Buchardt E50 vs Fritz

@mresseguie, unless you eq or dsp the e50 will pound you to death with that bass.Its hard for me to say how much into the room you would need. A lot depends on how your room sounds and your equipment. The regular BUCHARDT 400mrk 2 are no slouch and they seem to be less sensitive to room boundaries. You can try them and return if they don’t work for you. I have a pair of ATC 11 v2 and they are sealed speakers.  No problem with these close to the wall. Another speaker I own you might consider is the PS Audio FR 5. You can also return it, if not to your taste. I also like the Kef R3 meta. 
 

When you consider amps put the Electrocompaniet ECI 6. I have a Pass 250 and I find the  Electrocompaniet more engaging. It’s perfectly warm, detailed, and smooth. 

kb54,

A couple questions come to my mind:

Do you intend to supplememnt your future bookshelf speakers with one or more subwoofers? Have you considered slim(mer) front ported floorstanding speakers instead? What budget are you allowing yourself for this pair of speakers?

@kb54 - I have a pair of Buchardt s400 mkii in my office system. Wonderful speakers. They compete well with some more expensive speakers I own. From experience, I feel they are at their best with more powerful amps. I’m currently running them with a gryphon 120 integrated amp with a Merason Dac 1 mkii. I used to drive with Buchardt’s with a Luxman 590axii but now feel Buchardt speakers - like a lot of Dynaudio speakers - need more watts and current to really sing. 

I have read great things about the Fritz speakers. Their owners seem to really enjoy them. 

@mresseguie, Yes, I do think I might want to add a subwoofer if I move to stand mounted monitors.  I think that I would prefer that approach to slimmer towers, but you never know.

kb54,

I appreciate your conundrum. I spent a few years with your situation. I was searching for a pair of speakers that <preferably> are front ported; are reasonably efficient >90dB, have soft dome tweeters, and don't irritate my dear wife's esthetics...and that give me pleasure. I discovered that to be a challenging search.

I admit to being a picky listener. I find fault with plenty of speakers. I have yet to hear an aluminum tweeter that I like. Beryllium tweeters irritate my ears - though I loved them when I was in my twenties. I dislike exagerated bass. I love warm-yet-clear midrange. Over a nearly four-year period, I auditioned speakers in N America, Taiwan, Japan, Costa Rica, and even Cambodia. I found a half-dozen(?) speakers that I want to spend the next two decades with, and I was pretty close to settling on a certain pair when a different pair suddenly popped onto my radar. I contacted the seller, and we closed the deal about 10 days later.

My new speakers are similar to my 'old' speakers as they're made by the same guy. My new speakers are Daedalus Audio Muse three-way standmounts (front ported), 95.5dB/8 ohm and play down to 32Hz. My 'old' speakers are Daedalus Audio Apollos - 96.5dB/8 ohm and play down to ~26Hz. My Muse will be shipped to our winter/part-time home in Taiwan while the Apollos will remain in the US. [My wife is from Taiwan.]

Now I'm trying to decide on a 'forever/final' amplifier. I've narrowed my search to ~8 amplifiers. 

If you're anywhere near the Willamette Valley, stop on by this summer/fall for a listen!