Help fine-tune my speaker search

Thanks, everyone!  There are a lot of Fritz fans!  That’s a good sign.  I went in search of speakers on Saturday and spent a couple of hours with Johnny Rutan at Audio Connection.  Great guy, great experience.  It was like hanging out with a good friend talking gear and music. No pressure, no selling, just a good hang. If you're in the NYC area -- it's a must visit showroom. Listened to the Vandersteen VLR CT bookshelf speakers which were very good. They project a layered soundstage and sound much bigger than their size.  Also heard the Vandersteen 2ce Signature 3, which was even better.  I like the floorstander but a little worried about the bass being too much for my basement space (7' ceilings).  He also had a pair of Paradigm Founders 80f that he took in on trade.  They’re on my list so gave them a listen. Very nice small floorstander with good midrange and detail, but not as good as the Vandersteens. It imaged well and could work with my subwoofers but I could also see getting a little fatigued by the detail at the top end.  He also played the Vandersteen Quattros for me and they were wonderful. Musical, lots of detail, big soundstage and effortless — close to feeling like you’re in the room with the artist. You really do get a lot more for another $14K of budget.

For the Fritz fans -- it seems like some of you love the Carbon 7 SE and some the Carrera BE.  What are the different characteristics of the two?

@fritzspeaks Thanks for the offer for listening session in Queens.  Are they at a showroom I can visit?  Or a customer's home?

@vthokie83 Thanks for the Buchardt recommendation. Those look really interesting and the 45 day home trial would give me the opportunity to try them in my home -- the ultimate listening test.  BTW, my son is a 2021 Hokie Corps of Cadets grad.  Love that school! Go Hokies!  

Again, thanks all!

@secretguy I had a chance to listen to the Magnepan .7s (also at Audio Connections) and really like the sound of panels.  I just know they won't work in my current basement setup.  I just can't have them out that far into the room and everything I've read is that they need to be.  Box speakers are just easier for me to move around and live with.  Thanks!

@hilde45  Thanks for sharing your reviews and your comparison of the Carbon 7s and the Carrera Be's.  Really helpful.  Thanks, too, for your thoughts on the Dynaudio Special 40.  What's appealing about that speaker is that there are a few on the used market and can be had for a comfortable $2K.  That said, maybe there are too many on the used market. :-).  The GR Research teardown was interesting but I don't know if I completely trust someone selling a kit to improve another company's $3K speaker.  What else is he going to say?  I watched his teardown of the LS50 and most of it was about his frustration at not being able to build and sell a kit for it -- given it's "don't tamper with me" construction.  

They are at a dealers place. 

@nymarty  I hear you about GR Research, but there are some elements of his demonstration -- about parts quality, e.g. -- which would be solid data points regardless of what his overall objective is with his videos. That, for me, is the key to modest skepticism -- listen to every aspect of an argument, including the subarguments, and allow those whose validity do not depend on the larger argument to remain standing.

As for the Fritz speaker, all I can say is that listening to the Carbon 7s would at least give you a useful benchmark.