.  The WAPO article is a cautionary tale.  Hope the links work.
Please pardon me if this is a repost.

 

 

Ken Fritz. Approximately $1,000,000 USD. 27 years. A very custom 1,650 square foot addition to his house. 35,000 watt amplifiers. A 1,500 pound (680 kg) turntable with three arms. Three 10 foot main speakers, four 7 foot surround speakers, 24 subwoofers.

Just one little excerpt -

Quote:

“He crafted by hand the three 10-foot speakers that loomed like alien monoliths at the head of the room, with the help of Paul Gibson, a former employee at his fiberglass company. Each 1,400-pound slab pulsed with 24 cone drivers for the deeper tones and 40 tweeters — 30 shooting into the room, 10 toward the crimson curtains draping the wall behind — to project the upper-range sounds.”

 

Gift link. Possibly time limited.

https://wapo.st/47ErwZI
https://wapo.st/47ErwZI

Video


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4b2IOOhJmxw

Seems money is not an issue here. 🙄

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Nice video, thanks for posting.
Cool to hear, a couple of times (13:18 & 23:21), the tubular chimes from his clock.

His woodworking shop and furniture proves that he was a real hands-on producer, not someone who waited for others to do it for him. Not everybody has what looks like a 2-yard concrete mixer in their garages in case they want to do a weekend project. 

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4 hours ago, the real Duke Spinner said:

Seems money is not an issue here. 🙄

Yeah, it cost him more than money but it sounds like he was willing to pay that price too according to the article.  Drove his first wife to drinking, oldest estranged son wished him a slow death, and he simply alienated the rest.  After he died, the whole shooting match was pieced out for fifteen cents on the dollar.  Sad end to a sad story.

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25 minutes ago, Woofers and Tweeters said:

Nice video, thanks for posting.
Cool to hear, a couple of times (13:18 & 23:21), the tubular chimes from his clock.

His woodworking shop and furniture proves that he was a real hands-on producer, not someone who waited for others to do it for him. Not everybody has what looks like a 2-yard concrete mixer in their garages in case they want to do a weekend project. 


The big clocks made me think of Dark Side of the Moon.  Would’ve been incredible to listen to that in there.

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12 minutes ago, sputnik said:


The big clocks made me think of Dark Side of the Moon.  Would’ve been incredible to listen to that in there.

I didn't picture listening to Time, and better yet, the whole LP, there, but you're right, that would be cool. Time does start with an assortment of chimes, mostly bell and spring chimes, but there are some tubular notes in there too. 

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