Any Fried model R fans??

[luvmusik]

Here is a typical Fried Signature series badge. Variants of these were seen on the front grill or backplate of different models, starting with the 1st signature - the Model R series II.
The R/2 however, simply had "Fried" as the front grill badge, but "signature" on the backplate of factory releases.

Serial #'s are sometimes misleading. For Model R, usually the 1st 3 digits of the serial # are the year date made...my Fried Model R series 1 were made in 1974, and the s/n is R07417. We think this means they are the 17th pair made in 1974. This code is reported by many owners over many years. There may be variations to this code, as maybe our posted diagrams could suggest - but those serial numbers on diagrams could also be that the series 2 crossover "kit" was sold to the owner of that (diagram) serial number of series 1 owner. But, knowing the date speaker was made should tell if it's a series I or II type.

The british IMF Model R is posted on AK in the IMF Owners Thread ! in my June 18, 2015 post. For now, it is on page 36 post # 709, but over time post & page numbers can change due to deleting posts, if any... The 6/18/15 date stays put.

Fried Model R series I owners had the option to upgrade their speakers to series II when series 2 were released. The series 2 crossover kit was available for a short time for purchase to upgrade, then later, the tweeter circuit modification kit was available to buy for all Model R I and II owners for the final mod.

Very long time since posting last on AK for me, rarely get here, but it is fun to see a new Model R owner enjoying & upgrading his set.

@Robint, please let us know the sound difference heard from the tweet circuit mod, and any info you can detail on crossover - part numbers, part markings, zoomed fotos, measured crossover Hz woof to mid, inductor values, etc. Thanks !
Frank

 

[Robint]

So if the first 3 digits refer to year then series 2 began with the 48 unit of 1971. Mine are 25 unit of 1972 and the tweeter mod had not taken place. The series 1 & 2 had the 3 position switch on the rear. Mine just say Model "R" on the rear, nothing about Signature Series. The series 3 were made England and only have a 2 position switch. Doom posted picture of the Series 3 signature speaker. Doing a google picture search the latest serial number I saw R07553 and it just said Model "R" on the terminal plate. There is no residue on the back of where a sticker might have been. I do plan on recapping one and comparing with the other, and I will research measuring inductors.

 

[hifitommy]

i can tell you that mine have the "impulse" control, 3 position switch, neutral, plus, and minus. i always have liked mine on plus.

 

[luvmusik]

The initial production of original Model R dating is somewhat unclear.

Bud printed it was "released" in USA in 1975, but models did sell before that; at times he misprinted some some minor details.

There are receipts in 1974 showing the R sale. As the IMF & Fried companies went thru the transition period, the original R may have been the british version, but possibly only Bud's design.

I remember the USA launch in the early '70's & heard them the year available.

S/N's starting 071xx to 073xx are unclear, thus as said earlier, serial #'s can't always be trusted. It may be these early sets or parts still were arriving from UK & possibly assembled in USA. Or, the early s/n's may have no dating significance.

Here is the best dating data we know so far...

IMF or then Fried Model R original series 1 started in early 1970's up to @ January 1976, first made in England, then Fried made in USA later. Only difference between branding was cosmetic - brand badging, plus IMF had a lighter wood color finish (same as their other models) and a lighter black-greyish grill cover cloth. Fried had their typical darker wood color finish & black grill cloth. The IMF-R cost a little more than the Fried-R, and both brands were available for a short time, until all were then Fried.

Fried Model R series 2 signature was made between 1976 to @ May 1978, made in USA.

Fried Model R/3 was made mid 1978 to 1984 in England.

Fried Model R/4 was made 1988 to 1993, not sure of the gap between series 3 & 4, and not sure what country R/4 was made in.

Fried model R/5 was made 1993 to 1995, and not sure what country it was made in.

Some others know the missing info (country made, etc), as they own those models.

The best way to know if a speaker is Model R series II signature is to compare the crossover appearance and 200 Hz inflection point of woofer & parts to original series 1 crossover. Fotos of series 1 xovers are on the web. A series 1 that is modified with the series 2 crossover "kit" is indeed then a true series 2 Model R, however the backplate still appears as model R series I.

Hope this is helpful !

 

[luvmusik]

PS-
for me personally, the reason I really like the R series I and II is because of the "magic" of the B-139 oval racetrack woofer. This classic driver was in many notable british/european loudspeakers and I also have the B-139 here in a large set of IMF loudspeakers. It is a sensationally realistic woofer; the B-139 was also in the original Wilson WAMM model, an exotic very hi-end loudspeaker.

 

[sax6]

I think I know there is at least one other AKer that owns a pair. I'd like to hear a set of Frieds, I know the Model Rs are nice speakers. Bud apparently designed them with an inherent bass hump to make them more exciting.

I'm sure our resident Fried nut and expert, sm19422 will chime in.

Fried speakers with a bass hump ??? >> sacrilege sayin that

 

[luvmusik]

Here is what Bud told me about the Fried Model R "bass bump". This post was 5 years ago, earlier in this thread.....4th paragraph down....."bass bump".....

Had just stumbled upon this thread today, so was happy to share previous post and very happy for attachments finding their rightful home.

Mortsnets, you are very fortunate ! You have the prize-winning series II specific model, if they are indeed series IIi ! I have heard that model fresh when issued new. The serial number may indicate that. Don't sell those ! If you want a real treat and your front lower foam is missing at the vent - please get the proper replacemement foam to put in and give that a whirl ! This will really change the sound, but control it so much better in bass presentation. The open-vent, with some removing the foam, if so, is done a lot with R's and some like that -it gives an entirely different aspect of the speaker.

But, try it -some AKer's here or on the IMF owners thread can direct you to the exact foam replacement - very important the replica foam is chosen -it's cheap. I used to know, but age has me forgotten it & even where I filed that info ! Be open to the fact that the bass will really be different & very clean, and astoundingly more articulate due to the resistive line-loading engineered for the cabinet design, but possibly difficult to change from accustomed sound -you just pop the foam in or out at will, per preference. Bud describes this effect for R's in his letters. Those letters are around, and one database recently lost them all unfortunately. If experimenting, please let us know your impressions, if choosing this easy experiment.

I like my R series I with the foam intact, and only had one opportunity to speak with Bud while he was with us about the design. One misconception he clarified was the "bass bump" he intentionally incorporated into the R design in the mid-bass region. As an aside, but related to topic, very many speakers possess this bump to some extent because folks like it & it makes music appealing. Bud was aware of this & was totally into linear bandwidth sound across the full frequency spectrum. For R series, he told me that he just applied a very tiny, little tad bit of bump in the mid-bass region due to popular appeal, without subtracting from the linearity he desired. It was walking a tightrope, with precise application, so as not to over compensate and not result in audible coloration. Many speak of this R bump like it is slightly colored, only based on fact that Bud designed a "slight" mid-bass bump in the R's. It is actually hardly audible & seen on measurement. It is ever so "slight" to reiterate Bud's words. People just loved the speaker for so many reasons & R's sold like crazy, a top seller. In Bud's words..."people really loved that speaker". Great guy, very warm, understanding, appreciative and genuine. He was firm in belief and helped tailor much for audio.

Hunter00, if you think it helps, I believe the mods (thru your PM) can slightly adjust the thread title to leaving out the "Ant", it may get more views as "Fried Model R fans??" Only a suggestion, no disrespect intended, I hit wrong keys all the time. Just a thought.

 

[Robint]

So I did the tweeter mod first and my wife and daughter both preferred the modified speaker stated it was louder. I then modified the other speaker. Have been waiting for the 33uf caps from Parts Express. They notified they wouldn't be here until the end of August, but they turned up a week ago. So I recapped one speaker and compared them. The wife preferred the un-modified speaker stated it was louder. Today recapped the other speaker and have a couple of hours on them. Enjoying the sound immensely! Bought a cheap lcr meter from Amazon. While recapping measured the three iron cored inductors. Started on the two air cored inductors when the trace began to lift, so decided to stop and put the speaker back into operation before I damaged it. When I have a day off next week I will pull the other board and measure inductance.

 

[luvmusik]

Thanks for posting great fotos and info.

It's cool you're doing the mods...did you hear any sonic difference in the tweeter mod besides the volume ?

Also interested in the inductance measurement when able to get to that, if possible !

Very nice work !

 

[JimPA]

The initial production of original Model R dating is somewhat unclear.

Bud printed it was "released" in USA in 1975, but models did sell before that; at times he misprinted some some minor details.

There are receipts in 1974 showing the R sale. As the IMF & Fried companies went thru the transition period, the original R may have been the british version, but possibly only Bud's design.

I remember the USA launch in the early '70's & heard them the year available.

S/N's starting 071xx to 073xx are unclear, thus as said earlier, serial #'s can't always be trusted. It may be these early sets or parts still were arriving from UK & possibly assembled in USA. Or, the early s/n's may have no dating significance.

Here is the best dating data we know so far...

IMF or then Fried Model R original series 1 started in early 1970's up to @ January 1976, first made in England, then Fried made in USA later. Only difference between branding was cosmetic - brand badging, plus IMF had a lighter wood color finish (same as their other models) and a lighter black-greyish grill cover cloth. Fried had their typical darker wood color finish & black grill cloth. The IMF-R cost a little more than the Fried-R, and both brands were available for a short time, until all were then Fried.

Fried Model R series 2 signature was made between 1976 to @ May 1978, made in USA.

Fried Model R/3 was made mid 1978 to 1984 in England.

Fried Model R/4 was made 1988 to 1993, not sure of the gap between series 3 & 4, and not sure what country R/4 was made in.

Fried model R/5 was made 1993 to 1995, and not sure what country it was made in.

Some others know the missing info (country made, etc), as they own those models.

The best way to know if a speaker is Model R series II signature is to compare the crossover appearance and 200 Hz inflection point of woofer & parts to original series 1 crossover. Fotos of series 1 xovers are on the web. A series 1 that is modified with the series 2 crossover "kit" is indeed then a true series 2 Model R, however the backplate still appears as model R series I.

Hope this is helpful !

All of the modern Fried Products speakers were made in the USA by local cabinet makers.
There was one in Philadelphia.

Once I talked to a Fried dealer in North Carolina who used a local cabinet maker to assemble the kits and make the enclosures.

Fried's former west coast dealer in California handled all sales west of the Mississippi River used a local cabinet maker.

During the mid 1990's Fried had a partner who bought into the company.
I am not sure where the enclosures were made but it as local.
The finished speakers had the crossovers made and drivers installed in Norristown, PA.

Back in the late 1990's one former Fried Products owner partner was building the enclosures in Michigan.
The C6L, D2, O6L and A6 models.
He had a CNC machine.for cutting the wood.

I know that Fried designed some speakers for NAD in the early 1980's.
No idea where they were made.
I heard a pair at a Viking Camera and audio store.
There use to be a photo of the model on the IMF website fried.
I was disappointed in their sound.
They were nothing like the other Fried Products speakers.

One thing I know is that Fried's later speaker designs using series crossovers and improved drivers are the most accurate.

You might enjoy reading this.
index.php

 

[luvmusik]

@JimPA

Hi Jim,

Cool info. Thanks for link to that other forum, I never read there before.

It's been a really long time since posting about gear, years for me until this thread resurfaced again.

Might you know any details about the difference between the original 1st Fried Model R and the IMF badged Model R that I described ?

As we're both in Pennsy, the shops were not far from you, but in the Lehigh Valley.

That 1st year of issue, my friends & I would 1st listen to the IMF badged R at Sound Advice in Emmaus (super shop), then right away drive 20 minutes into Allentown to hear & compare the Fried badged Model R (as we all know it now), I forget which shop, but it may have been either Harte's (I believe) or maybe ? Gordons ? Other than front gear, the 2 different badged speakers sounded the same. Sound Advice was using fine Bongiorno GAS Ampzilla amp & Thaedra pre (sweet) and also Quad preamp & amp combo there too. I forget what the Fried shop used as front gear.

We could not hear a difference & 2 of my friends bought the Fried as it was priced a little lower & honestly looked better too. The cabinets were the same size, IMF-R had the lighter wood finish typical of their other models & a lighter grill cloth - badged IMF on front grill and back plate said IMF Model R. There used to be fotos of it on the web, but are likely salvaged thru a "web archives" search, it was long ago. The Fried-R looks as we all know it, darker wood finish & black grill cloth, badged Fried on front and Model R on backplate. After about 6 months, the IMF badged R model was no longer available.

Do you think they simply swapped internal crossover parts & drivers here in USA, if local cabinet makers were used ? When we took the grill covers off, all drivers were the same (from external viewpoint), in same arrangement and same foam in bottom front slot. I wonder if the IMF-R cabinets were made here in USA or shipped in wood panels from England & assembled here, if not shipped already constructed from England (& thus priced a little more).

PS, years ago I was lucky to grab a pair of Fried "The Subwoofer" subs, which are now in storage. Intend to run them R & L sides together with pair of EPI Stat450 hybrid dynamic/electrostatic speakers.

Also, might you know if all the information from the IMF(-Fried-TDL-) site was totally lost, or did Manfred or Stephane or others save all that data ? I don't need any documents, but it would be cool if it could be read again on the web. I read that it was lost, but hopefully it exists somewhere & will be back up on the web someday. The IMF-Fried enthusiast "group" went through many different host sites & participation really dropped. One site was really hard to navigate & now it's on a newer site. I used to keep in touch with Jerry from Falcon & Johan from the group, but I mostly dropped off forums for a couple years.

 

[yesshows77]

I hope mccarty350 is able to get those R's he mentioned in an earlier thread, as his former pair of R/II's that he restored sounded magnificent. Recently, I was demoing a pair of the IMF version of the R/II's at a friend's place that I was considering for purchase along with a pair of IMF ALS-40 II's he had and was a little disappointed with both (I ended up buying his ADS L1090/2's instead). I have seen some R/4's listed on the auction site within driving distance but the asking price is too high. Does anyone have experience with those and can advise as to if they sound decidedly better than an R/II? I really need to add a set of Fried's to the hoard.

 

[JimPA]

@JimPA

Hi Jim,

Cool info. Thanks for link to that other forum, I never read there before.

It's been a really long time since posting about gear, years for me until this thread resurfaced again.

Might you know any details about the difference between the original 1st Fried Model R and the IMF badged Model R that I described ?

As we're both in Pennsy, the shops were not far from you, but in the Lehigh Valley.

That 1st year of issue, my friends & I would 1st listen to the IMF badged R at Sound Advice in Emmaus (super shop), then right away drive 20 minutes into Allentown to hear & compare the Fried badged Model R (as we all know it now), I forget which shop, but it may have been either Harte's (I believe) or maybe ? Gordons ? Other than front gear, the 2 different badged speakers sounded the same. Sound Advice was using fine Bongiorno GAS Ampzilla amp & Thaedra pre (sweet) and also Quad preamp & amp combo there too. I forget what the Fried shop used as front gear.

We could not hear a difference & 2 of my friends bought the Fried as it was priced a little lower & honestly looked better too. The cabinets were the same size, IMF-R had the lighter wood finish typical of their other models & a lighter grill cloth - badged IMF on front grill and back plate said IMF Model R. There used to be fotos of it on the web, but are likely salvaged thru a "web archives" search, it was long ago. The Fried-R looks as we all know it, darker wood finish & black grill cloth, badged Fried on front and Model R on backplate. After about 6 months, the IMF badged R model was no longer available.

Do you think they simply swapped internal crossover parts & drivers here in USA, if local cabinet makers were used ? When we took the grill covers off, all drivers were the same (from external viewpoint), in same arrangement and same foam in bottom front slot. I wonder if the IMF-R cabinets were made here in USA or shipped in wood panels from England & assembled here, if not shipped already constructed from England (& thus priced a little more).

PS, years ago I was lucky to grab a pair of Fried "The Subwoofer" subs, which are now in storage. Intend to run them R & L sides together with pair of EPI Stat450 hybrid dynamic/electrostatic speakers.

Also, might you know if all the information from the IMF(-Fried-TDL-) site was totally lost, or did Manfred or Stephane or others save all that data ? I don't need any documents, but it would be cool if it could be read again on the web. I read that it was lost, but hopefully it exists somewhere & will be back up on the web someday. The IMF-Fried enthusiast "group" went through many different host sites & participation really dropped. One site was really hard to navigate & now it's on a newer site. I used to keep in touch with Jerry from Falcon & Johan from the group, but I mostly dropped off forums for a couple years.

The first model R was before I was a Fried customer in 1979.
Fried couldn't have used a simple 1st order crossover on the Kef B110 or T27 tweeters due to their response curves.

I never heard the R4 or R5 models.
Since it used a 1st order series crossover it's probably more dynamic than the previous R models.
I will explain in a bit.

The AES journals is where series crossovers have their history.
Richard H. Small [Constant Voltage Crossover Network Design] J Robert Ashley and Alan L Kaminsky [Active and Passive Filters as Loudspeaker Crossover Networks]

With a parallel crossover circuit L1 affects the woofer and C1 affects the tweeter.
With a series crossover circuit L1 and C1 affects both the woofer and tweeter.
Both drivers now have two crossover slopes.
The first octave is 12db then the next octaves are 6db in series.
This why they are referred to as a quasi 2nd order crossover.
Basically the the inductive reactance of the coil is equal to capacitive reactance of the capacitor.
This is a series resonant circuit.
At the crossover frequency impedance will be at its lowest and current will be at its highest.
On either side of the crossover frequency voltage will be higher.
The exact opposite happens with a parallel crossover.
This is why Fried went from parallel crossovers to series.
It requires less caps and coils and less time to assemble the crossover.

I don't know why Stephane has not restored the Fried files.
I don't care for his Discord website too much.

Which Fried subwoofer do you have?

 

[luvmusik]

I hope mccarty350 is able to get those R's he mentioned in an earlier thread, as his former pair of R/II's that he restored sounded magnificent. Recently, I was demoing a pair of the IMF version of the R/II's at a friend's place that I was considering for purchase along with a pair of IMF ALS-40 II's he had and was a little disappointed with both (I ended up buying his ADS L1090/2's instead). I have seen some R/4's listed on the auction site within driving distance but the asking price is too high. Does anyone have experience with those and can advise as to if they sound decidedly better than an R/II? I really need to add a set of Fried's to the hoard.

Might you be able to post any fotos of the IMF badged Model R, outside or internals ? It would greatly help the thread.

It's possible the crossovers were completely different (but I'm not sure) for the IMF badged R vs both the Fried R/I (and of course again different Fried R/II) badged models. I may have fotos of the xover for the IMF badged Model R & will post, but I think my foto is the Fried R/III xover made in England. I believe the fotos may have come from some AK members.

 

[luvmusik]

@JimPA...here it is...

I have a pair of the subwoofers made by Fried (not a kit), simply model called "The Subwoofer". They have a 10" woofer, sealed box (I think, in storage now), polyprop cone, handle 100 watts each and were made between 1985 to 1991. Size @ 25" tall x 15" x 15" and fairly heavy. I never opened them up to look inside.

Here is a pic of 1 of them.

 

[luvmusik]

Fried Model R/1 crossovers fotos...I think these belong to a fellow AK member.

 

[luvmusik]

Fried Model R made in England crossovers. I think these xovers are from the Fried Model R/III, model made in England, but maybe they're not from R3. The R3 used the 10" round woofer which only got down to 32 Hz (R4 was also down to 32 Hz). The R/1 & R/II got down to 22 Hz with the oval racetrack B139 woofer.

@JimPA is the decades-long Fried expert, and maybe he's seen this crossover.

Again, I think these are from a fellow AK member.

 

[luvmusik]

1-clic on fotos may zoom image.

 

[luvmusik]

Lastly, here is the original Fried Model R factory stand foto, I do not own these stands. Notice the slight angle of the stand which presented the woofer forward & tweeter slightly back, probably for phasing. Later, a 2nd stand was made by Fried for the R's which was circular.

That circular stand made for series R/II is seen in #204 & #206 of the pdf documents here earlier in the thread; the docs all given to me from great AK'er "laminarflow", which I gave to Jim and glad we have them all up now in this thread (the various many docs, 1 was tweeter mod circuit schematics, etc). laminarflow knew Irving "Bud" Fried well, attended nearly every lecture Bud gave in NYC and also was a home demonstrator for new & emerging Fried speaker models. He also owned very many of the Fried speaker models, 1 after another, while Bud was still living.

 

[luvmusik]

Jim,
Is your German Shepard still with us ? Beautiful specimen !