Started with $1k speakers … what now?

OP, @benanders recent post about identifying what sound you want is paramount, I think. Brand shopping is an endless chase, or can be.

@balooo2 I had the Salk SS6M for a while. I had both it and the Fritz simultaneously for many months. I kept the Salks because initially I loved the finish better and the clarity of the Be tweeter. But, in time, that Be tweeter could not be tamed and since I had sent the Fritz back by that point, I went with Ascend (RAAL) towers, eventually upgrading them to the ELX level. These are the speakers I have now. I like them a lot but still miss the Carbon 7 SE Mk. II's. I may get those Carbons to have as alternate speakers. There's a magic there which I have not heard in any other speaker. (Of course I feel that way about some girls I knew in college, so let's be honest about our memories, eh?)

@hilde45 10/4 regarding old girlfriends and cars from college days...rose colored memories for sure!  I spoke with Fritz last night for about 20 minutes what a friendly,helpful guy. I like his process we discussed my gear,room,taste etc. All that being said I'm pulling the trigger on a set of the Carbon 7's they will ship next week.            Thanks for the perspectives!

Since I bought my tannoys, I've given little thought to upgrades....

@balooo2 Great to hear! Well done! Please report back about the Carbons.

@benanders A fair question, and thanks for your insight. The SF is a smaller front ported box and works closer to wall boundaries. The Polk has to be positioned out from the walls, at least in the space where I have them. So they served different purposes for me, and sonically I like the tone of the SF Lumina but also the impact and soundstage of the Polks, which can be a bit less exciting, overall, in my setup/space. The adage “buy cheap buy twice” isn’t lost on me, though; I honestly didn’t know a thing about speakers or placement then and felt 1k was a good starting point. So moving on from this, I’m looking for a speaker that is built to a higher level of performance, hoping that that 3-5k range new or used will get there and seeing some of the great suggestions, it seems that it will, regardless of room treatments or placement options, which are certainly their own important considerations. I really appreciate the suggestions for the Carbons and Joseph Audio, and others. These are products I wouldn’t have known about otherwise. I’ll be looking at a few.