threee threads on Ken Fritz merged, 
diyAudio moderation team
A remarkable DIY audiophile journey by a remarkable man, Ken Fritz
diyAudio moderation teamA remarkable DIY audiophile journey by a remarkable man, Ken Fritz
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IMO this isn't DIY at all. It's WIY (Wire It Youself). No one electronic built or designed; like most modern ham radio unfortunately: buy, wire and listen. No minimal effort to know about electronics.
Despite having almost unlimited funds (Rick was a very hard working and successful business man) I admire the hands on dedication to DIY that he had -
From the foundations up... Rick and his son poured the concrete foundation for the dedicated listening room... He designed the whole thing based on multiple inputs from experienced and qualified experts and then adapted all that knowledge to suit his own audio and aesthetic criteria... 5 years of researching and construction and over this time he bought just about every conceivable saw, power tool and specialized finishing tools and polishers available so he could do as much of the work as possible ... Talk about hands on, respect!
Thats before he even started the loudspeakers... Line source design and driver selection and crossover design is a huge task on its own, plus the very complex and physically demanding cabinet design and construction and finishing.... Over two years...Every detail from polymer selection, timber, finishing, cabling were meticulously researched and tested.... Even testing the grill materials!
Rick was also a great family man and I am sure they are all very proud of his remarkable achievements in business, in life and in DIY audio.
From the foundations up... Rick and his son poured the concrete foundation for the dedicated listening room... He designed the whole thing based on multiple inputs from experienced and qualified experts and then adapted all that knowledge to suit his own audio and aesthetic criteria... 5 years of researching and construction and over this time he bought just about every conceivable saw, power tool and specialized finishing tools and polishers available so he could do as much of the work as possible ... Talk about hands on, respect!
Thats before he even started the loudspeakers... Line source design and driver selection and crossover design is a huge task on its own, plus the very complex and physically demanding cabinet design and construction and finishing.... Over two years...Every detail from polymer selection, timber, finishing, cabling were meticulously researched and tested.... Even testing the grill materials!
Rick was also a great family man and I am sure they are all very proud of his remarkable achievements in business, in life and in DIY audio.
How about that turntable Osvaldo, what make and model is it and where can i buy it?
The speakers systems, the phono stage and the room are massive DIY projects. Not to mention the furniture and the clocks.
The electronics are Krell.
The electronics are Krell.
And I was afraid at one time that I was obsessed. However to this day, everything other than the tuner, CD player, and server are hand built by me. I designed the control amp/sound processor based on many existing circuits.
But my system would be practical even in an apartment. You could move it easily in a small car with one person, one trip. My thing is maximum bang for the size.
Maybe contributing this behemoth system to a university would have been a thing to do. It might have been great set up in a large auditorium.
But my system would be practical even in an apartment. You could move it easily in a small car with one person, one trip. My thing is maximum bang for the size.
Maybe contributing this behemoth system to a university would have been a thing to do. It might have been great set up in a large auditorium.
What I find most astonishing is that appears to have spent zero on room treatment...
That's about the same temp. a couple of days ago here with the wind chill. Short dog walks. 🙂
About -2C here at the moment.
jeff
About -2C here at the moment.
jeff
I'm not sure I am suprised that custom made stuff is only worth about 15% of the build cost? That sounds about normal unless I am missing something?
Only the lovers would pay anything to have a piece of that. The rest is: Meh.
Me?
I’ma gonna make millions off of my stored items!
Cerially!
Honestly, I have about 10 items that I will make a decent increase over the investment.
We do it for us, not others.
I walked in to my darling’s woman cave and was overwhelmed with how many speakers (I mean clothes) she had in there.
Me?
I’ma gonna make millions off of my stored items!
Cerially!
Honestly, I have about 10 items that I will make a decent increase over the investment.
We do it for us, not others.
I walked in to my darling’s woman cave and was overwhelmed with how many speakers (I mean clothes) she had in there.
As a general thing, I'm often surprised when I see people who spend huge amounts of money on their gear, but use it in a room that's furnished like a large prison cell with hard flat surfaces everywhere.
Even with my modest system, I found room treatment made a big difference. Mine is all DIY, and I was given some of the materials by a friendly builder, so it cost me very little. But even commercial room treatment units can be cheap compared to top-end audio gear - and even just a small number of well-positioned diffusers and/or absorbers can have a significant impact.
Remember seeing on the cross country weather re-cap that for several days last week Iqaluit was “warmer” than Victoria.
Just came back from a short dog free walk myself, a balmy 0C at the moment.
As for Ken, the WP article was certainly a cautionary tale; in short, be as obsessed with whatever your hobby / lifetime goal(s) may be, but don’t be a dick. Sounds like he learned that far too late.
Sure beats the -10C with a 20kph ESE breeze. 😉
No surprise, Ringo doesn't seem to mind the cold.
jeff
No surprise, Ringo doesn't seem to mind the cold.
jeff