2. speakers
  3. 195165-165894

Fritz carbon 7SE MK 2, Upgrade

I hate the title above, but didn't know how to phrase it. Current system is secondary one, but, great otherwise. ATI  6002 AMP, Benchmark LA-4 preamp,  Meitner DAC MA1 V2, Bricasti M5, above mentioned FRITZ speakers, SVS SB 3000 SUB, Streaming Audirvana via Qobuz. 13x14' room, open door to bathroom and another to common hallway. ONLY play Rock and roll  85 to low 90's    Zeppelin, Rush, Pink Floyd, I could go on. Love my FRITZ, not sure why I'm posting. (will never sell)     Is there a speaker that is stand amount (bookshelf),  possibly small floor stander that will play superior to what I have (rock and roll) that is a dramatic upgrade sound wise. Will be keeping sub in place, currently crossed at 60.  Have been looking off and on for Joseph audio pulsar Graphene, whether that is the correct direction.  Have no way of demoing speaker in house, live an hour from Nashville. Willing to drive some though!  Looking used up to 6k, a bucket list speaker, if you will. You folks at audiogon have helped me in the past, thank you all very much. Robert TN

robshaw
soix
10,256 posts
 

After thinking about it and although I do think the Pulsars will provide some improvements maybe most notably in the bass and possibly in imaging and 3D soundstage they probably are more alike to your speakers than different overall.  So if you’re looking for something really good but different I’d look to ATC especially given the music you listen to.  Neither the Fritz nor JA speakers can match the power and dynamics of the ATC speakers especially in the all-important midrange, and it really shines on rock although other genres benefit too .  Here are some used FYI, but the dealer I linked previously offers returns and a 10% discount so may be a good way to demo and hear what I’m talking about.  Since you have a sub the SCM19s could well be fine and quite a bit cheaper than the SCM20s and are probably the sweet spot in the range.  Read the reviews that are pretty much all glowing, and they’re also used as reference speakers by several reviewers that says something as well.  Anyway…

https://www.ebay.com/itm/146445085555

https://tmraudio.com/fresh-arrivals/atc-scm19-v2-bookshelf-speakers-cherry-pair-open-box/

 

jastralfu's avatar
jastralfu
492 posts
 

What I found listening to other speakers is exactly what @erik_squires suggests, different but definitely not better.  And not different enough to justify the price, at least to me.  I can’t stress enough to go listen first if you can.  I went looking for a different sound and bought some Falcon Q7 gold badges.  They are a nice change but I wouldn’t recommend them for the music you’re talking about.  They are great for vocals and good for some jazz.  I only mention them wrt finding a different presentation. 

atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
12,152 posts
 

@robshaw We showed with the Fritz Carbon 7s last year at AXPONA. I found them quite transparent and neutral. We ran them with a sub crossed at about 55Hz. I run Carbon 6s in my bedroom system, using an amp of only 5 Watts/channel. It will be a hard sale to convince me to replace them.  

kennyc
2,001 posts
 

I loved the Pulsar suggestion, excellent sonics.  But for a sonic change, perhaps Harbeth?  Seems like fun to swap between both speakers

hilde45's avatar
hilde45
5,429 posts
 

OP, you may be questing for the speaker version of a new love, but I will tell you this about these speakers: they got even better when I put them and their stands on a townshend podium. More coherent imaging, tighter bass, a bit more detail, micro-dynamics, and texture information.

It won’t cure your hankering for new experiences but it did something significant for the speakers’ performance. 

More to discover