The Official Paradigm Speakers Thread

[GeorgeFireEagle]

Originally Posted by Ryan Peddle

The S8s are more transparent than the 100s, and have extended bass response. But thee 100s, when powered really really well, can easily hold there own. Biamp the 100s with some real power and you will hear a speaker the should $5k+.

As for the Sub15, I think it is the diamond in the rough out of all of the Paradigm "big" subs. It is a significant upgrade over the 12, based on my recent change-over. And based on reviews, it comes very close to the performance if of the sub25.

As for the Sub1, the thing I liked about it was nothing felt forced or bloated at all. Low volumes were tight, deep, and well defined.

So Ryan what ya talking 500 600 Wts, i have a XPA-5 if i BiAmped i could get 400?

[-DLS-]

Originally Posted by Ryan Peddle

The S8s are more transparent than the 100s, and have extended bass response. But thee 100s, when powered really really well, can easily hold there own. Biamp the 100s with some real power and you will hear a speaker the should $5k+.

As for the Sub15, I think it is the diamond in the rough out of all of the Paradigm "big" subs. It is a significant upgrade over the 12, based on my recent change-over. And based on reviews, it comes very close to the performance if of the sub25.

As for the Sub1, the thing I liked about it was nothing felt forced or bloated at all. Low volumes were tight, deep, and well defined.

I would love to hear the Sub1 and even more the Sub2!! Secrets of Home Theater High Fidelity created a new category for it's 2010 awards just for the Sub2..


BADASS Award

[ChadFL]

Originally Posted by Ryan Peddle

Just to completely clarify, 6AVE is no longer, I repeat, is no longer an authorized dealer. They were cut off in Sept for breaking Paradigms dealer rules for Internet sales. This is straight from my Paradigm rep himself after I directly asked him. So any purchases made with this company hold no warranty, despite any information from 6AVE to the contrary.

By all means take advantage of the deals if you want, but know that you are NOT buying from an authorized dealer and anything purchased from them does not have one day of warranty.

There is no arguing this point, I am an authorized dealer for Paradigm, and my information comes directly from Paradigm.

Are there any authorized internet Paradigm dealers left?

[Unobtainium]

Thanks for the reply Ryan. The S8's are a big step-up money-wise, and I suspect like anything, there is the law of diminishing returns.
Sounds like you really like the sub 15. I'm glad it performs good. It is way cheaper than the sub 25, and I imagine you are right about the gap in performance not being huge.

What options did Paradigm give 6ave I wonder? If you cancel somebodies dealer status, shouldn't you offer to buy back all the product if you are not going to honor the warranty on them if sold? Seems like the only guys who lose are the customers. I mean they have no stock anyway, this would have filled a few orders at least.

[Zyclone]

Originally Posted by ChadFL

Are there any authorized internet Paradigm dealers left?

i would also like to know this because i noticed a site in my country (down under) have just listed paradigm speakers for sale online which i did'nt think they allowed.

[bix105]

re: Surrounds/rears

Has anyone tried out the paradigm dipole surrounds and also a direct surround (like a bookshelf) to see which one they prefer? Looking for opinions on this.

My TV room is only 3 walls, so if were to buy the dipoles I would have to stick them on the back wall... so I'm leaning towards just picking up a pair of Atom Monitors and sticking them back there, instead. (I don't know much about dipole but from what I can tell it seems like they were designed for side walls).

(fwiw, up front I have Monitors 9s and a CC-290. Piecing together the system over time, trying to decide what to do about rears now)

[Unobtainium]

From what others have posted and reading around, I'd say the direct radiators are fine. That is what I use. Most only really stress the exact design and timbre of the rears if you are big into multi channel music. My rears are a different design and brand, and I don't notice it. I notice the center channel is slightly different, but not the rears.
Basically get yourself something to fill the void back there. I actually prefer my direct radiators facing each other behind me on the sidewalls. I used to run them similar to the fronts, but I prefer the more diffuse sound they give off facing each other.

[lucv13]

Originally Posted by bix105

re: Surrounds/rears

Has anyone tried out the paradigm dipole surrounds and also a direct surround (like a bookshelf) to see which one they prefer? Looking for opinions on this.

My TV room is only 3 walls, so if were to buy the dipoles I would have to stick them on the back wall... so I'm leaning towards just picking up a pair of Atom Monitors and sticking them back there, instead. (I don't know much about dipole but from what I can tell it seems like they were designed for side walls).

(fwiw, up front I have Monitors 9s and a CC-290. Piecing together the system over time, trying to decide what to do about rears now)

For movie watching in a 5.1 system you'll want to use the dipoles for a more enveloping sound, however if you do a lot of music listening you may prefer the direct firing speakers the Atoms.

In a 7.1 system many people like to use 4 dipoles, myself I use the Atoms as surround speakers and the dipoles ADP 350 as rear surrounds. So the Atoms are on either side and the ADPs are on the back wall. This way when watching movies the Dolby Pro Logic IIx upgrades any 5.1 digital sound to 7.1 channels. Then when listening to music in Direct mode or a DTS track the receiver will process the sound to 5.1 using the fronts and Atom surround speakers only, leaving out the ADPs - IMO the best of both worlds...

[GAWD]

Originally Posted by bix105

re: Surrounds/rears

Has anyone tried out the paradigm dipole surrounds and also a direct surround (like a bookshelf) to see which one they prefer? Looking for opinions on this.

My TV room is only 3 walls, so if were to buy the dipoles I would have to stick them on the back wall... so I'm leaning towards just picking up a pair of Atom Monitors and sticking them back there, instead. (I don't know much about dipole but from what I can tell it seems like they were designed for side walls).

(fwiw, up front I have Monitors 9s and a CC-290. Piecing together the system over time, trying to decide what to do about rears now)

I used to have the same setup you do. 9s up front with a cc-290. For the rears in a 7.1 setup I used Mini Monitors and they worked fine. I never tried direct radiators as sides. I have since then changed my setup and gone with 4 Monitor Audio BRFX and did notice a significant difference. It's much harder to localize the sound in the rear and sides now. The sound is much more dispersed. For movie watching I love them.

[Unobtainium]

Well, as I type this, I am still at a loss as to how I could be wrong to this extent. The speakers have changed to my ear, and also to my RS digital meter.
I can honestly say that the bass has bloomed considerably at the same volume.
I was not really able to get much tactile feel with music without adding the sub. When I did, the sound was great by any standard. One particular song caught my ear as having waving, changing, rolling bass notes that the speakers alone didn't really seem to do justice was Madonna's Ray of Light CD, #10. I grabbed my meter that day, and measured peaks of 112dB, but most content was 105dB. This was with the Mirage sub. (+4 on vsx-o1txh)
I unplugged the sub, and the numbers dropped drastically. At the same +4 setting, the peaks were around 106dB, with most around the 101 mark.
So, I've been letting these things play for days, and watching 2-3 movies/night.
So, today I sit and listen for a few minutes before I leave to do other things. They sounded pretty darn good. (sub unplugged)
I cranked it up to 0 and left.
Well, come back up today after 5 hours at 0, and the bass is rolling over me in songs that I don't remember having much.
So, I throw in #10 on Ray of Light.
The sound was much nicer, with her voice so clear at +4, and the bass is rocking, and I can feel it. Grab the meter, and guess what?
Same place, same meter settings, and same +4 on the receiver, peaks were 110, with most around 105. What? No way....Check meter again, check to make sure sub is unplugged, re-do...
Same, with it showing 111 once.
Add the sub back in and we see 114dB peaks, with most still around the 106 mark. Unbelievable.
I also noticed on some of Toni Braxton's songs (the Heat, 2000) that the top end had changed a bit and it seemed bright at a few ticks under what I had it at on the first day.
It is clear as day that there has been a change, and the meter backs it up.
I had the meter in the exact same place, weighted C, slow, and max. Exactly as before.
That's what I call free lunch.
I wonder, are the sub 12's going to show a difference too? I'm going to do the exact same thing with them when they arrive and report back.
As a note, I'm looking forward to having the new xpa-2 hooked up to the bass of these 100's. I'm feeling like the bottom end could use more juice than the top end. Tripling the available power for the lower octaves should make a difference I would think.
__________________
"The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of low price subsides"

[Unobtainium]

I could not have hoped for anything better than this. It's perfect. The bass is quite a bit stronger, and there seems to be more detail. Layers of sound I never noticed before.
The dB meter backs up what my ears were hearing. 110dB at 0, instead of +4.
Perfect. There is more impact now too. The highs seem better too, but not sure how that could be. Maybe because there is no other draw on that transformer besides the highs? They seem delicate, and clear.
So, this combo is nothing short of amazing to me. It's exactly what I wanted to achieve.
I have the Studio 100's bi-amped with my HK Sig 2.1 running the highs, and an Emotiva Xpa-2 running the lows. 400w available per side.
It's the sound I imagined you could get with alot more money spent. The bass is great, not sure I need any subs with it at all. The dual Sub 12's will be here in the first week of Feb, and then movies should be a whole new game.

[DonC]

Hello Everybody, this morning I listened for the first time to my new studio 100 speakers. They sound amazing right out of the box!

The first thing I bought in preparation for the speakers was an emotiva xpa-2 amp in early December. I bought the amp when it was on sale for Christmas, and it immediately improved the sound on my old Infinity speakers. I really did not think the speakers were capable of such new lows and highs. I am definitely keeping my old speakers; they kept improving in sound quality whenever I upgraded to more powerful receivers over the years.

The dealer I ended up buying the speakers I had the CC-690 in stock, so I was able to upgrade my center channel before I received the towers. Adding the big Paradigm center to my system also had an immediate positive impact on the sound quality on movies and hd tv. Right away I started listening to new sounds, more bass, and clearer voices. The sound field in front of my tv got wider also. The towers took three exact weeks to arrive, and in this time I noticed the sound quality of the center channel go up. Both highs and lows, but specially lows, became more clearer and noticeable. (By the way, also the sound quality of the amp also improved in the weeks before I bought the speakers.)

Granted, I have just heard an few songs (I am a bit more into stereo musing than ht), but I can already tell the speakers have a powerful bass and a very wide range. Music from all sources sound good, even from online radio stations. I cannot wait to hear the speakers after they are broken in.

For those of you who would like to buy Paradigm speakers in the Los Angeles area, I would recommend not to purchase until you visited Systems Design Group in Redondo Beach. I went four dealers before I made my decision where to buy, and this place by far was the one with the better prices and customer service.

I wanted to get a pair of Studio 100 speakers for about 10 years, and they are finally here. Life is good.


DonC

[Zyclone]

Congrats DonC

[Guinness6]

Hey Paradigm brothers -

In the next few weeks I'll be purchasing speakers for the kitchen and setting up Zone 2.

I'm not really looking for advice, just sharing in the excitement of a new purchase.

We have a pretty large kitchen (really its the original kitchen with a sun-room addition) and its oddly shaped so truly perfect sound is probably out of the question, plus its not like its the ideal place for reference listening, I just want a way to pump music in there. (other than a bose ipod dock).

I promised my wife the speakers would be smaller than the Mini's, but I want to make sure I still get a nice sound that fills the room. I'll let you know what the dealer recommends/what I listen to & end up with...

[Ryan Peddle]

Minimonitors or studio 10s are what I tend to sell my customers for kitchen speakers, unless they are in wall or in ceiling which then they tend to be AMS250 or 150r.

[Shagadelic]

Originally Posted by aces high

Anyone interested in buying my Studio 100 v5's and cc690 v5 please pm me.

Thats crazy man ... yyyyoooooouuuurrrrr ccccrrrraaazzzzzzyyyyy mmmaannnnn
dude you've gotta f#@kin' dart in your neck man.

[Unobtainium]

I wanted to get a pair of Studio 100 speakers for about 10 years, and they are finally here. Life is good.


DonC

I was in the exact same boat. 10 years ago I said I would have Studio 100's.
The xpa-2 does them justice in my books. Congrats, the combo is really rewarding for music.

[aces high]

Originally Posted by Unobtainium

I wanted to get a pair of Studio 100 speakers for about 10 years, and they are finally here. Life is good.


DonC

I was in the exact same boat. 10 years ago I said I would have Studio 100's.
The xpa-2 does them justice in my books. Congrats, the combo is really rewarding for music.

I've wanted the Signatures ever since they started using the Be tweeter, I used to own a pair of S1 v2's but they were just too small as mains. I'm hoping to make the jump to some larger Sigs very soon. I'm glad your enjoying your 100's.

[sandman922]

Originally Posted by aces high

I've wanted the Signatures ever since they started using the Be tweeter, I used to own a pair of S1 v2's but they were just too small as mains. I'm hoping to make the jump to some larger Sigs very soon. I'm glad your enjoying your 100's.

hey aces sigs would be the ultimate hope it works out for ya. i know that's about the only series that would make me trade my studios

[kopkiwi]

Hey people. Am looking into some Paradigm speakers. Was looking at Axiom but the prices fluctuate to much.

The Studio series in NZ is far too expensive. How do the Monitor 9 v6 measure up? Cannot find a review for them anywhere.

Can be had here for a pretty decent price. Should I consider another line?