paradigm speakers

[RetroSmith]

guys, whats your opinion on Paradigm spakers, specifically the "Monitor" series and the "Studio" series?

I'm looking at the "Monitor 3" in particular. Anybody out there in SH land have them?


thanks!!

Mikey

[TimM]

I'm a huge Paradigm fan, and I still own a pair of Monitor 3's although they are no longer in my main system. I started out with a pair of Paradigm Legends, then moved to the monitors and now use a set of 4 Studio 40's in a surround system. The only thing I can say is that IMHO the Studio series is a big step up from the monitors, and I believe you can get a pair of Studio 20's for just a couple of hundred more than the monitor 3's. Having said all that I was very happy when the monitor 3's were my main speakers and I believe any Paradigm speaker is a great value in it's price range. At least check out the Studios if you can and no matter what you decide I think you'll get a great speaker.

[RetroSmith]

Thank you Tim!!!!


Everybody says Paradigm speakers are great!!! I will def check out the Studios.

[Bruce Burgess]

I bought a pair of Studio 60 speakers last year and they are awesome. Before buying them, I asked to also hear a pair of Monitor Tower speakers. The difference was like night and day.

The studio speakers are definitely worth the extra money.

[RetroSmith]

Thanks, you Tall, cool guy!!! :))

[ksmitty]

I purchased a pair of Studio 60's in January this year and so far I really love them. I auditioned B&W, Monitor Audio, Energy and a couple other's and these just sounded better to me anyway. The soundstage was much more open and wider . I am running them with a NAD C370 Integrated Amp
and love the sound . I also have some Energy's I use for my HT setup which are good speakers too but the Paradigm's sound better to my ears on music. They do take some time for break-in though. Probably 100 hours or more before they really opened up on my system. My dream speakers are still Legacy Audio or Martin Logan's although I probably won't be buying any any time soon though.

Many people say that the Paradigm's sound best with Rock music , but I think they sound great with all types of music as well. I recommend them as they are a great speaker at a decent price.

[RetroSmith]

Thanks one and all. My problem is that I have a budget and I need 5 speakers for surround and I wanted the front and rears to be the same.

The Mini Monitors seemed to be a good fit for that. also, I can get them at a decent price. I dont know that I can afford 4 Studio Series. :(

Unless I bought Studios for the fronts and mini mons for the back?

[Khorn]

Being a local company I have heard and discussed their products many times at shows. I have always come away with the feeling that they provide very good sound to cost ratio. They are well made, look good and, the company people seem dedicated to what they are doing. Don't think you can go very wrong with the line.

[OcdMan]

I love my Studio 20's and unless I can afford to dump a substantial amount into something much better these will be with me for a long time. The only minor "thing" I've noticed about the 20's is that room placement will make a big difference in brightness. But, heck, Steve's CDs sound wonderful...so I have nothing to complain about.

[RetroSmith]

ok...I bought a pair of Mini Monitors that at wost, I will use the surround speakers.


if I can get a good deal on a set of Studios, I will use those as the fronts.

Thanks for all the help!!

[msimonov]

I have not heart Monitors but I am in love with my Studios.
I have Paradigm Studio V2 Ref 60's Studio CC V2 and Studio ADP V2.
They sound just great. You can find CC and ADPs used in 10/10 condition on www.audiogon.com at 60% of MSRP.

[msimonov]

FYI Somebody sells ADPs right now
http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.pl?spkrfull&1055513877

[msimonov]

I bought my ADPs and CC from this seller.
You can find my feed back. Nice people and ship next day
I suspect they buy them in canada and sell them in US. No export taxes.

http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.pl?spkrfull&1055086723

[RetroSmith]

Thanks folks!! I am going to listen to the Mini mons with my new Denon 1803, then maybe i will pick up a piar of Studios for the fron and use the mini mons in the rear. It should sound KILLER.

[msimonov]

Originally posted by mikey5967
Thanks folks!! I am going to listen to the Mini mons with my new Denon 1803, then maybe i will pick up a piar of Studios for the fron and use the mini mons in the rear. It should sound KILLER.
I like Dipoles as rear suround. It masks the source of sound and creates a sound field. I was really scared once when I was watching Superbit "Dracula" the sound from the rears was so real.

[AudioEnz]

Originally posted by mikey5967
Thanks folks!! I am going to listen to the Mini mons with my new Denon 1803, then maybe i will pick up a piar of Studios for the fron and use the mini mons in the rear. It should sound KILLER.

Mikey,

the Studio Series from Paradigm is a definate upgrade from the Monitor Series. I've recently played with the Studio 40s, which I think are excellent speakers.

But the Studio Series really like a decent amplifier with a large power supply to come alive, and I suspect that your Denon AV receiver will not be good enough to do them justice. (The Denon 1803 is a good AV receiver, but AV receivers simply don't sound as good as a good integrated amp). I used the Studio 40s with a Plinius 8150 integrated amp, which weighs as much as three 1803s.

Before buying any Studio Series speakers, take your Denon into your Paradigm retailer and compare the Mini Monitors with the Studio speakers, driven by your Denon. Listen and see if you think that the Studios offer much improvement when used with your amp. You may find yourself happy with another pair of Mini Monitors, the matching centre speaker and a good sub.

Golden rule for speakers is "garbage in = garbage out". Put another way, the sound you get out of your speakers depends on what is fed into them.

Have fun!

[RetroSmith]

Thanks Audio!1 Thats great advice.

Actually, someone emailed me privately to say that THEy thought that the mini mons were perfect match for the Denon 1803 and that he didnt recommend going with the Studios with that amp. I thought that was interesting.

[Gary]

.... but if you plan to ugrade your amp in the future, you may want to consider the Studio Series....

Just an alternate thought.

Sorry for the "monkey wrench"!!!

[Metralla]

Originally posted by mikey5967
ok...I bought a pair of Mini Monitors
I have a pair of Paradigm MiniMonitor v.2 speakers. I had these as my main speakers for about a year and then used them in my bedroom system for another year. I recently retired them to a cupboard as I bought a pair of Jean Marie Reynaud Twin Mk. IIIs. These are about $800 (twice the price of the Paradigms) but they are more than twice as good.

The Minis have a fairly agressive tweeter so you have to match them correctly. They also have a bit of a hump in the bass response around 80 Hz to compensate for nothing in the bottom octave (as you may expect). They are a nice speaker in many ways, but watch out for the binding posts - the plastic surrounding the actual terminal screws can separate from the metal if you tighten them up too hard. That happened to me.

Regards,
Geoff

[RetroSmith]

geoff....tried to send you a PM.....no dice.

Is there an email address I could send to?

thanks

mikey

[Metralla]

Originally posted by mikey5967
geoff....tried to send you a PM.....no dice.
Is there an email address I could send to?


Sorry Mikey, I don't have "Personal Messages" turned on. I'm one of the few here who have disabled that option - another is our fearless leader.

I'd rather use email. If you click on my "Profile" you can email me using the option there.

My main reason for not using PMs is I'd rather have a record of all correspondence in the one place. I'm very responsive to emails.

Regards,
Geoff

[Chris C]

Paradigm Studio 100's are the best speaker's I've ever owned!

I was recently in a high-end audio store a year ago and they had a room with nothing in it but 2 speakers, a chair, and a rack system including a SACD machine I was interested in. I looked over these speakers and noticed the price was $25,000 dollars!!! I immediately said that I HAD to hear a speaker that costs $25,000. Needless to say...Even if I COULD afford the $25,000 dollar speakers, I'd rather stay with my Paradigm Studio 100's!

Chris C