which excels at Rock and Roll

Wrong, you could end up with cost no object speaker that’s just a bit too laid back without the throw, for example (been there, done that)....and not a in your face grunt that works best for rock.

"A really good speaker"...mostly exists in the imaginative plane.

When a guy maxed out his wallet, he imagines that he’s got a "really good speaker" that did it all...how else could it be? his wallet depletion had to count for something? 

I agree with Atmasphere in that I have always believed that if a speaker is better with certain types of music than with others, it only points out that the speaker is weak in some way.  A really good speaker will perform equally well with all kinds of music.  Choosing a speaker for one kind of music is only surrendering to it’s shortcomings elsewhere.

If you want a speaker that is great for Rock, beyond being a really good speaker to begin with, the only real requirement is that it be great at very high volumes.

My 2 cents

Bill

@wbs +1

Mike

Regardless of what you get, please don't blow out your ears unless you are already an old fart whose hearing rolls off at 5kHz. Listening loud is fun - in moderation. Listening loud for long periods of time is akin to looking at the sun with the naked eye. 

Take care of yourself if you want to enjoy listening for a lifetime, or you'll end up like me with tinnitus and believe me, hearing a continuous 8kHz tone for the rest of your life takes a lot of the enjoyment out of everything. Yeah, yeah, I'm looking into trying the new Lenire tinnitus treatment, but that costs about $4K or so and comes with no guarantee of success, money I'd rather be spending on a new DAC. 

@larsman  A lot of great submissions, very much appreciated!!! 

Your post intrigued me the most, as you had tried one of my choices against the FRITZ, which we both own!   Did you compare any others for rock and roll, such as the others that I mentioned? Still very much up in the air at this time. My top choices,  if I'm lucky enough to find a pair used, NO particular order: Platimon VC1:Arendal 1528: Marten  Oscar or Parker (which are probably not in my$$$), Acora MRB-1 . Again, probably going to be used in my smaller room that the FRITZ currently enjoys. Thanks so much. Robert

@robshaw - Hi Rob! I no longer have the Fritz speakers as I sold them when I got the Martens. Just the STANDS for the Martens cost more than the Fritzes! Before the Fritzes, I had KLH Model 5's, which were nice, but didn't do for me what they did for many others. And for years before that I had those Harbeths, not even realizing that they were so wrong for what I like to listen to! If I'd been into jazz and 'vocal' artists like Diana Krall and Norah Jones, those Harbeths would have been just right, but that ain't what I listen to! I'll always recommend Fritz for anybody who likes rock and has it in their budget.