Paradigim floorstanding speakers?

[Aquateen]

Hey folks, I was originally set on getting a pair of their Titan bookshelfs for my system I'm putting together. I planned on upgrading to floorstanding speakers eventual and started thinking that maybe I should go ahead and get a pair in the first place. Can anyone comment on Paradigim's floorstanders? I'm looking to get the best bang for my buck. Failing that are their any other speakers that may give me a better sound and still stay around the same price?

[mne563]

I have Paradigm Studio 100's (v. 2) and I like them very much indeed. Lots of "bang for the buck" but a BIG amp is a necessity.

Check out Paradigm's web site, lots of trade reviews reprinted:

http://www.paradigm.com/

[Aquateen]

Does a Fisher 500-c count as a big amp? From my understanding it's kinda lower powered compared to more modern amps.

[Sckott]

Yeah, you might have to go for something with a lot of clean SS power. Something 300w N' up.

Although some of those monitors should be OK for 6L tubes. Anyone disagree?

[Aquateen]

I was actually looking at the Espirit, it's part of there preformance line which includeds the Atoms and Titans. All the reviews are quite positive but now I need to know if my Fisher can handle them.

[mne563]

FWIW, I use a Rotel 1090 amp at 380 w.p.c.

Paradigm does make many sizes of floor standers. The studio 100's are the big ones...

[ksmitty]

I have a pair of "Studio 60's" and really love them. I am running them with a NAD C-370 Integrated Amp which is rated at 120 WPC . The 60's handle power very well . I can push them hard with no sign of distortion and they act as if they love the power. Mid-Fi stuff but sounds darn good to my ears anyway.

[TimM]

I love Paradigm speakers and have owned several different models over the last few years. The first ones I bought were the Legends, which are part of the Performance line. These were the old ones with the built in powered sub-woofer, so they did not require a very big amp. I would say that there is a very big jump in performance between each of the Paradigm lines. The Monitor series sounds much better than the Performance series and the Studio series is much better yet. If you are considering the Espirit I would suggest you might want to listen to the Monitor 3's or 5's. They sound much better and the 3's might actualy be cheaper than the Espirits. The Monitor 3's are still a "bookshelf" speaker but they sound great for the money.

[Aquateen]

Originally posted by TimM
I love Paradigm speakers and have owned several different models over the last few years. The first ones I bought were the Legends, which are part of the Performance line. These were the old ones with the built in powered sub-woofer, so they did not require a very big amp. I would say that there is a very big jump in performance between each of the Paradigm lines. The Monitor series sounds much better than the Performance series and the Studio series is much better yet. If you are considering the Espirit I would suggest you might want to listen to the Monitor 3's or 5's. They sound much better and the 3's might actualy be cheaper than the Espirits. The Monitor 3's are still a "bookshelf" speaker but they sound great for the money. That is a good idea my friend. Roughly how much would a pair of monitor 3's cost?

[TimM]

Aquateen, I think list price on the Monitor 3's is $425 but it has been awhile since I looked. I still own a pair but they are not in my main system anymore. They won't get you the last octave of bass but they use the same tweeter as the Studio's and I always enjoyed their sound. I now use 4 Studio 40's in my system. Every time I have shopped for speakers I have auditioned many different brands but IMHO Paradigms always win at whatever price point I choose.

[levi]

I'll echo Tim's comments. I have a pair of Monitor 7 mains with Mini Monitor surrounds. I have friends who use Mini Monitors as their main speakers and are very happy with music as well as HT.

Paradigm gets praised so much on the Internet I'm surprised there isn't more of a backlash against em. they really are excellent speakers, especially for the money.

I went to Audio Advice in Raleigh a few weeks ago and listened to a pair of B&W Nautilus 802s. absolutely gorgeous -- in appearance as well as sound. they cost $8,000 a pair. my Monitor 7s were $600.

do the 802s sound 15 times better than my Monitor 7s?

no way.

[Gary Freed]

Originally posted by TimM
Aquateen, I think list price on the Monitor 3's is $425 but it has been awhile since I looked. I still own a pair but they are not in my main system anymore. They won't get you the last octave of bass but they use the same tweeter as the Studio's and I always enjoyed their sound. I now use 4 Studio 40's in my system. Every time I have shopped for speakers I have auditioned many different brands but IMHO Paradigms always win at whatever price point I choose.

Auquateen,

I can also vouch for the Studio 40's but keep in mind that they require stands. The Studio 60's are a better choice. After you consider the cost of decent looking stands you almost pay for the the Studio 60's that offer a better bass response. If I had to buy speakers again, I would go with the
60's.

Like Tim, I auditioned a sets of speakers in many of the so called hi end
audio stores. The Paradigms sounded comparable to many of the more expensive speaker set ups.

Whatever you do make sure the store allows you to try and buy. Bring the speakers home and listen to them in your system. They might not sound
right for your room size or equipment.

Also consider that smaller speakers might require a Sub Woofer.
Avoid going that route if you can. Subwoofers are great for HT but don't work as well as integrated woofers. A good subwoofer can be very costly as well.

Good luck and let us know how you make out!

Best regards,

Gary:)