Friggin’ Great
Ok, I suck for being cliché, but I had to do it. No more for the rest of the review.
It’s not often that I fall in love with a pair of speakers right out of the box. In 25 years, it’s maybe happened 5 or 6 times. It helps that Harmonia Distribution sent this pair of Frigg 2s with hours on the clock. It doesn’t allow being able to observe how a speaker changes during break-in, but it does save time. And they are lovely, right out of the box.
Listening begins in the main system (dCS Varese, Pass XS Pre2, and Pass XS300 monos) to find the limits of the Frigg 02’s performance. A big pile of SACDs has just arrived, and while some more audiophile-ish selections tempt, James Brown’s Sex Machine is the go-to. O baby, this time-worn classic jumps out of the Friggs. Eyyyyyyaw. Like that. Considering that the Frigg crew comes to hifi shows brandishing axes, starting with a mellow selection just doesn’t fit.
As for the axe. The nice lady at the hardware store said, “Wow that’s a pretty big axe. What are you going to do with it?” When I told her to keep an eye on the evening news, her face went white. Then I explained it was a prop for a photo shoot (or is it?) but she didn’t seem totally at ease. But why the axe, you ask? When I walked into the Ø Audio room at Axpona last year, Jonathan Cook had a major axe hooked to his belt. “Dude, how did you get that past TSA?” “Oh I just packed it in the crate with the speakers.” So in homage to their vibe – and they did have an axe-related contest at last year’s Capitol Audio Fest, I had to include an axe in the photos. Why would I not? And you never know when a large axe can come in real handy.
Biases
If you are dropping by for the first time, it’s important to reveal my listening biases so you can better understand why I like the Frigg 02s so much. First and foremost, the top-to-bottom coherence that a panel speaker usually delivers is always my top priority when evaluating speakers. Time alignment and a lack of phase errors are a close second. If compromises are to be made (and all speakers have them), I’ll happily give up a bit of extension at the frequency extremes, and even a little bit of dynamics for an even tonality that keeps me on the couch for hours. I’ve got a pair of Klipschorns for when I need that extra push over the cliff.
This is the main reason I’m a huge fan of SET and class-A amplifiers over anything else. Truth be told, I always prefer components with a slight bit of tonal saturation or warmth – provided it doesn’t make the presentation come across as too mellow and slow. While that can be comforting, it robs music of its essential feel – a tough combination to attain.
Back to the hardest working man
Still in the JB groove, if you’ve heard this record on uninvolving speakers, Brown’s signature call-and-response style all feels one-dimensional. Through the Friggs, it feels like we’re sitting about five tables back in a small club. While some of this record was recorded live and some in various studios, it feels similar to the hall ambience and size present on Jeff Beck’s performance at Ronnie Scott’s jazz club in London.
Brown’s ability to come out of nowhere and just belt it out comes through wonderfully with these speakers, as he goes down to the quietest whisper, fading into the bass line, going straight to hey, hit me real hard – eeeeeeeeheeoooow.! Baby, baby, baby, these are involving speakers.
It’s the oldest trick in the hifi world: connect a $15k pair of speakers to half a million bucks’ worth of electronics and get them to rock. The Friggs pass this test with ease. Yet, bringing them back down to Earth with a few different amplifiers that make more sense, they still deliver the goods. They even deliver decent sonics with a $300 vintage Pioneer receiver. That’s great engineering. (and great crossover design)
Variations on the theme
With a sensitivity of 90 dB/1 watt, you can get by with about 35 watts per channel, but if you can stretch to 100 wpc, I think you’ll have a more engaging experience, especially if you listen a bit louder or enjoy larger-scale music, regardless of genre. Room size will also be a factor; if you’re in a smaller room, it takes less juice to light the Friggs up.
Using the new HiFi Rose RS130 streamer and RD160 DAC as a source (about $12k for the pair), about ten different amplification combinations were tried. Investigation begins with a few low-powered amplifiers from Pass Labs, Western Electric, and ampsandsound. Unless you are in a very small room and listen to calm music most of the time, a sub-10-watt amplifier just isn’t enough to make these speakers deliver the dynamics they are capable of. However, at low volume levels, they are extremely pleasant.
Rega’s new Solis power amplifier and Mercury preamplifier (about $22k for the pair) is an excellent solid-state combination, producing 168 watts per channel into 8 ohms. The Soul Note A-2 Integrated ($27k), delivering about 110 watts per channel, also proves an excellent match for the Friggs, with a slightly warmer presentation than the Rega pair, which feels almost Boulder-like in its neutrality.
Giving tubes a try, the Octave SE110 (with Super Black Box) and EL34s (about $11k) producing 70wpc with these tubes delivers a slightly more neutral presentation than our reference PrimaLuna EVO 400 power amplifier (with KT150 tubes) and EVO 400 preamplifier (also about $11k) that has a bit warmer, mellower sonic flavor.
Giving the PrimaLuna EVO 100 integrated amplifier a shot still provides excellent results, though not quite as dynamic or as resolving as the bigger EVO 400 can deliver. However, it’s worth mentioning that this little $2,500 tube integrated would be a great place to start a high-performance system, with your Frigg 2s as an anchor. Another excellent choice at our disposal is the HiFi Rose RS520 DAC/Streamer/Integrated. With 200 watts per channel and priced just under $6k, it makes a great combination, with a turntable easily added should analog be part of your mix.
Listening in the main 24 x 36 foot studio, my 13 x 18 foot living room, and the 12 x 14 foot back room leads me to think that 13 x 18 is about the smallest room I’d place these speakers in, as they have solid, extended bass response that was nearly impossible to get right in my smallest room.
All of these combinations mate easily with the Friggs, and your taste will deliver the tonality you like best. What’s important is the Friggs are resolving enough to reveal the differences between whatever you bring to the table. Spinnin wheel gotta go round.
Saving the best, or at least my favorite, for last – the killer setup with these speakers ended up being another great product from Harmonia Distribution. The Pathos INPOL Heritage hybrid integrated. (about $18k, with internal DAC) The synergy between these speakers and this amplifier is one of the most musical I’ve encountered. Even with a decent table, phono pre, and a few cables, you’ll still get in under the cost of a new Ducati Panigale V4. And this could be a system you could live with forever.
Set up tips and tech
That said, the Friggs are easy to get a basic set going. Once you optimize them in your room for the best balance between bass extension and upper bass/midrange transition, the rest is a breeze. Fine-tuning the rake angle and a bit of toe-in to maximize the stereo image, and it’s all good. Because these speakers have such a smooth overall tonality, wide horizontal and vertical dispersion, you’ll be surprised how enjoyable they are right out of the box, loosely set up. Unlike a lot of speakers we’ve tested, the Friggs soundfield doesn’t collapse when you get up from the couch.
There is one thing you should pay attention to here if you buy a set of Friggs. The speaker features a bottom-firing port, and as pointed out by Harmonia’s Jesse Luna, it’s all too easy and random to drop one of the bolts that fasten the legs into said port. So, either cover the port, or as I did, place the speakers on their sides on an elevated surface to avoid this problem. I certainly didn’t want the man with the axe mad at me for wrecking his speakers! You’ve been warned.
Taking the legs’ footprint into account, the Frigg 02s have a modest footprint of about 12 inches wide, 20 inches deep, and 39 inches tall. The front baffle is only 9 inches wide. They weigh just over 66 pounds each (30kg), so they are easy to manage and unpack by yourself.
The drivers consist of an 8.6-inch (220mm) woofer, a 7-inch midrange (180mm), and a small
“Metamodal TPCD dome with DXT lens” tweeter. According to Ø Audio, they are the first manufacturer to take advantage of SEAS’ new tweeter, featuring a mini waveguide and a new dome material.
I’m sure this is a major contributor to the ease and natural way the Friggs reproduce the high frequencies, with a bit more punch than a standard soft-dome tweeter. Yet they still retain the natural feel of a soft dome. Ø Audio does not mention crossover slopes or frequencies. It works incredibly well, so who cares what they’ve chosen? Just more excuses for babble. They’ve done an incredible job blending the drivers, making a speaker that is super easy to drive. Success on all fronts.
Around back, there is a single pair of binding posts. A small, rectangular port is at the top of the rear panel – though there is no mention of its function on the Ø Audio website, and the bass port is down-firing. As with other manufacturers that take this approach, the Friggs don’t suffer from port-related noise artifacts and are easier to position in the room.
More listening
Moving on from James Brown to Kraak & Smaak’s Scirocco, these speakers open up and deliver a wall of sound, handling the deep bass grooves with ease. Again, the seamlessness between woofer, midrange, and tweeter is wonderful. Thanks to the latest, super coolio tweeter from SEAS and the mini waveguide, the top end is as close to perfection as anything I’ve experienced.
These speakers do an excellent job of unraveling densely packed music. Tracking through some selections from Tom Petty, Todd Rundgren, and Matthew Sweet reveals layers of information that lesser speakers flatten. And Abba’s recent Voyage is spectacular.
Prowess handling the necessary male and female vocal boxes are both ticked. Always avoiding audiophile standards, Jill Scott’s latest, To Whom This May Concern, easily channels some of Gil Scott-Heron’s vibe, making for a great romp. A long playlist of Meshell Ndegeocello delivers more vocal and bassline awesomeness.
Thanks to the extended frequency range, enticing dynamics, and overall inclusive tonality, no musical genre is out of bounds. I guarantee the overall ease of these speakers will keep you on the couch for hours. You may never watch TV again.
The sweet spot
Suffice to say, the understated Frigg 02 sounds much more expensive than it is. And that is their magic. With so many six-figure speakers on the market these days, I’m sure there is a certain audio enthusiast who wouldn’t consider a pair of these speakers because they are not “expensive enough.” And that would be a mistake, but Ø Audio does make larger, more expensive speakers if that’s your bag, baby.
Exiting as it is talking about stuff almost none of us can afford is, what’s real? In the last 40-plus years of talking to audio enthusiasts around the world, it seems that the sweet spot for the person who pursues a premium audio system, but has other interests and obligations, is about $30k-$50k in today’s money.
The Friggs make a perfect anchor for an incredibly high-performance system that won’t require dipping into your HELIOC. If you’re feeling carefree with the checkbook, they do have two larger models, and you can take it from there.
It all comes back to design excellence
The Scandinavian design ethic goes way beyond furniture. If you’ve had the good fortune to visit Sweden, Denmark, or Norway, where Ø Audio is based, it’s immediately apparent how they embrace an efficiency of taste, form, and simple, understated elegance. The shades of subtle color are cleaner, and the edges crisper. If you’ve been there, you know what I’m talking about. Back to my original comment about bias – I am a massive fan of Scandinavian design. It makes for products that you never tire of, and that’s important when you’re spending 15 thousand dollars on a pair of speakers.
At first blush, compared to a few other things, you might find the Friggs slightly basic, but after living with them for a while, their true beauty comes from a look that always appeals. They are right at home in my mid-century home, and the mad scientist, modernistic room that is my studio, too, fitting in perfectly with the classic Herman Miller pieces in my collection.
They are available in three other finishes besides our review pair: a darker wood finish and solid white and black. Again, personal taste/bias, but I love the way the logo is recessed into the front face. Unlike the way some manufacturers are overly bling-y, like BMW plastering M badges all over everything. Very nice.
The true test
The reason the Ø Audio Frigg 02 is our choice for a Product of the Year award is the overall excellence in every way it offers. The more speakers you’ve owned that have been a “near-miss,” the more you will appreciate the Friggs. If you are an ADD-oriented audio enthusiast who has a tough time sitting still to take things in, these will not be the speakers for you – they aren’t blingy enough.
Yet, if you cherish craftsmanship, design elegance, and a sound that you can truly get lost in, the Ø Audio Frigg 02 might just be that speaker you’ve been on a quest for. –Jeff Dorgay
The Frigg 02
$15,000/pair
Harmonia Distribution – US Distribution
https://www.harmoniadistribution.com/
