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RONNIE THACKERAY
5124 NAPOLEON DR.
N.CHARLESTON,S.C.29418

Dear RONNIE,,

I used to be a die hard FRIED PRODUCTS INC. speaker fan and user. I still own two sets. In my bedroom is a pair of BETA's with a matching dual voice coil subwoofer also BETA series. I used to have a pair of FRIED series
C5's Satellites and matching D2'sSubwoofers in my living room. Since hearing and purchasing a set of your custom speakers,the FRIEDS now are collecting dust in a corner of the bedroom. I don't understand how you can design and build a set of 2 way speakers that sound BETTER than the FRIEDS full range. Your speakers are cleaner and more dynamic especially at lower volumes. My living room isn't as large as a concert hall so I don't play my system too loud. The FRIEDS had to be turned up in volume to reach full dynamic range. The midrange and bass seemed to be a little flat at lower volume. On the other hand, your speakers are clean and responsive full range. I also had a chance to hear your speakers in a very large room, a club actually , and I was shocked at how good they sounded in such a open area.
Ronnie, I don't begin to understand the technical end of speaker building,but I do think I have a pretty good ear for quality. Your speakers are it and its plain to see or hear that you do thoughly understand the art.

Sincerely, R.H. Ricks

I'm finally getting around to sending you an email with some comments on the CA5Ls now that I've had some time to listen to them. My first impression of thesespeakers, even before I bought them, was basically, they're only $325, what have I got to lose? Well, everything if I hadn't tried them! When I first unpacked them they struck me as smaller than I had expected. Then I hooked them up to my "system". Wow. At that time my first "reviewer's comment"was that these outperformed anything I have had the opportunity to listen toin their price range and up to TWICE their price! Now, after having themfor a few weeks, I can say that with even more conviction. Listening to them this weekend just made me smile at the thought of all the money this chance discovery of CarolinaAudio saved me. The most descriptive and noticeable attribute to the speakers can still be summed up in one word - quoted from you, Ronnie: "Dynamics". I think this is more noticeable with movies since they tend to have more varied
soundtracks with speaking to explosions and such. Sparks are really going to fly when I get my separate amp to go along with my preamp that's been in storage for a 2 years! I can't seem to say enough about these little gems - I can't wait to hear them with the subs and hear the new sats too! I guess the best praise I can give you is that I tell everyone I talk to now about them whenever the
conversation turns to audio and/or home theater. They start naming off popular brand-name speakers and I say "Go to CarolinaAudio.com. Talk to Ronnie and have him tell you about his hand built, made on order speakers that will outperform anything in their price range." Actually I explain to them that you don't brag about your speakers and that the performance is my
personal testimony. If the person I'm talking to is an audio nut as well, Iask them where else you can find hand-built and finished speakers with hand-soldered crossovers for the anywhere near the prices Ronnie sells them for.
Finally, about how long will it take you to build me a pair of the subs?

William Webb
Cisco Systems, Inc.
ICSG - Systems Architecture
bwebb@cisco.com

From: bwebb@cisco.com (William Webb)
To: RThack7148@aol.com

I had some time to listen this weekend. They definitely seemed to "open up"after maybe 25-30 minutes of use. There may have been some effect from the amps as well - they haven't really been worked up until now.They certainly have the potential to produce a LOT of volume, but once I put the CA5Ls up on some play stools from my son's side of the room (they were just about perfect height), the match was terrific - the 5Ls were definitely not "overpowered" by the lower frequencies from the sub. I have a few choice cuts in my music library that my audio-nut buddies and I still use to test the lower limits of a speaker, just like we did in college. It would be a grave understatement to say that I was not disappointed. Not only did I find that there was some information I have NEVER heard before (and I thought my old Phase Techs had decent low end response), but I was taken by the amount of control they had. I remember being pretty impressed with some of Velodyne's first powered subs, but unless I never heard them "properly set up" or something, I always found that when the information became pretty loud and/or busy (fast paced drum hits or heavy gunfire in a movie, etc.) they turned into mud. Much less than most other subs, but I think still a
limitation of their "distortion correction" circuit.
Again, I must admit that a movie was the more revealing media in this case. A buddy of mine had a $1200 Velodyne F-1200 12" powered sub - one of their best at the time. It seemed that we could only get the thing to work 2 ways with surround sound: either volume matched to the main speakers as well as we could get which yielded little output (I assumed it was just "too clean") or with the volume much higher in reference to the mains and the crossover limit as high as we could adjust it (I think it was around 80Hz, 12db/octave - it may have been 24db/octave). This setup produced output to the point of ridiculous. I vividly remember watching a basketball game once with this setup - this was off satellite TV: while a player was dribbling, every time the ball hit the court it sounded like a deep, resonant bass hit! And even in this extreme mode, the system was still missing impact - the notes that are almost like mid-bass hits that you can feel in your chest.
Before this, the only systems I have ever heard that could do this were tuned-port systems - and usually ones with drivers smaller than 12". But these fell short in ultimate low frequency response, and were also prone to "muddying" and not being able to keep up with the source material.
So now that I have again clogged your mailbox with an ungodly long email - here's my point: I can honestly say that these are as close to perfection as I've heard so far. My setup is far from perfect yet, but as far as the characteristics I crave, these babies have 'em all. Great low frequency extension - I dare say better than the Velodyne F-1200, which claimed -3db at 20Hz, great "attack", if that's what you call it - the hard hitting upper-bass notes that you can feel like a tap in the chest, and fantastic volume matching with the satellites (or the CA5Ls in this case). I watched "A Bug's Life" on DVD, since it's the only one I own right now, and there are spots where I would normally expect unnatural bass that was not intended in the soundtrack. Not so with these subs. The movie turned out to be the first thing I played since I was in charge of Isaac at the time I finished hooking them up. I experienced exactly what you said - because I was expecting some artificial response, I thought I had hooked up the subs wrong. Then it came to a scene where they made themselves known. I think I said the same words you did: "Oh, there it is!" As I played them more, the response just kept getting better, but never artificial. I have completed the transition to die-hard transmission line, first order series x-over fanatic. Thank you!
! Talk to you soon!
- Bill

Subj:a satisfied customer...
Date:4/1/2002 2:01:23 PM Eastern Standard Time
From:sosborn@bestweb.net
To:ronnie@carolinaaudio.com
Sent from the Internet (Details)

Hey Ronnie...

I just wanted to write a note saying how delighted I am with all the help you've provided me over the last few months.
Your modifications to my Fried Studio 5's, both drivers and crossovers, have transformed them from a very good to a truly excellent loudspeaker. My wife thanks you too, not so mush for the mods, but for banishing any thoughts I had of relegating them to the basement.
I also want to thank you for putting together a transmission line enclosurefor the Jordan jx92s driver. This speaker has been existing in my mind for some time and it is great to finally hear it! It is an amazing little speaker (satellite) that has caused me to run around looking for an amp worthy of its clarity and cohesiveness.There is something very special about it.
Finally, thanks for building a 6XL for my friend in New York City. I often recommend speakers to friends needing new speakers, and finally I can offer them the same thing that I have in my living room: well built and terrific sounding transmission line speakers. I have to say that the cabinet of the 6XL is as near to as perfect an enclosure that I've heard and has made me wonder what my Fried cabinets would sound like if you had built them.

Good luck to you!

Sincerely,

Steve Osborn
Stoutridge Vineyard

Subj:JX92 Floorstander
Date:6/5/2002 8:34:53 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Ronnie,

I didn't want to keep you in suspense about the speakers. I think they are
astonishing! The workmanship is first-rate, and the sound is up there with the best I've heard over the 25 odd years I've been in this hobby;
actually, in my system anyway, it is simply some of the best sound I've
ever heard. My Quads are up for sale. So, you will get a check for the
balance remaining before the 3 week trial period is up. Please send
me some sort of receipt for my records when you get the check. Thanks for
doing what you do!

Stew Glick

ps I realize you are trying to keep your costs down, but just to mention,
I for one would pay a bit more if the packaging were more 'user-friendly'
when it comes to unpacking the speakers. I am very meticulous, and I
sweated bullets to get that tape, etc., off while making sure not to damage
the speakers themselves. Just thought I would mention that. On the plus side, they were wrapped well enough so as to withstand UPS without a scratch. When I finally had them unwrapped, so astounded was I at the quality of the workmanship that I was thinking I might have to keep the
just for that reason alone. That they also perform as astonishingly as
they do came as quite a shock!!!