It doesn't help that his web site looks like it was made in 1996 with Frontpage. :) The info is great though... We should have a prerequisite sticky for AVS with all the appropriate mythbuster info. I'm not sure it wasn't! :D It's been around a long time (okay, maybe not that long). But the fundamentals don't change, and the info is still invaluable.

Has any one received their Studio 100's yet? How are they compared to the v.4? Big change? How about a photo? :)

Looking fwd to returning home to demo the new v.5 system. Interesting to see how they compare to PSB Synchrony and KEF XQ series. My other two choices. And possibly the B&W 800 series (my limit).

My living room is 18X14x8ft and the max I can go comfortably with stereo music on my Studio 60s is -15dB (1/3 of max) on my Onkyo NR906. Adding the other guys for 5.1 then -20 db is too much.
I also contemplated buying the 100s v.5, but I realized that it’d be too much sonic power unused for my space – what a waste --. My wife is not very happy even with the 60s v.5, so 100s would have been a real issue.

Raptor,

Which receiver/amps do you have?

Just asking because you have the same speakers I do (I have v4).

Thanks!

I have used heavier gauge wire than needed not because it will make any measureable difference but becuase the price difference, using Blue Jeans speaker cable, just didn't justify going the cheap route. In my case 14ga wire would have been adequate as my system has about 12 foot runs to my fronts (Studio 100's v.5) and 35 foot runs to my surrounds (Studio 20's v.5). I bought about 40 feet of 10ga wire and 80 feet of 12ga wire from Blue Jeans and know that there is NO CHANCE IN H*LL that the wire will be a problem.


Brian

My living room is 18X14x8ft and the max I can go comfortably with stereo music on my Studio 60s is -15dB (1/3 of max) on my Onkyo NR906. Adding the other guys for 5.1 then -20 db is too much.
I also contemplated buying the 100s v.5, but I realized that it’d be too much sonic power unused for my space – what a waste --. My wife is not very happy even with the 60s v.5, so 100s would have been a real issue.


So you're saying I shouldn't go broke and get 3 100's for L/C/R?? :( lol My room is only 15x17

So you're saying I shouldn't go broke and get 3 100's for L/C/R?? :( lol My room is only 15x17 I am using 3 Studio60s in a 15.5x16 room.

Not much difference between the size of the 60's and the 100's ultimately....

Sounds like your wife is the problem here... any chance in an upgrade..? :p

Not much difference between the size of the 60's and the 100's ultimately.... For me, there is. The 100s would block the screen. :D

Raptor,

Which receiver/amps do you have?

Just asking because you have the same speakers I do (I have v4).

Thanks!


I have the Pioneer SC-05 which is rated at 130wpc. However, as I mentioned in another thread, the SC-05 has a total power output of 630W and when you devide that by the 7 channels the per channel output when all channels are driven drops to 90wpc. However, even that value is inflated because the 630W rating is at 1kHz and 1% THD which inflates the number by about 20% over the 20-20K rating. So, the long and short of it is the SC-05, though rated at 130wpc and no doubt capable of delivering 130wpc if the total power is below about 500W total power. In other words, the SC-05 is actually a 72wpc AVR when all channels are driven.

I don't have a problem with this as I plan to add another amp to handle the fronts and center and in the mean time, since I only drive 5 speakers and the surrounds will only eat a fraction of the power the fronts do I think I can comfortably say the SC-05 should provide me about 120W for my fronts and center in my use profile. I am leaning towards the Emotiva XPA-5 amp that is rated to provide at least 200wpc when all channels are driven and I will probably only use it to drive the fronts and center. Without bi-amping I should easily get 200wpc and with bi-amping nearly 400W for the fronts and 200W for the center.

I should also point out that the ratings game Pioneer played here is common to almost all manufacturers. In the specifications for the SC-05 when you see the total power rating less than what the per channel rating multiplied by the number of channels is and when that total rating is at 1kHz instead of 20-20K you know something doesn't add up. I would check the other models for total power and see if there isn't a similar game being played.

Lastly, I don't feel particularly cheated by Pioneer as they almost all do this and I planned to add a seperate amp anyway. For me, the SC-05 is a video switcher and audio decoder that also has a good though limited amp.


Brian

For me, there is. The 100s would block the screen. :D


Kal, I think you need a taller chair.... :D

http://www.vrrentals.com/images/2006_big_chair.jpg

Well, wife upgrade is not an option!
On not upgrading to 100s v.5 in a small room, well it's your money man. I'm just saying your 100s will be underutilized. Kal, can you post pics of the 3 Studio 60s floorstanders with your screen? I’m curious how they look...

Well, wife upgrade is not an option!
On not upgrading to 100s v.5 in a small room, well it's your money man. I'm just saying your 100s will be underutilized. Kal, can you post pics of the 3 Studio 60s floorstanders with your screen? I’m curious how they look...

Wait there isn't a new v.5 update to your wife?

Wait there isn't a new v.5 update to your wife?


Maybe he's waiting for the .v6 model....

:)

This thread has slowed to a crawl, so is the initial hype over and now folks are waiting for reviews and what not?

For the Paradigm historians, how often does Paradigm update their line, for example when will rumors of a v6 surface?

Any word on a signature series update?

Any word on a signature series update?

Probably won't be too soon - if I'm not mistaken, the v.2's have only been out a little more than 1yr.

Nontheless, news of a forthcoming "improved" Signature line won't dampen my enthusiasm for the S8's I purchased a few months ago. Wow, what a great speaker....

I think people get a bit too exercised over the arrival of an improved version of whatever they own (or are considering). All of the manufacturers claims notwithstanding, any "real" audible improvement is apt to be quite small. ..Of course, this hobby is pretty much all about "small" improvements.

All of the manufacturers claims notwithstanding, any "real" audible improvement is apt to be quite small.

Changes to the line may or may not be small, and it may or may not be improvement each time. For example, when I had the Studio 60 v2, I thought the v3 sounded VERYdifferent (in a mixed way). They were more open and had a wider sound stage, but were brighter and harsher to my ears. I did not upgrade. When they v4 came out, I thought it was a more subtle change, but the new tweeter tamed the highs and I was very impressed (and upgraded). My guess is that this may be more of a subtle change year, since the tweeter and drivers are very similar (especially those like the 20s that aren't changing driver size). As I said earlier, I'm not crazy about the "space saving" direction they've gone with the 60s which is my favorite size.

Nontheless, news of a forthcoming "improved" Signature line won't dampen my enthusiasm for the S8's I purchased a few months ago. Wow, what a great speaker....




You can say that again.... WOW

When I listened to the new .v2 Sigs I was blown away, they were spectacular, I wouldn't hesitate to upgrade, they are head and shoulders above my .v1 Sig S4's...

I still have a feeling we may see some changes come down the line later this year regarding the Sigs. Paradigm in the last couple of years has gotten more aggressive with revamping and staying ahead of the curve with their product lines.

I look forward to what they do next with the Sigs, I think they need to further the gap from the studios, now that they both have curved cabinets.

Changes to the line may or may not be small, and it may or may not be improvement each time. For example, when I had the Studio 60 v2, I thought the v3 sounded VERYdifferent (in a mixed way). They were more open and had a wider sound stage, but were brighter and harsher to my ears. I did not upgrade. When they v4 came out, I thought it was a more subtle change, but the new tweeter tamed the highs and I was very impressed (and upgraded). My guess is that this may be more of a subtle change year, since the tweeter and drivers are very similar (especially those like the 20s that aren't changing driver size). As I said earlier, I'm not crazy about the "space saving" direction they've gone with the 60s which is my favorite size.

..Just a general comment regarding differences people hear:

How can one tell how different they sound when their being compared in different environments? Like many of you I've been a hifi buff for many many years. ..And in that time I've come to learn that "rooms" can sound far more different from one another than even speakers. So how valid is any comparison when one speaker is at home and the other is set up at a dealer? Of course, some (not all, sadly) retailers will allow to take a pair of speakers home - in which case comparisons become more valid.

..Just a general comment regarding differences people hear:

How can one tell how different they sound when their being compared in different environments? Like many of you I've been a hifi buff for many many years. ..And in that time I've come to learn that "rooms" can sound far more different from one another than even speakers. So how valid is any comparison when one speaker is at home and the other is set up at a dealer? Of course, some (not all, sadly) retailers will allow to take a pair of speakers home - in which case comparisons become more valid. So true. Sometimes I think you might as well buy from reviews as try to compare speakers in different rooms. Still, we all keep trying.

Dealers who charge MSRP or close to it should give buyers 30 days before a purchase is final. As you said, sadly some don't. Buying at a discount is a different matter. It's not unreasonable to ask the buyer to assume more risk in return for a lower price.

I'm assuming that there are a few people here now who have their new v5's, and I'd sure be interested in their opinions and observations. I'm waiting to receive my 60's and CC590 v5, and while not quite yet having broken out in a rash caused by anticipation, any news or opinions is good medicine for me. :p

ez

..Just a general comment regarding differences people hear:

How can one tell how different they sound when their being compared in different environments?

Agreed - 100%. Some of us have dealers with the same room and very similar equipment when you audition, so it allows for some degree of consistency. Obviously you won't know how it sounds at home until you get there.

So true. Sometimes I think you might as well buy from reviews as try to compare speakers in different rooms. Still, we all keep trying.Interesting point. For some reviewers, all reviews take place in the same room(s).

Interesting point. For some reviewers, all reviews take place in the same room(s).Exactly. And I know you are one of them.

Agreed - 100%. Some of us have dealers with the same room and very similar equipment when you audition, so it allows for some degree of consistency...Unfortunately, this doesn't help if he doesn't handle all the brands you are comparing.

not to put too fine a point on this.. But if you merely dressed up a v.4 to look exactly like a v.5 and then played both for a dozen audiophiles, what percentage do you think would claim to hear a significant difference?? I'm betting it would be a very high number. My point is that the mere fact that one is presented as an improved version of the other will cause many to hear "significant" differences whether or not such differences really exist.

This thread has slowed to a crawl, so is the initial hype over and now folks are waiting for reviews and what not?

For the Paradigm historians, how often does Paradigm update their line, for example when will rumors of a v6 surface?

I think the very early adopters have now all ordered - and are waiting for them to arrive. And I agree that those who aren't ready to jump are waiting for reviews. I know I've got a full set on order (100s, cc690, adp590 paired with 2 servo 15s) - should be here in around a week.

Hard week to wait! Should be a nice upgrade over my old Paradigm gear. And I even have "wife signoff" on the purchase - which sounds like a luxury so far in this thread!

-Scott

I think the very early adopters have now all ordered - and are waiting for them to arrive. And I agree that those who aren't ready to jump are waiting for reviews. I know I've got a full set on order (100s, cc690, adp590 paired with 2 servo 15s) - should be here in around a week.

Hard week to wait! Should be a nice upgrade over my old Paradigm gear. And I even have "wife signoff" on the purchase - which sounds like a luxury so far in this thread!

-Scott

I have had mine for 2 weeks now, I am coming from a Polk HTIB, so as you can imagine, I am thrilled. While I am new at this semi high end stuff, we did take the time to audition many speakers before settling on the latest and greatest from Paradigm. I think at this price point we simply could not make a bad choice. My wife wanted the B&W CM 9's but they were budget busters and I did not want to go with the CM 7's so after some convincing we went with the 60's and 690 (we are mostly HT). While it will not sway me one way or the other becuase reviews are well very subjective, I will be interested in reading what the experts have to say about my speakers.

We also took the plunge and are trading in the Monitor 9's, CC290 and ADP 390's (V5) for 60's, CC690 and ADP590's. Love the new look and can't wait to give them the test run. Wanted to go with the 100's but presently using a Elite VSX92TXH and didn't feel there may be enough power. This summer will replace the sub and may include an Anthem to push the front 3 and would then go with the 100's. Have a great dealer who allows full trade in value whenever you upgrade (within 12 mos) and also gave me 20% off on the new Studios. I think he gave me a nice deal and should have them in a little over a week. Looking forward to hearing owners reviews of the new Studios.

Seems like everyone has these on order, including myself. I'm just wondering how long it normally takes for the dealer to receive the shipment after the order has been placed. I ordered my new 60's on Feb 11th. I was told 7 business days but I haven't heard anything. Am I just being too impatient?

I'm assuming that there are a few people here now who have their new v5's, and I'd sure be interested in their opinions and observations. I'm waiting to receive my 60's and CC590 v5, and while not quite yet having broken out in a rash caused by anticipation, any news or opinions is good medicine for me. :p

ezHey old friend!:p I'm reposting this from the Paradigm owner thread.

I have a VERY short three hours on my Studio 20's (got the call they arrived yesterday and picked them up right after work). I also like my music/movies very loud (just read my previous posts where I bottomed out Totems).

These Studio 20's v5 are replacing my PSB Image B25's. I'm running an NAD T775. Previous to buying them I listened to many speakers, the best of which, IMO, were the Totem Rainmakers. The PSB Synchrony's were amazing, but at a steep price. I NEVER listened the the Studio 20's, but I got such a good deal I figured if I didn't like them, I could EBay them and break even if not make a profit.

That said, I started off last night around 8pm with Beethoven's 9th, then went to Amy Winehouse 'Back to Black', Very Best of Diana Krall and finished off with Plant/Krauss 'Raising Sand'. It was slightly after 11pm when I was done and not only were they NOT fatiguing, but the impact, clarity, soundfield - you name the audiophile term, were excellent.

Let me add, if three hours does not get fatiguing, nothing will. I very seldom have that kind of time to dedicate to music. Fatigue usually sets in for me around 45 minutes to an hour - yes I used to own Klipsch speakers and they were very fatiguing. I'm keeping these speakers!
__________________

I placed my order on Feb. 12th and was told they would be shipping them to me today. I should have them early next week. :D

ez

Hey old friend!:p

If three hours does not get fatiguing, nothing will. I very seldom have that kind of time to dedicate to music. Fatigue usually sets in for me around 45 minutes to an hour - yes I used to own Klipsch speakers and they were very fatiguing. I'm keeping these speakers!

Hey, buddy!

Looks like you took yourself up on that offer after all, I assume? Good to see you are enjoying those 20's (and yes...I am a former Klipsch owner as well). I had those horns for 15 years and was sad and glad at the same time to see them go.

ez

Are the new Paradigm v.5 Subwoofers good for music? They're expensive; I've read they are good, but there are better options at lower cost, like Hsus, Rhytmiks and SVSes. I've also read any medium priced subwoofer is fine for movies, but not all do well in music.

Dude save your money and go with the SVS PB 13 ultra...other than being slightly ugly its the best for your money.

Hey, buddy!

Looks like you took yourself up on that offer after all, I assume? Good to see you are enjoying those 20's (and yes...I am a former Klipsch owner as well). I had those horns for 15 years and was sad and glad at the same time to see them go.

ez
What's funny is I didn't let my Klipsch go. My father-n-law was looking for speakers and I bought my pair some 25 years ago (KG4's). I religiously used Murphy's Oil Soap once a month and they are still in immaculate condition. So I "lent" them to him. He can use them for the rest of his life, but he can't sell them or give them to anyone else.

While the sound from the KG4's gets fatiguing, they were my first "real" pair of speakers, and I saved almost 6 months to get them.

Post a review after you get your speakers setup.

I think it's funny, anytime someone asks about a Paradigm sub, the answer is never answered, it's always, get a SVS, or HSU, better value. I'd like to hear from someone that's owned and likes Paradigm subs, I've got the sub-12 coming.


Dude save your money and go with the SVS PB 13 ultra...other than being slightly ugly its the best for your money.

I think it's funny, anytime someone asks about a Paradigm sub, the answer is never answered, it's always, get a SVS, or HSU, better value. I'd like to hear from someone that's owned and likes Paradigm subs, I've got the sub-12 coming.

I had a Servo 15 in my previous setup that included a pair of v.2 60's and I was very happy with the Servo 15.

In my new setup which I've had for about 10 days I have the new Sub 15 to go along with v.5 Studio 100's, Studio 20's and CC-690. I do not have everything ballanced properrly yet and I need to do some work on the room to improve the acoustics but so far I like the Sub 15.

I think it would be hard to beat the price/performance of the SVS subs but although I'll probably use my system for HT more than music my preference would be for a musical sub over one that's optimized for HT or volume. I do not need to produce an 8.7 magnitude earthquake from my sub to be happy.


Brian

I think it's funny, anytime someone asks about a Paradigm sub, the answer is never answered, it's always, get a SVS, or HSU, better value. I'd like to hear from someone that's owned and likes Paradigm subs, I've got the sub-12 coming.

The only reason for that is because Paradigms Servo 15 has truly become an outdated sub as far as performance goes, its still has pretty good SQ, and power but compared to the other offerings that are out there today, one can certainly do much better for the money...

Now the Sub25 is a different ball game, they have revamped their subwoofer line, so we will see what they have to offer or bring to the plate as far as power, SQ, articulation, and also how it measures, letting us know how much distortion it puts out...

Just like the dated Velodyne DD subs, they are darn powerful, but for that kind of money you can get JL, which are pretty incredible subs for everything, very very linear in measurements, which means no or very low distortion.

Now that is what its all about if you are a sub afficianado, no different then speakers, when someone say BOSE, people jump all over them, offering up different suggestions to protect the buyer....

I ordered the Studio 10's and should get them in a week. If I like them, they'll replace some B&W 686s

Well I've got my new studio20 v.5's up and running... I have five in a living room home theater setup. The room is less than ideal as it is small and open on one side, but I am very happy with the sound so far... I have heard the V.4's several times in dealer showrooms so I had a general idea of what to expect. These new V.5's ARE what I expected... Clear, detailed and realistic. I would have to have a set of V.4's HERE to do a real comparison of course but the sound of the V.5 is very similar as far as I can tell. I have them crossed over at 80Hz with my SVS PC Ultra13. It was very easy to dial in the sub woofer with these speakers and once done the system has incredible impact. The center studio20 seems to be capable of the demands placed upon it... Vocals in movies do sound a little different than what I'm used to though, not quite as exaggerated but still audible. I am still on the fence as to what I prefer for movies but with music there is no comparison. AMAZING sound! These speakers are beautiful. I am still breaking them in and fooling around with placement and settings but so far so good. I feel that I have made a good purchase! :cool:

I received my Studio 60s and CC590(all v5) on Saturday and got 'em all set up and ready to watch a couple of Blu-rays. I popped in the movie and settle back to enjoy my new purchase. The 60's sound great but there is very little sound coming from the center channel. I check my connections and everything looks fine, but I unplug the center channel wire from the AVR and the speaker and then plug it back in again just to be sure of a good connection. Same thing...sound is coming out but it's very soft and sounds like I'm listening to it from behind a wall. I disconnect the CC590 and hook the center channel wire to one of the 60's and it works beautifully. So, I ended up shipping the 590 back to the dealer for a replacement. What a disappointment.

Anyway, as I said, the Studio 60's are very, very nice. Excellent clarity and projection of sound. I listened to mainly 2-channel music since I didn't have the center channel, and listened to jazz, classical, blues and rock. I thought they handled jazz and classical music the best and really enjoyed the clarity of sound when listening to piano and string instuments. I closed my eyes and it sounded like the piano was right in the room! It was that good!!

Coming from a background of Klipsch speakers, and having that sound in my ears for the past 15 years, I'm sure it will take a bit of time to totally adjust to the Paradigm sound. The 60's didn't really have that LOUD sound that I was used to hearing from the Klipsch's, plus the Klipsch's were a bit more efficient than the Paradigms (95dB vs 92dB), so I had to ramp up the volume control a little higher on my Yamaha 663. However, it's a world of difference with the Paradigm's because I didn't fatigue after an hour of listening like I did with the Klipsch's. Plus, there is just a subtle clarity with the 60's that brings out things I hadn't heard before. These are some excellent speakers and I'm just waiting for the replacement 590 so I can watch movies in 5.1 mode. That's where I understand the Paradigm sound really shines.

Thanks for the post ez! Keep us posted with your review when you get the new 590 in.

Well, I ordered a pair of 20's and a CC-590 in Rosenut over the weekend; hoping to get them next weekend. I heard the 60 v5's at the dealer too, and was amazed at their bass output, especially considering they weren't broke in yet.

I too ordered my set of studio 100's and CC690 and ADP 590's (all v5) last week. just waiting on them to come in. I already have the Onkyo 806 receiver, SVS sub, and just ordered a emotiva XPA2. Only thing left before the speakers arrive is to get all the wiring run in the walls and get the face plates up. :) I should be set to go when the speakers arrive...
Dan

I am in the process of mounting the ADP 590's and wanted to know how high to mount them?

Technically, the tweeters should be at ear height, presumably when sitting... That is not practical for my room, so I ended up putting them about 5 feet up from the floor. They sound fine.

Technically, the tweeters should be at ear height, presumably when sitting... That is not practical for my room, so I ended up putting them about 5 feet up from the floor. They sound fine.

thanks,
I will do that.

I received my Studio 60s and CC590(all v5) on Saturday and got 'em all set up and ready to watch a couple of Blu-rays. I popped in the movie and settle back to enjoy my new purchase. The 60's sound great but there is very little sound coming from the center channel. I check my connections and everything looks fine, but I unplug the center channel wire from the AVR and the speaker and then plug it back in again just to be sure of a good connection. Same thing...sound is coming out but it's very soft and sounds like I'm listening to it from behind a wall. I disconnect the CC590 and hook the center channel wire to one of the 60's and it works beautifully. So, I ended up shipping the 590 back to the dealer for a replacement. What a disappointment.

Anyway, as I said, the Studio 60's are very, very nice. Excellent clarity and projection of sound. I listened to mainly 2-channel music since I didn't have the center channel, and listened to jazz, classical, blues and rock. I thought they handled jazz and classical music the best and really enjoyed the clarity of sound when listening to piano and string instuments. I closed my eyes and it sounded like the piano was right in the room! It was that good!!

Coming from a background of Klipsch speakers, and having that sound in my ears for the past 15 years, I'm sure it will take a bit of time to totally adjust to the Paradigm sound. The 60's didn't really have that LOUD sound that I was used to hearing from the Klipsch's, plus the Klipsch's were a bit more efficient than the Paradigms (95dB vs 92dB), so I had to ramp up the volume control a little higher on my Yamaha 663. However, it's a world of difference with the Paradigm's because I didn't fatigue after an hour of listening like I did with the Klipsch's. Plus, there is just a subtle clarity with the 60's that brings out things I hadn't heard before. These are some excellent speakers and I'm just waiting for the replacement 590 so I can watch movies in 5.1 mode. That's where I understand the Paradigm sound really shines.

ezdriver.....
On your Yamaha did you run your room correction to get the speakers to be all level matched....? Then after did you use a SPL meter to manually check and adjust the levels of each speaker....? I'm very surprised to hear something of the nature you specified.... I find receivers auto room correction to be very inaccurate when it comes to level matching... Just an FYI

ezdriver.....
On your Yamaha did you run your room correction to get the speakers to be all level matched....? Then after did you use a SPL meter to manually check and adjust the levels of each speaker....? I'm very surprised to hear something of the nature you specified.... I find receivers auto room correction to be very inaccurate when it comes to level matching... Just an FYI

I don't even bother to use AutoSet-Up anymore as I now only use my SPL meter to manually set all speaker levels to 75dB at 0. I also tend to do "most" of my listening in the -20dB to -15dB range on the dial.

It was very strange with that 590 center speaker the way it acted. Sound did come out but it was very muted. I knew something was wrong when I played Transformers and it came to the early scene where the soldiers are talking in the helicopter. Their dialog was VERY soft and barely audible. I then tried several different sources (Blu-ray, HD DVD, cable) with the same result.

One other thing I have noticed over the past couple of days has to do with the Studio 60's. The upper register sounds that they produce are so clear and pristine that it is truly amazing to hear. However, they don't seem have a lot of punch at the lower bass levels. Again, I have listened to a variety of 2-channel material to hear what sounds good or bad to me and I constantly find myself tempted to reach for the Bass control on my Yamaha 663. Maybe it's just a matter of getting used to the Paradigm sound as opposed to the Klipsch sound I have grown used to over the past several years. As I said earlier, I'm waiting on that replacement 590 so I can listen to 5.1 sound and really get a feel for these new babies.

I wanted to do some planning for my eventual purchase of some Studio v.5 speakers. Is there any data on the physical dimensions of the various Studio Center speakers? Unfortunately, the Paradigm site has yet to be updated and my local dealer isn't getting them in for a couple of months it seems. I am not even sure that they have changed from the v.4 sizes.

Any help on the CC490/590/690 v.5 dimensions would be great!

I wanted to do some planning for my eventual purchase of some Studio v.5 speakers. Is there any data on the physical dimensions of the various Studio Center speakers? Unfortunately, the Paradigm site has yet to be updated and my local dealer isn't getting them in for a couple of months it seems. I am not even sure that they have changed from the v.4 sizes.

Any help on the CC490/590/690 v.5 dimensions would be great!

Go to page 5 of this discussion and look near the bottom of the page and you will see the chart with the info you require.

ez

I see where the picture should be. Too bad work prevents pictures from loading on forums, but I'll get my information from there after work. Thanks!

Guys I cant really tell from looking at these photos... do these come in three colors now?
How do they line up in terms of darkest to lightest? I am looking for something that would be dark brown in real life, mahogany almost.

They do not have a dark finish, the darkest finish they offer in wood is Rosewood, and that is more red in nature...

They do not have a dark finish, the darkest finish they offer in wood is Rosewood, and that is more red in nature...
Black is pretty dark - I believe that is still a wood finish.

Rosewood is darker than cherry correct? Anyone has "real life" pics to compare?

Rosewood is darker than cherry correct? Anyone has "real life" pics to compare?

I have some new v.5's in Cherry that I can take some pictures of but without some Rosenut's beside them it will be hard to compare.


Brian

Guys I cant really tell from looking at these photos... do these come in three colors now?
How do they line up in terms of darkest to lightest? I am looking for something that would be dark brown in real life, mahogany almost.

I've seen two of the three colors in person (cherry and black; I ordered rosenut and have seen the rosenut vinyl veneer in person though). The black finish looks like you'd expect: wood that's been spray-painted black, with the direction of the grain showing through. It's a nice even finish, but I like the other two finishes better, and I'm surprised they don't charge more for them, like other manufacturers do.

Cherry is a medium-colored tan/brown finish, with maybe a touch of reddish color, and rosenut is a deep, darker red shade, probably closest to the mahogany color you're going for. Cherry and rosenut aren't as different as I'd expected in terms of color, I expected cherry would be a bit lighter colored. In fact, I'd say cherry in a darker room would look very similar to rosenut in a more well-lit room.

Here's cherry: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=15771667#post15771667

More cherry: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=15782646#post15782646

Rosenut: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=15769527#post15769527

Glenn says these are cherry, but they look like rosenut to me, maybe he can confirm this?: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=15727410#post15727410

And here's black: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=15792116#post15792116

EDIT: I agree about a piano black finish; would've been much more tempting IMO.

Guys I cant really tell from looking at these photos... do these come in three colors now?
How do they line up in terms of darkest to lightest? I am looking for something that would be dark brown in real life, mahogany almost.If you really like the dark brown, the "Wenge" fits the bill. Unfortunately it's not an option on the Studio's - only the Monitor line.

I've seen two of the three colors in person (cherry and black; I ordered rosenut and have seen the rosenut vinyl veneer in person though). The black finish looks like you'd expect: wood that's been spray-painted black, with the direction of the grain showing through. It's a nice even finish, but I like the other two finishes better, and I'm surprised they don't charge more for them, like other manufacturers do.

Cherry is a medium-colored tan/brown finish, with maybe a touch of reddish color, and rosenut is a deep, dark red shade, probably closest to the mahogany color you're going for. Cherry and rosenut aren't as different as I'd expected in terms of color, I expected cherry would be a bit lighter colored.


Yeah, I'm not a big fan of the black finish Paradigm uses on the Studio line but if they offered a true Piano black that might be more tempting.


Brian

Just goes to show: I don't like black much, but I hate piano black. The only reason why I wouldn't go for a Sig center is I just don't like wood finished to look like plastic. :) Different strokes and all that...

I think calling the black "spray painted" is a bit of an aesthetic injustice, even though it probably *was* spray painted. :) I don't see it quite to the level of finish of the other types, and IMO it *should* cost less. But in reality, the other wood veneers are dirt cheap types too, and all the cost is probably in the veneering and finish labor.

I do not like fine-grained cheap woods like they use for the "non-black". I wish they'd go to some woods with character. But I guess that would be another price league. Though the overall fit and finish on all of these boxes is about as good as you'll find.

I do not really look at my speakers all that much, so as long as they're not offensive I guess it doesn't matter...

Yeah, I'm not a big fan of the black finish Paradigm uses on the Studio line but if they offered a true Piano black that might be more tempting.
Brian

It is interesting that you say that. I had the same observations and reservations about my CC-690 which I've had for a few weeks now I think. It sounded to me as though only the two highest frequency drivers were working. However, when I ran Audyssey, it detected the 690 as my "loudest" speaker (by far LOL) and decided its XO should be 40Hz (as low as it goes with my AVR)...so obviously I am in error!

Even when I did similar to what you did, and tried giving the 690 a full range signal with all the other channels turned down, it still sounded "lame" to me. But another observational conflict: in use I have *not once* needed to tweak the volume to clarify dialogue etc., unlike with my previous Studio Ref. center where I was always volume fiddling. The damn thing works, somehow, yet when I focus my attention on it it seems pathetic. So I must be wrong somehow. Some weird internal XO that "doesn't quite work normally" with a full-range signal??

And now you've got me wondering again...

... but I unplug the center channel wire from the AVR and the speaker and then plug it back in again just to be sure of a good connection. Same thing...sound is coming out but it's very soft and sounds like I'm listening to it from behind a wall. I disconnect the CC590 and hook the center channel wire to one of the 60's and it works beautifully.

Well, I ended up shipping that 590(v5) back to the dealer who discovered that it had two problems - the midrange connector wasn't connected and the midrange driver was blown (had a raspy sound to it). He ordered a replacement driver and hopes to have the speaker reassembled and back to me by the weekend (after giving it a thorough listening session).

ez

Good!

Mine was some sort of perception "problem"... Since I last posted, I got off my duff and actually tested the CC-690v5 in isolation. It is decent to ~40Hz, with a pronounced dip somewhere near 50Hz, gets stronger higher than that. I can easily hear the tones change driver as I change frequency. Your post made me do this :), to finally settle the niggle of a question in my mind...

Well, I ended up shipping that 590(v5) back to the dealer who discovered that it had two problems - the midrange connector wasn't connected and the midrange driver was blown (had a raspy sound to it). He ordered a replacement driver and hopes to have the speaker reassembled and back to me by the weekend (after giving it a thorough listening session).

ez

It's funny I had\have the same perception problem with my cc-690 to the point where I almost talked myself into purchasing an amp... But I did isolate it, and played it damn loud and it was fine, and a ton of air was being moved. I am 99% sure mine is a placement issue however, it's on the bottom shelf of a TV stand and the 5 degree incline Paradigm recomended barely made a difference. Once I get the plasma wall mounted and place the cc-690 on the top shelf I am sure it will be a night and day difference. But like you said, even with the placement issue, dialog is not an issue. Just seems like it should be doing more :D

^ I didn't notice anything "weird" about the way the CC-690 XO operated. Everything seems to work as expected when testing the speaker in isolation. I think it is perceived as being a little weak because it's so well integrated. :) Or something like that...it's doing a lot more than it seems, as observable if you disconnect it.

Mine is mounted ~4" off the floor, and angled upwards a fair bit since the first seat is ~7' away. That's the best I could do so far, what with keeping the 690 in line with the fronts, and also not to block my display which starts ~18" from the floor IIRC. Is it bad having it so close to the floor? I didn't notice anything (by ear) particularly bad when doing the manual frequency sweeps, except for that big dip around 50Hz. [to clarify that "dip", the speaker sounds much louder at 40Hz and 60Hz than at 50Hz, in this position)

Would you guys think that the center 490 V5 would be a better match with the Studio 60s V5 as opposed to the larger center 590/690?

Im seriously thinking of selling my Millenia 5.1 pkg and getting the new studios. They look and sound very very good.

Does anyone have any comments regarding the performance of the SVS sub vs. previous paradigm subs. Seems like everyone is getting the paradigm speakers with the SVS sub.

A friend of mine has an SVS and it sounds real good, but I haven't heard too much about the previous Paradigm Sub 15 models. I understand that SVS's are a great value for your $$$, but not sure of the performance differences between the two.

If anyone had any experience or thoughts about an SVS vs. Paradigm sub I'd be interested in hearing what you had to say about it.

Regards.

Does anyone have any comments regarding the performance of the SVS sub vs. previous paradigm subs. Seems like everyone is getting the paradigm speakers with the SVS sub.

A friend of mine has an SVS and it sounds real good, but I haven't heard too much about the previous Paradigm Sub 15 models. I understand that SVS's are a great value for your $$$, but not sure of the performance differences between the two.

If anyone had any experience or thoughts about an SVS vs. Paradigm sub I'd be interested in hearing what you had to say about it.

Regards.

I just posted a question similar to yours in the subwoofer forum. I'm interested in the difference between the Sub 15 and the PB 13 (besides price). Link to thread. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1111570)

Does anyone have any comments regarding the performance of the SVS sub vs. previous paradigm subs. Seems like everyone is getting the paradigm speakers with the SVS sub.

A friend of mine has an SVS and it sounds real good, but I haven't heard too much about the previous Paradigm Sub 15 models. I understand that SVS's are a great value for your $$$, but not sure of the performance differences between the two.

If anyone had any experience or thoughts about an SVS vs. Paradigm sub I'd be interested in hearing what you had to say about it.

Regards.

As stated in the other thread the above poster referenced, if your primary use is HT, the Ultra simply cannot be touched. Just make sure you have room for it, it's quite literally a monster.

Thanks for the link fanbrain and RobBas. Didn't notice that thread before.

I read through it. I guess we won't know too much till the Sub15 gets reviewed, but based on what i read i'm even more confused about which is the better sounding and more powerful sub.

Would you guys think that the center 490 V5 would be a better match with the Studio 60s V5 as opposed to the larger center 590/690?

Im seriously thinking of selling my Millenia 5.1 pkg and getting the new studios. They look and sound very very good.
I had ordered the 60v5 for the fronts and a 490 for the center after listening to the v4 at the dealer. Got them home and the space in my cabinet for the center is so large I thought it would look lost there so didn't unpack any of them. I called the dealer and asked if I could bring them back and set them up in one of their demo show rooms. We played a movie and some CD's and the 490 and the 60's sounded absolutely wonderful together and that was in a fairly large room. I went ahead and ordered a 590 just because of the deal they offered. They left the 490 in the show room as a demo and it sold within a couple of days. So the answer is it will work just fine with the 60's as will the 590 that I have now. The rosewood finish on these speakers by the way is absolutely beautiful.

Does anyone have any comments regarding the performance of the SVS sub vs. previous paradigm subs. Seems like everyone is getting the paradigm speakers with the SVS sub.

A friend of mine has an SVS and it sounds real good, but I haven't heard too much about the previous Paradigm Sub 15 models. I understand that SVS's are a great value for your $$$, but not sure of the performance differences between the two.

If anyone had any experience or thoughts about an SVS vs. Paradigm sub I'd be interested in hearing what you had to say about it.

Regards.

I've had a Paradigm PDR10 and Hypercube and then tried out the DSP3200 and DSP3400. None of them even come close to the SVS Ultra I now have. I love paradigm speakers, but for the sub I love the SVS. I'm mostly movies.

Thanks for the link fanbrain and RobBas. Didn't notice that thread before.

I read through it. I guess we won't know too much till the Sub15 gets reviewed, but based on what i read i'm even more confused about which is the better sounding and more powerful sub.
I've had a Paradigm PDR10 and Hypercube and then tried out the DSP3200 and DSP3400. None of them even come close to the SVS Ultra I now have. I love paradigm speakers, but for the sub I love the SVS. I'm mostly movies.

Better sounding = debatable
more powerful = SVS.(period)

As mentioned if your mostly movies, get the Ultra, you will not be disapointed just make sure you have the room for it, I cannot stress the size of this sub enough lol.

I've had a Paradigm PDR10 and Hypercube and then tried out the DSP3200 and DSP3400. None of them even come close to the SVS Ultra I now have. I love paradigm speakers, but for the sub I love the SVS. I'm mostly movies.

Well, the PDR doesnt count....;) and I take it you're talking about an ultracube; never heard of a hypercube. The DSP series arent too bad but when you've heard the Seismic in your room....and then a Servo....lets just say alot of the stipple from my ceiling found its way onto my then CRT and speakers.:D

I take it you're talking about an ultracube; never heard of a hypercube.

Doh! yes ultracube..ultracube, hypercube you get the idea:D

So I just picked up my new v5 60's last night and trying to dial them in. It seems like the concensus on here is to set them to "small" on your receiver, but now I'm wondering about the XOver setting. Should this be set at 80 or 60 hertzs? I'm running an ultracube 12 for the sub and an rx-v1800 for the receiver. Also, for anyone else using a yammy, which PEQ do you use, Natural, Flat, or Front? or do you not select any of these?

So I just picked up my new v5 60's last night and trying to dial them in. It seems like the concensus on here is to set them to "small" on your receiver, but now I'm wondering about the XOver setting. Should this be set at 80 or 60 hertzs? I'm running an ultracube 12 for the sub and an rx-v1800 for the receiver. Also, for anyone else using a yammy, which PEQ do you use, Natural, Flat, or Front? or do you not select any of these?

I would use 60Hz, but only if your rear speakers are large enough to handle it. Otherwise 80Hz is a good starting point. You probably should run the PEQ and see what it comes up with.

I'd use either Flat or Front. Front means the PEQ doesn't do the front speakers and will try to tune the rears to match the front. Flat means it will tune all the speakers to sound as accurate as possible. It all depends on if you think the fronts needs any tweaking

So I just picked up my new v5 60's last night and trying to dial them in. It seems like the concensus on here is to set them to "small" on your receiver, but now I'm wondering about the XOver setting. Should this be set at 80 or 60 hertzs? I'm running an ultracube 12 for the sub and an rx-v1800 for the receiver. Also, for anyone else using a yammy, which PEQ do you use, Natural, Flat, or Front? or do you not select any of these?

I have some posts with the same questions way back in this thread, I'll save you the searching time. Basically, and others can correct me if I am wrong. But the gist of it came down to the fact that 80hz and below a sub can deliver that with more impact than your mains. That may apply to HT more than music, I am not sure, there are some good people in this thread that can address this.

BTW, as a 60 v5 owner myself, please post your impressions, I listened to a Blue Man Group DVD last night and had a smile on my face the entire time.

Well I can let you know what I think of them so far, but just to let you know, I've never heard the v4's, so you may want to take this with a grain of salt. And the 60v5's where an upgrade from my Monitor 7v4's.
The first thing I noticed when I pulled them out of the box was that they are small compared to my M7v4's, nowhere near as deep. I was a little concerned because like every guy, I believe size matters. Lifting them though, they are alot heavier. I was expecting big things from these as I've been reading reviews of the studio series for quite awhile, just waiting for the chance to upgrade. As far as looks, I wasn't initially sold, just because they look so much smaller than my monitors, but they are growing on me now. I find it hard to keep the grills on since they look so good with them off. Now for how they sound, much much much "clearer" then the monitors (yeah I don't know all the audio talk to describe sound hahaha). I don't find them as punchy as I thought they would be, but I think that may be because I have them underpowered with my 130*7 rx-v1800. I'm not one to crank my speakers up very often, but one thing I noticed right off the bat is that these will play significantly louder then the monitors. So overall, I'm impressed so far, but I'm not sure they've given me that "WOW" factor yet considering how much more $$$ they were compared to what I was running.
A question for everyone though, should I bother to bi-amp these with the two free channels I have available on my receiver?

I don't know all the audiophile speak so laments terms are good for me :D

About the bass extension, I am surprised you think it's lacking, I find it quite the opposite, I was pleasantly surprised how low they went, I tested with some rap\hip hop which is pretty bass heavy. Keep plugging along I am sure you will find a happy medium.

About your receiver, also in this thread, there was talk of this. This thread has a lot of useful stuff in it, but basically 130w should be sufficient for the 60's.

I just got the studio 10s in cherry for rear speakers. I have Signature s4 v2 in cherry up front and in case anyone wanted to know the cherry finish is different. The studio is more orange and the signature is more red. I can take pics if anyone is interested.
Mike

http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/6038/studio10070.jpg (http://img21.imageshack.us/my.php?image=studio10070.jpg)

http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/6038/studio10070.jpg (http://img21.imageshack.us/my.php?image=studio10070.jpg)

Sexy:D

Here is what I did...maybe someone can comment...

Studio 100s (Fronts) - Small - 60Hz
Studio 20s (Rears) - Small - 80Hz
Millenia 20 (Center) - Small - 110Hz
DSP3400 (Sub) - Bypass - Sub Only

Set PEQ to FRONT

Any comments on this? Is it not a good idea to have the 20s and 100s on different settings? What about FRONT for PEQ? I also tried Natural - but preferred FRONT.

I also liked LARGE for REARS and FRONTS - seemed to be pretty powerful.

Thanks!

So I just picked up my new v5 60's last night and trying to dial them in. It seems like the concensus on here is to set them to "small" on your receiver, but now I'm wondering about the XOver setting. Should this be set at 80 or 60 hertzs? I'm running an ultracube 12 for the sub and an rx-v1800 for the receiver. Also, for anyone else using a yammy, which PEQ do you use, Natural, Flat, or Front? or do you not select any of these?

...Any comments on this? Is it not a good idea to have the 20s and 100s on different settings?...Seems like most people here do it, but there are some good reasons not to use different crossovers that tend to be overlooked in these forums. You might want to read Colin Miller and Brian Florian's "Secrets" Feature Article (http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_9_3/feature-article-multiple-crossovers-9-2002.html) about subwoofer crossovers, then decide for yourself if it's a good idea to use different settings.

If you don't want to read the whole article, scroll down to "Mixing high and low frequency crossovers in a multi-channel set up" for their discussion of this subject.

Which center will you guys think will be a great match to the 60s? My dealer recommends 490 saying that the drivers are the same and timbal will be perfectly matching. I would love to go with 590 however. Any reason not to do it?

Which center will you guys think will be a great match to the 60s? My dealer recommends 490 saying that the drivers are the same and timbal will be perfectly matching. I would love to go with 590 however. Any reason not to do it?
I have the 590 with the 60's and love it. No reason not to do it unless you want to save some money with the 490.

Well I can let you know what I think of them so far, but just to let you know, I've never heard the v4's, so you may want to take this with a grain of salt. And the 60v5's where an upgrade from my Monitor 7v4's.
The first thing I noticed when I pulled them out of the box was that they are small compared to my M7v4's, nowhere near as deep. I was a little concerned because like every guy, I believe size matters. Lifting them though, they are alot heavier. I was expecting big things from these as I've been reading reviews of the studio series for quite awhile, just waiting for the chance to upgrade. As far as looks, I wasn't initially sold, just because they look so much smaller than my monitors, but they are growing on me now. I find it hard to keep the grills on since they look so good with them off. Now for how they sound, much much much "clearer" then the monitors (yeah I don't know all the audio talk to describe sound hahaha). I don't find them as punchy as I thought they would be, but I think that may be because I have them underpowered with my 130*7 rx-v1800. I'm not one to crank my speakers up very often, but one thing I noticed right off the bat is that these will play significantly louder then the monitors. So overall, I'm impressed so far, but I'm not sure they've given me that "WOW" factor yet considering how much more $$$ they were compared to what I was running.
A question for everyone though, should I bother to bi-amp these with the two free channels I have available on my receiver?

Give them time to break and burn in. The bass extension and defenition should most defenitely improve. As far as the passive bi-amping, give it a shot and see what you think. Paradigm recommends it in the handbook. FWIW, I asked Paradigm the same question and they came back with this:

Hi Jeff

Passive bi-amping provides a dramatic improvement in clarity, openness and detail with much better bass solidity and definition. The jumper bars must be removed before connecting the speaker wires to prevent damage.

Please note that the power from the two receiver/amplifier channels is not added together because there is no electrical connection between the top and bottom pair of binding posts.

Merry Christmas

Sincerely,
Gary Takeda
Paradigm Technical Support

Passive bi-amping provides a dramatic improvement in clarity, openness and detail with much better bass solidity and definition.

Sounds like Paradigm is mastering the marketing fluff these days. As long as the passive crossover is still present, you're just creating more dissipated heat. Just google "passive biamping" or "fools biamping" for more info.

And yes, I did try it out on my 60s for quite some time... I wasn't able to do a true, live a/b comparison, but I certainly didn't notice any tangible difference.

I saw the new V5's at the dealers this weekend, and I was not impressed by the new curves, especially on the centers.

I know people though Paradigms were too boxy, but now they seem to thin and I dunno, I just don't like the looks of them as much.

I did not get to hear them because other customers were demoing B&Ws.

Well I've been playing with my new 60v5's for a few days now, and I'm enjoying them. But all this talk about "more power is better" has gotten to me. I'm currently running a yamaha rx-v1800 with 130w per channel. I was at a local shop today and they had a Rotel RB-1070 there. This is rated at 130w*2. I guess my question is, will 130 watts to each of the 60's from a Rotel be much different from running them off my receiver? Or should I be looking at adding much more juice like 200 watts to each? Just seems like the price of amps goes up pretty quick when comparing one's in the 100 -150 range compared to ones in the 200 range. Is the extra cost justified?

More power in watts is not likely to help you. If your receiver is accurately rated at 130 (which is always a question), you should be fine from a power standpoint. Receivers have other disadvantages that may be mitigated by a separate amp. Even if you add the amp, though, you are still bound by the signal processing of the Yamaha (which may be good or not-so-good depending on your preference).

... all this talk about "more power is better" has gotten to me... I guess my question is, will 130 watts to each of the 60's from a Rotel be much different from running them off my receiver? Or should I be looking at adding much more juice like 200 watts to each?... Is the extra cost justified?If the "more power" talk is getting to you, keep in mind that it takes a lot more power to make much difference. Going from 130 watts to 200 will add ~ 2dB, just noticeable.

There are other aspects of amp design other than sheer power output that could make a difference in sound, but you'll have to listen for yourself to tell if you can hear them. Not everyone does. Ideally, your dealer will let you try any potential upgrade in your listening room with your speakers. That's the only way to determine if the extra cost is justified.

Is anyone somewhat annoyed they didn't keep the cabinet dimensions of the v.4 on the 60s? Or at least have both available and call them the studio 50s?

You would think the Paradigm community would care about a smaller footprint vs. fuller sound.

This could be a usless gripe because I haven't heard the 60s.V5, but I assume with a smaller driver and less cabinet space it must impact SQ.

Has anyone compared the two?

If the "more power" talk is getting to you, keep in mind that it takes a lot more power to make much difference. Going from 130 watts to 200 will add ~ 2dB, just noticeable.

There are other aspects of amp design other than sheer power output that could make a difference in sound, but you'll have to listen for yourself to tell if you can hear them. Not everyone does. Ideally, your dealer will let you try any potential upgrade in your listening room with your speakers. That's the only way to determine if the extra cost is justified.

The problem with amp and AVR ratings is that the per channel power maybe X but when all channels are driven the max power often drops to a fraction of X -- sometime X/2. My SC-05 is rated at 130wpc but when all channels are driven the max power is 630W which, if you devide 630 by 7 you get not 130 but 90. Additionally, the 630W value is based on the easier to meet 1kHz rating versus the harder to meet 20Hz-20kHz rating and when you account for that the max power tends to drop by about 20% making the total power from 20-20k more like 504W. Now we're down to about 72wpc versus the claimed 130wpc. I don't know about the Yamaha AVR in quesion but it is a fact the the vast majority of makers play this same game so do not be surprised if the 130wpm amp is in fact closer to 80wpc or even less.

However, if I were going to add an external amp to drive the 60's I go with more power than 130wpc and would recommend something like the Emotiva XPA series of amps that should get him 200wpc or more. He could go with the 2 channel XPA-2 and get an easy 250wpc or perhaps go with the XPA-5 and get at least 200wpc with channels to spare for other speakers.


Brian

I have about a 2500 cu ft. room for my basement theater. I use it for about 99% movies and gaming. I rarely listen to plain ole music. I am trying to decide between a pair of Monitor 9's or 7's, but am interesting in the studio line. Would a set of Studio 20's be enough to use as my fronts? The 60's are a bit out of my price range, and naturally they stopped making the 40's.

Would a set of Studio 20's be enough to use as my fronts?
Yep, just add a sub for the wow factor

Yep, just add a sub for the wow factor

I gotta know, is your username connected to the Nissan 240SX?

If so I'd add that of all the cars I've ever owned the 240SX (1999) was the best handling stock car I've ever owned. The Integra GSR was faster and after lowering the handling was just as good as the 240SX but with the 240 I didn't have to lower it.

Miss that car...


Brian

The problem with amp and AVR ratings is that the per channel power maybe X but when all channels are driven the max power often drops to a fraction of X -- sometime X/2. My SC-05 is rated at 130wpc but when all channels are driven the max power is 630W which, if you devide 630 by 7 you get not 130 but 90. Additionally, the 630W value is based on the easier to meet 1kHz rating versus the harder to meet 20Hz-20kHz rating and when you account for that the max power tends to drop by about 20% making the total power from 20-20k more like 504W. Now we're down to about 72wpc versus the claimed 130wpc. I don't know about the Yamaha AVR in quesion but it is a fact the the vast majority of makers play this same game so do not be surprised if the 130wpm amp is in fact closer to 80wpc or even less...I didn't (and still don't) want to hijack this thread by discussing this in detail, but there are a couple of points I'd like to mention.

First, what you say is generally true. Most AVR's do not reach their 2 channel rated power with all 7 channels driven. And, yes, the 20Hz-20kHz ratings do drop ~ 20% from their 1kHz measurements (although usually only lower end AVR's advertise the 1kHz rating in the U.S.; most promote the more stringent FTC 20Hz-20kHz figure).

However, to keep this in perspective, amps tend to have the most difficulty in the lower part of the audible frequency spectrum. They seldom have any difficulty reaching well beyond what even a dog can hear at the high end. Cheap receivers sometimes quote their power at 40Hz-20kHz for this reason. If speakers are set to small, an AVR usually can maintain close to it's 1kHz power rating across the spectrum it is asked to reproduce.

Add to this the well accepted fact (and, yes, I know from other threads that you doubt this) the laws of physics dictate that more power is required to reproduce low frequencies than high ones, and most AVR's are not stressed by the kinds of speakers they are likely to encounter.

In addition, the 7 channels driven rating is something of a straw man. In the real world, all seven channels are seldom if ever driven to maximum levels at the same time. AVR's are designed to route power to the channel(s) that need it on demand.

But even assuming all of the calculations cited in your post are valid, we're talking about less than 3dB difference. Most users would never notice it.

As I've said before, there are valid reasons to use a high quality amplifier. Higher power, per se, is among the least of them. :)

With my Rotel rsx-1057 stereo 100x2 or 75x5, I wouldn't say I wasn't enjoying my Klipsch RF-82 this way in stereo. Once 1080 amp. was added 200x2, I had to chek why my sub was turning on (was off). I couldn't believe the differance it was doing to my setup.
Later I got Studio 60 v.4, same thing the amp. just does wonders. Music almost sound not restrained, very, very clear/ clean and airy.
Now I'm thinking of switching to 1068/ 69 processor and 5 or 7ch digital amp.
The differance is there, but all depends on $, if you can get it, go for it.

I didn't (and still don't) want to hijack this thread by discussing this in detail, but there are a couple of points I'd like to mention.

First, what you say is generally true. Most AVR's do not reach their 2 channel rated power with all 7 channels driven. And, yes, the 20Hz-20kHz ratings do drop ~ 20% from their 1kHz measurements (although usually only lower end AVR's advertise the 1kHz rating in the U.S.; most promote the more stringent FTC 20Hz-20kHz figure).

However, to keep this in perspective, amps tend to have the most difficulty in the lower part of the audible frequency spectrum. They seldom have any difficulty reaching well beyond what even a dog can hear at the high end. Cheap receivers sometimes quote their power at 40Hz-20kHz for this reason. If speakers are set to small, an AVR usually can maintain close to it's 1kHz power rating across the spectrum it is asked to reproduce.

Add to this the well accepted fact (and, yes, I know from other threads that you doubt this) the laws of physics dictate that more power is required to reproduce low frequencies than high ones, and most AVR's are not stressed by the kinds of speakers they are likely to encounter.

In addition, the 7 channels driven rating is something of a straw man. In the real world, all seven channels are seldom if ever driven to maximum levels at the same time. AVR's are designed to route power to the channel(s) that need it on demand.

But even assuming all of the calculations cited in your post are valid, we're talking about less than 3dB difference. Most users would never notice it.

As I've said before, there are valid reasons to use a high quality amplifier. Higher power, per se, is among the least of them. :)

Couple points...

First, you are absolutely correct in that a 7 channel amp seldom drives all 7 channels to the max and the reason is ... many customers only have a 5.1 system so 2 of the channels aren't even connected. And second, even if all 7 channels are connected the rears and surrounds are usually much less power hungry than the LCR. So, I agree on the total power thing -- somewhat.

However, the notion that most of the power needed is right at 1kHz is not supported by any real world reality. Rating an amp at 1kHz is just a trick the makers play to inflate the power ratings by, nominally 20%. I'd just as soon have my amp rated at 20-20k. The Pioneer SC-05 that I have and love is not a cheapy and although it uses the 20-20k rating for per channel power it also uses the 1kHz rating for the total power so even a name player will play this game with even there Elite AVR's.

I've gone over this to death in the 'amp' forum and won't belabor it any more here but for my Studio 100's and CC-690 I'd love to have a high quality amp of 500wpc @ 8ohm 20-20k but will settle for something like the Emotiva XPA-5 that will give me about 250wpc. No, that amp will not play much louder than the SC-05, less than 3db in fact, but when I'm playing at an average of, say 10W-15W it will be there to handle the 150W+ peaks without blinking.


Brian

So I bit the bullet. Today Im picking up a set of 60s, 490 and 10s in black to match my all other furniture. Cant wait to set these up. I am also now investigating whether my Marantz 8002 will be enough to drive these or should I get XPA3 for the fronts and run the rears from the Marantz.

So I bit the bullet. Today Im picking up a set of 60s, 490 and 10s in black to match my all other furniture. Cant wait to set these up. I am also now investigating whether my Marantz 8002 will be enough to drive these or should I get XPA3 for the fronts and run the rears from the Marantz.

It could not hurt to have more power and the XPA-3 or XPA-5 would fit the bill nicely. Leaving the rears/surrounds on the AVR also makes sense.


Brian

...the notion that most of the power needed is right at 1kHz is not supported by any real world reality. Rating an amp at 1kHz is just a trick the makers play to inflate the power ratings by, nominally 20%. I'd just as soon have my amp rated at 20-20k. The Pioneer SC-05 that I have and love is not a cheapy and although it uses the 20-20k rating for per channel power it also uses the 1kHz rating for the total power so even a name player will play this game with even there Elite AVR's...I have no time for the 1kHz rating either, and generally just ignore it. My only point is that receivers can come close to maintaining it in practice when the speakers are set to small. Anyway, the difference between your receiver's 1kHz rating and its 20Hz-20kHz rating is only ~1dB, inconsequential in practice.

I'm sure Pioneer quotes the 1kHz figure in their specs only because some competitors do. Unfortunately, I guess they decided they couldn't be just a little bit pregnant, so they choose to use 1% distortion @ 6 ohms in one rating and 8 ohms in another, making them impossible for an average consumer to compare with each other, much less with their FTC rating.

...when I'm playing at an average of, say 10W-15W it will be there to handle the 150W+ peaks without blinking...If you are playing at an average of 10 watts, you have lost your hearing or are well on your way. ;) That would deliver nearly 100dB in a typical room, more than twice as loud as reverence levels and roughly the equivalent of a newspaper press.

Few people listen at an average of 75dB (your receiver's test tones), which requires roughly 0.04 watts of power. Almost no one listens at "reference levels" (85dB) at home, but they can be maintained with about 0.4 wpc. Even using your previous extremely conservative calculations, your receiver has nearly 25dB headroom above reference level.

Once again, I'm not saying there is no advantage to a higher quality amp, only that it would be based on more than raw power, per se.

I have no time for the 1kHz rating either, and generally just ignore it. My only point is that receivers can come close to maintaining it in practice when the speakers are set to small. Anyway, the difference between your receiver's 1kHz rating and its 20Hz-20kHz rating is only ~1dB, inconsequential in practice.

I'm sure Pioneer quotes the 1kHz figure in their specs only because some competitors do. Unfortunately, I guess they decided they couldn't be just a little bit pregnant, so they choose to use 1% distortion @ 6 ohms in one rating and 8 ohms in another, making them impossible for an average consumer to compare with each other, much less with their FTC rating.

If you are playing at an average of 10 watts, you have lost your hearing or are well on your way. ;) That would deliver nearly 100dB in a typical room, more than twice as loud as reverence levels and roughly the equivalent of a newspaper press.

Few people listen at an average of 75dB (your receiver's test tones), which requires roughly 0.04 watts of power. Almost no one listens at "reference levels" (85dB) at home, but they can be maintained with about 0.4 wpc. Even using your previous extremely conservative calculations, your receiver has nearly 25dB headroom above reference level.

Once again, I'm not saying there is no advantage to a higher quality amp, only that it would be based on more than raw power, per se.


In truth I wouldn't expect to play with an average power outout of 10W-15W very frequently for the very reason you mention but on those occassions it's nice to be able to do so and not have the amp run short during the peaks. That is all I ever meant. My main speakers are rated at 93/90dB/w (1m) so at my seating possition about 3m away I'm down about 13dB from the 1m rating so 1W would give me a spl of about 80db. Now, double the volume to 10W and I'm up to 90dB -- not 100dB! That is about 1/2th as loud but still pretty loud nonetheless...

My first receiver, long before the AVR days, was a Pioneer unit, whos model number I can no longer remember, that I picked up in Guam while in the USAF in 1980. It was rated at about 120wpc if I remember correctly and it had the blue floresent display with a multi-segment bargraph (horizontal) that showed power output. I dearly wish my new receiver had something like it. Anyway, the thing that was great about it is that you could learn to see what the peaks and figure out what the average was and for me, most of the time, the average was LESS than 1W. It was also interesting to see that I had no problem hearing sound when this first segment of the bargraph was barely ticking over at 1mW. You do get an appreciation of the non-linear nature of volume/power.


Brian

In truth I wouldn't expect to play with an average power outout of 10W-15W very frequently for the very reason you mention but on those occassions it's nice to be able to do so and not have the amp run short during the peaks. That is all I ever meant. My main speakers are rated at 93/90dB/w (1m) so at my seating possition about 3m away I'm down about 13dB from the 1m rating so 1W would give me a spl of about 80db. Now, double the volume to 10W and I'm up to 90dB -- not 100dB! That is about 1/2th as loud but still pretty loud nonetheless...

My first receiver, long before the AVR days, was a Pioneer unit, whos model number I can no longer remember, that I picked up in Guam while in the USAF in 1980. It was rated at about 120wpc if I remember correctly and it had the blue floresent display with a multi-segment bargraph (horizontal) that showed power output. I dearly wish my new receiver had something like it. Anyway, the thing that was great about it is that you could learn to see what the peaks and figure out what the average was and for me, most of the time, the average was LESS than 1W. It was also interesting to see that I had no problem hearing sound when this first segment of the bargraph was barely ticking over at 1mW. You do get an appreciation of the non-linear nature of volume/power.


BrianI still use power meters like that, although mine are outboard, not part of the AVR. It's why I'm so conscious of the low levels of power I usually use.

Never understood why they went out of style, as they are a lot of fun for us geeky types. :o Emotiva still has them on a couple of amps, I think, but it's been many years since I've seen them sold as separate components.

Speaking of "geeky things," you might enjoy this SPL Calculator (http://myhometheater.homestead.com/splcalculator.html) which lets you quickly play with different scenarios rather than having to calculate all the variables manually. I used it to arrive at the numbers I posted above, although my assumptions were slightly different than you just stated, most significantly using multichannel output, as that seemed to be the proper context at the time.

I still use power meters like that, although mine are outboard, not part of the AVR. It's why I'm so conscious of the low levels of power I usually use.

Never understood why they went out of style, as they are a lot of fun for us geeky types. :o Emotiva still has them on a couple of amps, I think, but it's been many years since I've seen them sold as separate components.

Speaking of "geeky things," you might enjoy this SPL Calculator (http://myhometheater.homestead.com/splcalculator.html) which lets you quickly play with different scenarios rather than having to calculate all the variables manually. I used it to arrive at the numbers I posted above, although my assumptions were slightly different than you just stated, most significantly using multichannel output, as that seemed to be the proper context at the time.

Yes, I wish the modern amps/AVR's had meters like that but I guess when you go from 2 channels to 5-10+ channels that type of display wouldn't work so well. Still, it is a useful tool and I wish I still had one.

That first Pioneer receiver was pretty good and paired with the Radian Research speakers I had made for pretty darn good sound. One of the guys in the barracks was one of those snooty Jazz types and he constantly bad-mouthed the "stereos" most of the guys had. He did, however, stop by my room one day as I was playing my kit and asked if he could play some of his music on my stereo. I said sure and a few minutes later he came back with an LP of some obscure Jazz music and listened to it for a while then asked if he could play so more music. He never bad-mouthed my system.

In fairness to his snootiness most of the guys in the barracks had no idea about amplifier design or operation and it was all too common to hear underpowered systems being driven WAY into the noise.

I retired that receiver about 10 years ago after nearly 20 years of use but it lives on with my brother to this day. Twenty-nine years from ANYTHING has got to say something about the quality of that receiver and in it's day it was a very good unit and was larger and weighed much more than the wimpy amps most of the other guys had.


Painfull!

...most of the guys in the barracks had no idea about amplifier design or operation and it was all too common to hear underpowered systems being driven WAY into the noise.

I retired that receiver about 10 years ago after nearly 20 years of use but it lives on with my brother to this day. Twenty-nine years from ANYTHING has got to say something about the quality of that receiver and in it's day it was a very good unit and was larger and weighed much more than the wimpy amps most of the other guys had.


Painfull!I certainly can see where he came from. I can't bear to listen to those kinds of systems either.

Pioneer's better gear has always been great. I have a beautiful tuner and integrated amp, probably from a slightly earlier era, and they served me well for many years, though they live in semi-retirement now.

Can't bring myself to dump them. :o

So I think I've decided on an Anthem amp to drive my 60v5's. I'm looking at the MCA-20 and the Statement A2. Is there any differences between these two besides the faceplate? and the price tag?

If it were my money I go for the Statement A2. I have the Statement A5 paired to PSB speakers and they sound fantastic. I had a MCA 50 for a week then upgraded to the A5. The A5 makes movies and music come from no where. Fantastic amp.

So I think I've decided on an Anthem amp to drive my 60v5's. I'm looking at the MCA-20 and the Statement A2. Is there any differences between these two besides the faceplate? and the price tag?

According to Nick at Anthem, there is zero difference, except price.

The A* = MCA*.

The P* are a totally different beast, obviously.

I just received the studio speakers the other day and when setting up the audissy on the reciever last night, one of the speakers kept failing and I couldn't get thru the setup.
I noticed that one of the studio 100 was getting the sound, but didn't seam to be as loud as the other speakers with the test noise. further investigations led me to notice that the tweeter in this speaker was not working. I tried a bunch of different speaker cables and different ports on the reciever, they all sounded the same way.
It appears that all other speaker cones in the speaker is working except for the tweeter.
1. Could the wires have fallen off this cone during shipping?
2. Is the inside of the speaker as easy as the outside concerning the speaker wires? (do each of the cones have a set of wires that plug into them)
3. Is this something that would be easy to check?
I bought them from a dealer out of my area (due to price savings of about 2k) and really don't want to box it up and ship it another 1500 miles or so if that's all it is.
I have emailed the dealer for his thoughts, but I just wanted to get some other opinions from people that have these...
Thanks
Dan

You can simply take the tweeter out of the cabinet & check the leads, there should be two, they are small flat & female (no jokes):) they attach to either side of the tweeter on the male recepticles. They may be different sizes for polarity, if not pull the other (functional) tweeter & check the wire color for polarity & copy the connections. Good luck it is not rocket science.

You can simply take the tweeter out of the cabinet & check the leads, there should be two, they are small flat & female (no jokes):) they attach to either side of the tweeter on the male recepticles. They may be different sizes for polarity, if not pull the other (functional) tweeter & check the wire color for polarity & copy the connections. Good luck it is not rocket science.

I have replaced 2 woofers under warranty with the .v4 100's and found that they don't in fact have different female connectors nor wire colors, so be aware of which post each wire comes off of or use sharpie to mark 1 wire. That way the replacement tweeter will still be in phase. I like to take pictures of stuff like this for orientation.

I haven't done the .v5's but have also dissasembled my S4 and found the same holds true for the Sig series...

FYI: I posted pictures on my flickr page (address in my sig) of the Studio 10 I took apart today...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3664/3334460420_9cfb15935d.jpg

Hey glenn.... can you describe how much bracing the Studio 10 has internally...?

Is it just a box or are there braces inside between the tweeter and the driver?

I can't tell from the pics... thanks...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3370/3334460414_18156a95c7.jpg?v=0

I have replaced 2 woofers under warranty with the .v4 100's and found that they don't in fact have different female connectors nor wire colors, so be aware of which post each wire comes off of or use sharpie to mark 1 wire. That way the replacement tweeter will still be in phase. I like to take pictures of stuff like this for orientation.

I haven't done the .v5's but have also dissasembled my S4 and found the same holds true for the Sig series...
You can simply take the tweeter out of the cabinet & check the leads, there should be two, they are small flat & female (no jokes):) they attach to either side of the tweeter on the male recepticles. They may be different sizes for polarity, if not pull the other (functional) tweeter & check the wire color for polarity & copy the connections. Good luck it is not rocket science.

Thanks everyone for your help. after talking to the dealer and knowing for sure that this would not void the warranty, I took the tweeter out last night. both wires were pluged in. per the dealers advice, I took the bottom (by the binding posts) apart and sure enough, the wires for the top set of binding posts were not on. I lugged those in and all is fine now.
The dealer told me that he has worked on several studio speakers that this has been an issue with. I'm not real impressed with Paradigm's QA. You would think that with a speaker of this price point that the QA would be a whole lot better. This is something that should of never left the factory like this.
On a more positive note though, these things sound spectacular.
thanks again for all the info you guys provided. As a side note, I have already emailed Paradigm with my concerns over their QA. probably won't do any good, but at least I voiced my concerns.
Dan

Yeah. I received my v5 Studio 60's and 590 and the center was just not acting as it should. I ended up returning it to the dealer who found that the mid-range was not properly connected and, in fact, had been damaged. I expressed amazement that Paradigm had allowed something like that out of their factory.

Anyway, I finally got everything hooked up and the system sounds great.

ez

I had a chance to demo the Studio 60's today. They weren't broken in yet (if you believe in that), as the dealers just hooked them up a few days ago.

Also, the room I was in is pretty much a square with pretty bad acoustics. Depending on where I move my head, the sound sort of changes.

But I did notice that the 60's threw a pretty huge soundstage. I was pretty impressed by it. I tried to just listen and enjoy, but the bad acoustics of the room where somewhat bothersome. Once I found a pretty decent spot, I was able to enjoy quite a bit. I may ask the dealer to move them to a different room next time I go back.

I will say that I was pretty impressed though, even with the bad room.

i don't get it.

the room I was in is pretty much a square with pretty bad acoustics.

but the bad acoustics of the room


move them to a different room


even with the bad room.


Tell us how you really feel:D

I've noticed in pictures that the CC-490 and CC-590 have what appear to be little black feet. Are these removable? I ask because I don't think the spec sheet lists if the height measurement includes the feet or not, or even if they are removable. Anybody able to shed some light on if the center channels have feet and what the height is without the feet? I'm asking because I may have space issues. Thanks!

Tell us how you really feel:D

Yeah, I thought I typed that a lot, perhaps I should have gone back and read the post after I typed it :-).

Is it just a box or are there braces inside between the tweeter and the driver?


No. But the interior of the cabinet is finished with the same veneer as the exterior, and it looked like there was a 'rib' on the side walls to stiffen them...

glennQ

I've noticed in pictures that the CC-490 and CC-590 have what appear to be little black feet. Are these removable? I ask because I don't think the spec sheet lists if the height measurement includes the feet or not, or even if they are removable. Anybody able to shed some light on if the center channels have feet and what the height is without the feet? I'm asking because I may have space issues. Thanks!
The cc-590 is approximately 9 1/4 inches high with the plastic feet and 8 3/4 without, this is eyeballing it with a ruler. Since the v5 has rounded sides, you might need to put a prop under the back to get it to sit level without the feet and they appear to be removable as they are attached with set screws.

The cc-590 is approximately 9 1/4 inches high with the plastic feet and 8 3/4 without, this is eyeballing it with a ruler. Since the v5 has rounded sides, you might need to put a prop under the back to get it to sit level without the feet and they appear to be removable as they are attached with set screws.

Appreciate the measurement and info minipilot. I'll have to take a look at my options. Have to wait for my dealer to get them anyways at this point. But it helps my shopping and planning.

I've noticed in pictures that the CC-490 and CC-590 have what appear to be little black feet. Are these removable? I ask because I don't think the spec sheet lists if the height measurement includes the feet or not, or even if they are removable. Anybody able to shed some light on if the center channels have feet and what the height is without the feet? I'm asking because I may have space issues. Thanks!

The Paradigm spec sheet states "heights include cradles."

Height specs:
CC-490 = 8 3/8"
CC-590 = 9 3/8"
CC-690 = 10"

I paid particular attention to this spec since I can not fit the 590 and 690 in my present setup... :(

glennQ

Alright, time for my review of the v5's. I got a pair of 20's and a CC-590 for my front 3 speakers, and moved my v5 Mini Monitors to the sides for surround duty. (Then when I get ADP's for surrounds, the Minis can move to the back as rear surrounds :) , but that won't happen until I upgrade my sub, and possibly move up to separates.)

Anyway, I absolutely love the 20's. The soundstage is much wider, deeper, and I even notice some height elements that I didn't before. Before, when someone talked about soundstage depth, I just assumed there was something my ears couldn't pick out. Now I'm thinking it's just that my Mini's didn't handle depth that well. Also, imaging is much more precise, and I like the tweeters so much more than those in the Minis, there's not even a comparison there. Much cleaner sound overall. Also, they seem to blend even better with my sub (HSU STF-2) than the Mini's...and the Minis were no slouch there by any means.

Now to the CC-590. Honestly I'm not sold on it yet, especially considering it cost as much as the 20's. Now, it sounds congested/muffled, and Audyessey had to add 2-3 db's around 2-4 kHz to even it out, which is a surprising amount to have to add IMO. I'm pretty sure all the drivers are working though. I'm hoping it just needs time to break in. Also, I have only watched one or two movies with it, so maybe it'll grow on me. It's just that dialogue wasn't bad before when I didn't have a center channel, so I'm not sold on why I needed one. Maybe in a bigger room it'd make more sense, but with my room being pretty small, I don't feel like it really improved movie viewing that much, so far. One final gripe: it really bugs me that you can't angle the speaker up or down; mine is only a foot and a half, give or take, below ear level, and it still sounds a little odd. BTW, it is an absolute monster, make sure you have the room to fit it. Even after I read the dimensions, I didn't expect it to be so big. It barely fits on the shelf below my TV.

Oh, and as others have mentioned, the finish on the speakers is simply beautiful.

EDIT: Moved the 20's about a foot further apart since taking the pictures. Seems to be helping a little at least.

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m207/cjv998/PICT0188-1.jpg

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m207/cjv998/PICT0192.jpg

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m207/cjv998/PICT0193.jpg

Now to the CC-590. Honestly I'm not sold on it yet, especially considering it cost as much as the 20's. Now, it sounds congested/muffled, and Audyessey had to add 2-3 db's around 2-4 kHz to even it out, which is a surprising amount to have to add IMO. I'm pretty sure all the drivers are working though. I'm hoping it just needs time to break in.

I had a chance to demo the CC-590 this afternoon when I went to listen to the 60's again. My feelings are the same as yours. Something was just off. It did sound a little muffled or congested, perhaps veiled. I sort of thought it sounded a little too smooth, if that makes any sort of sense. I was using the 5th element DVD. I tried both the Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS audio track. Both sounded the same. My dealer has the CC-490, but I didn't get a chance to demo it tonight. Next time I go back I'll give it a shot.

I spent some more time with the 60's and I'm very impressed. Their soundstage is huge. The soundstage seemed to extend well past the sides of each speaker, in addition to extending well above the speakers. I stood up and walked around the room and I got a sense of "wall of sound".

I used the Alice in Chains Unplugged CD as one of my demo pieces. I really like track #1 (Nutshell). The one thing I was a little disappointed with is the detail of the acoustic bass. The lower notes seemed to just blend in a little too well and sort of get lost. As I mentioned in my previous post, about 5 times, the room is less than ideal, so moving the speakers to a different room might help this. On the other side, I was really impressed by the tweeter. I was sort of scared that I'd find the metal tweeter harsh or bright. I'm happy to report that it was neither bright nor harsh to my ears. I found it quite pleasing and pretty natural.

In the 60's defense, they probably have less than 10 hrs on them, so perhaps they need a little more time to open up.

It did sound a little muffled or congested, perhaps veiled. I sort of thought it sounded a little too smooth, if that makes any sort of sense.

When I was choosing between the 590 and the 690, I also noticed a similar 'sound'. That was one of the reasons I went with the 690, but dang that sucker is big! It barely fit, and I wound up dropping the rear feet all the way, and blocked up the front(not in this pic)
http://www.twosense.net/pm/audio/IMG_0250.jpg
Oh, and before I have to break out the asbestos undies, the grills were off just for the 'beauty shot'. ;)
If you have the space and the $$$, the 690 really does outperform the 590 in every way, IMO. Did I mention space? :D

Thanks for the pic dev/null. I'm assuming they are all v.5 speakers? Maybe you could take another pic but at a different angle. More from the front. Or zoom in a bit to the cc690. Which I'm considering but plan to put it on the top of a Bell'O open rack. Planning to wall mount a Pioneer Elite 60" plasma or if I go "cheap" a 52" Sony XBR7 (or maybe XBR6...save another grand)...IF I go with v.5's and not PSB Synchrony's or KEF XQ's.

Actually, with the exception of the subs, they're all V.4s.
http://www.twosense.net/pm/audio/IMG_0252.jpg
http://www.twosense.net/pm/audio/IMG_0253.jpg
http://www.twosense.net/pm/audio/IMG_0254.jpg
Sorry they're all crappy pics... I'll try to get some better ones tonight.

What do you think of your CC-690v5 right near the floor? I've been moving mine back and forth between ~5" off the floor on a small riser and ~12" off the floor on a stand...not much diff that I can tell, when properly angled.

I also notice that Audyssey finds this speaker a little "lacking" in the 2-4kHz region (going by memory...), which seems especially surprising for a center channel. It's not a lot, but noticeable (especially compared to the high frequency levels). It does sound OK though. I have noticed that Audyssey bumps up all my other Paradigm speakers in roughly the same region to some extent...a brand characteristic?

Thanks for the pics Dev/null. They did look like v.4 speakers in your first photo. But since this is a v.5 anticipation thread I assumed you had all v.5. Any how...

IF I go with Paradigm v.5 HT speakers I will get the cc690 for my center. Put it on the top of my rack. So it should be at least 2 feet off the floor. Closest to ear-level as I would be able to get it. That and my flatscreen would be wall mounted. So the center should be 1-2" below with my 2 Studio 100 v.5 flanking. Great positioning.

Something I couldn't do when I was using a CRT SDTV. :)

If I end up with the v.5's I will post a few pics. But this won't happen till early to mid May.

cfraser,

Do you have a v.5 setup? What kind of gear do you have?

cfraser,

Do you have a v.5 setup? What kind of gear do you have?

For HT? Pio 151 display, Denon 3808 as pre-pro, Bryston 4B/9B SST2 amps, Paradigm speakers for center/surround/back, Maggies for the fronts, ACI sub.

Only the center is a v5, the other 4 (40s and 20s) are a few years old, can't see the "v" because they are wall mounted.

To mount the 60" display at the correct viewing height (i.e. center at seated eye level), it's not possible to raise the CC-690 bottom more than ~16" or so off the floor, otherwise it cuts into the display area. Actually, I found it really annoying with the center speaker top just barely below the display area (i.e. CC as high as possible), like to have a "clear" field of view LOL, so I lowered it a bit. Since the seating is only one row, I can get away with a steep angle on the center, so I may go back to the CC just off the floor again. Audyssey pretty much corrects for my sonic mishmash the only time it counts for me (movies), whereas I only use the fronts/sub for music when they get fed via a "music" preamp. I think with Audyssey you can probably throw anything half-decent and half-decently set up together and have it sound not bad.

For HT? Pio 151 display, Denon 3808 as pre-pro, Bryston 4B/9B SST2 amps, Paradigm speakers for center/surround/back, Maggies for the fronts, ACI sub.

Only the center is a v5, the other 4 (40s and 20s) are a few years old, can't see the "v" because they are wall mounted.

To mount the 60" display at the correct viewing height (i.e. center at seated eye level), it's not possible to raise the CC-690 bottom more than ~16" or so off the floor, otherwise it cuts into the display area. Actually, I found it really annoying with the center speaker top just barely below the display area (i.e. CC as high as possible), like to have a "clear" field of view LOL, so I lowered it a bit. Since the seating is only one row, I can get away with a steep angle on the center, so I may go back to the CC just off the floor again. Audyssey pretty much corrects for my sonic mishmash the only time it counts for me (movies), whereas I only use the fronts/sub for music when they get fed via a "music" preamp. I think with Audyssey you can probably throw anything half-decent and half-decently set up together and have it sound not bad.

Actually, if I go with the 141 or 151, it would be mounted roughly 24" off the floor plus the H of the cc690 which would add roughly 10"...so 34" off the floor. Which would mean the bottom edge of the plasma would have to be maybe at the 36" mark if not a few inches higher.

I'm thinking of buying a row of 3 HT recliners. Probably Berklines. Or the Matinees from LazyBoy. Don't want to spend too much here. Easy to do when buying HT recliners as you probably know.

Nice gear. For now I think I will just buy a receiver. Maybe use it as a pre later. Which is what you probably did. I'm thinking of a Pioneer Elite SC-07 or Integra DTR-9.9. Or maaaaaaaaaaaybe a used Denon 5308. Kennedy HiFi has a floor model for $3900.00 CAD. I do prefer to buy new though. But I'm sure has "bleep" not going to spend almost 6k on a receiver. :)

I also notice that Audyssey finds this speaker a little "lacking" in the 2-4kHz region (going by memory...), which seems especially surprising for a center channel. It's not a lot, but noticeable (especially compared to the high frequency levels). It does sound OK though. I have noticed that Audyssey bumps up all my other Paradigm speakers in roughly the same region to some extent...a brand characteristic?

That's the same thing I mentioned about my 590 v5...Audyssey added 2-3db at 2 and 4 kHz. My Minis and Studio 20's only get +1db at 1 or 2 kHz (the 20's get a bit more than just that, but they aren't broken in at all). Granted, my 590 isn't broken in either, but this is still odd that we've all noticed the same things about Paradigm's centers. Maybe they are intentionally designed this way to keep vocals from sounding harsh?

I think I'll see what Paradigm's tech support has to say on the issue...maybe I'll wait till the speakers are broken in though. Otherwise I'd expect a reply along the lines of "Paradigm speakers typically require 50-60 hours to fully break in, and you can expect the sound to improve throughout this time." LOL, that sounded pretty good actually.

Personally though, I think the vocals from the 590 sound too mellow, muffled, congested, veiled...take your pick. They just don't sound as transparent as I'd expect from a Paradigm product, especially one with this price tag. Also the soundstage from the center channel is very small; it seems like it's only the area of the baffle itself, it doesn't project or diffract the sound very well I guess. I'm hoping break-in will fix this issue too.

EDIT: Okay, I take back most of what I said about the 590. After playing it for 20-30 hours, it's opened up quite nicely (I also tilted it up a bit more, which I'm sure has helped). It blends really well with the Studio 20's, despite being way larger than they are and overwhelming them aesthetically. Anyway, vocals are pretty clear; I'm beginning to notice the wide dynamic range movies have - I was watching a movie last week (Terminator 2 If I remember correctly) and had to turn up the volume to hear a quiet conversation over my heater and fridge, only to be blown away by explosions or something in the next scene. I noticed Audyssey still has to boost 2 dB at 2 and 4 kHz, and it's cutting 2 dB at 250 Hz and 16 kHz, so the speaker isn't flat, and I don't expect further break-in will change anything that much. May give it a bit longer, then send Paradigm an e-mail and see what they have to say about it.

What do you think of your CC-690v5 right near the floor?

I've found that with the right angle, and the fact that the floor is carpeted, there's no appreciable difference. If I had wood floors.... that would be another matter.

Maybe they are intentionally designed this way to keep vocals from sounding harsh?
.
.
.

Personally though, I think the vocals from the 590 sound too mellow, muffled, congested, veiled...take your pick. They just don't sound as transparent as I'd expect from a Paradigm product, especially one with this price tag. Also the soundstage from the center channel is very small; it seems like it's only the area of the baffle itself, it doesn't project or diffract the sound very well I guess. I'm hoping break-in will fix this issue too.

Could be (the first sentence)...I find speaking voices sound very good.

Re the second para: I said somewhat similar a few pages back. But what I *perceived* at first, and the actual facts (as best I could determine), differed. I was wrong... Another guy felt similarly...maybe look for the posts...

I've found that with the right angle, and the fact that the floor is carpeted, there's no appreciable difference. If I had wood floors.... that would be another matter.

Yeah, that's where I am too. The floor *is* carpeted under the speaker. I am just trying to decide if CC-690 high or low gets bumped into less often. :) Maggies as fronts (they can't be near walls) do place some space restrictions in a 12' wide room. But I set up for the (2-ch) music as first priority, though I don't think I gave the HT stuff too much short shrift overall, it was a slow evolution. To the point I just had to get a decent center, it seems more important than ever the way they're mixing so many movies.

Not sure if everyone knows, but Paradigm has the v5 brochure available now on it's website even though the main Studio pages are still showing v4 info.

http://www.paradigm.com/en/pdf/reference_catalog.pdf

thanks...

Looks like the v5's are up on Paradigm's site.

EDIT: maybe not...it's just the pics that are new; the ones for the Studio series in general. All the model-specific stuff is still v4.

Thanks for the pic dev/null. I'm assuming they are all v.5 speakers? Maybe you could take another pic but at a different angle. More from the front. Or zoom in a bit to the cc690. Which I'm considering but plan to put it on the top of a Bell'O open rack. Planning to wall mount a Pioneer Elite 60" plasma or if I go "cheap" a 52" Sony XBR7 (or maybe XBR6...save another grand)...IF I go with v.5's and not PSB Synchrony's or KEF XQ's.

IMHO. If you have the time to demo the Paradigm Studios 20s v.5, CC-490 v.5 center (thats what I ended up with) give them a good listen before you buy. I listened to the KEF IQ book shelf & other book shelf speakers in that price range and the Paradigms were sharper, more clear and filled the room more than any other book shelf I could listen to. I power them with a Pioneer SC-05 an upgrade from an old Pio. VSX-95 from 1991 and to me it sounds bone chilling good. I saw your post about a SC-07 save the cash get a SC-05 if you plan on using an amp later just a thought.

Absolutely glowing review of the Studio 60 v5's by Chris Martens in this months issue of Playback Mag.

http://www.avguide.com/playbackmag/playback-magazine-march-2009

Absolutely glowing review of the Studio 60 v5's by Chris Martens in this months issue of Playback Mag.

http://www.avguide.com/playbackmag/playback-magazine-march-2009

Was there any doubt??? OK, maybe a little since we bought these speakers without hearing them first. I am not audiophile, speaker designer expert, etc, but as soon as we hooked them up and listened to a few tracks I knew we had made an excellent choice. My wife was still skeptical but as she listened to them more and more they won her over too. We love our speakers. A Diana Krall CD being played on the Studio 60's + a fine bottle of wine = sweet relaxation.

I have a funny feeling there will be similar reviews that follow. :)

Absolutely glowing review of the Studio 60 v5's by Chris Martens in this months issue of Playback Mag.

http://www.avguide.com/playbackmag/playback-magazine-march-2009

Didn't mention much about the CC-490 or ADP's. Too bad, I'd be curious to hear how the 490 and 590 compare; I'm thinking the CC-490 may have been a better match to the Studio 20's than my 590 is; hopefully it'll blend better after breaking in some more.

Nice to see reviews surfacing though. I was really impressed with the 60's as well when I went to listen. Almost got them over the 20's and stands.

Absolutely glowing review of the Studio 60 v5's by Chris Martens in this months issue of Playback Mag.

http://www.avguide.com/playbackmag/playback-magazine-march-2009Too bad they call them PSB Studio speakers :eek:

Question for all those that believe in hours of break in what is there to stop this process
once the magic hour is obtained?

The only time I've ever noticed my speakers improve with "break-in" is when I brought home some floorstanders after they had apparently been sitting in a very cold storage area at the dealer during the winter. "Break-in" was about 2 hours to "defrost."

The only time I've ever noticed my speakers improve with "break-in" is when I brought home some floorstanders after they had apparently been sitting in a very cold storage area at the dealer during the winter. "Break-in" was about 2 hours to "defrost."


The issue of speaker 'break-in' is often lumped in with the other snake oil nonsense of oxygen free speaker wire and $5000 power cords. I for one find most of these things as highly dubious but I think a case can be made for speaker break-in. Speakers have components that move and it stands to reason that things may be a bit stiff at first. In particular, the driver surrounds might well benefit from some break-in period to get rid of the stiffness. I won't argue there is a big difference and can't point to a single scientific test that proves this one way or another but logically there is reason to suspect the drivers may need some break-in.

I just installed a new kit of speakers from Paradigm including the v.5 Studio 100's, Studio 20's, CC-690 and Sub 15 and I can say that the sound did improve with a little playing. Now, I can't quantify this as there were other things that changed overtime including the location of the speakers and calibration using the Pioneer MCACC. So while I did hear an improvement in SQ after a few days it would be hard to apportion the benefit to break-in versus changes in speaker location and calibration.


Brian

I just installed a new kit of speakers from Paradigm including the v.5 Studio 100's, Studio 20's, CC-690 and Sub 15 and I can say that the sound did improve with a little playing. Now, I can't quantify this as there were other things that changed overtime including the location of the speakers and calibration using the Pioneer MCACC. So while I did hear an improvement in SQ after a few days it would be hard to apportion the benefit to break-in versus changes in speaker location and calibration.


Brian

Hey Brian,

That's the exact set up I was interested in purchasing (100's w/ 20 surrounds, sub15, and 690center). Did you have any thoughts or initial impressions that you would like to share?

Hey Brian,

That's the exact set up I was interested in purchasing (100's w/ 20 surrounds, sub15, and 690center).

Me too. I'd love to here impressions and see pictures as well. :)

Me too. I'd love to here impressions and see pictures as well. :)

Hey Brian,

That's the exact set up I was interested in purchasing (100's w/ 20 surrounds, sub15, and 690center). Did you have any thoughts or initial impressions that you would like to share?

Put me on that list too. I went and listened to the studio 60 v4 yesterday, and today I hope to listen to the 100's. Just looking for the 100's and the 690 center. I was impressed with the 60's yesterday, can't wait to hear the 100's.

/dev/null what kind of sub is that in the picture?

Some great info here! For those with a CC-690, could you let me know if it is feasible to use without feet. I have 10 in. between TV shelf and speaker shelf; however, there is a support bar under the TV shelf which gives only a 9 in. opening toward the front. I could slide the box in from the side with a full 10 in. opening. A slight overlap with the supporting bar would probably not interfere with the speakers output. I thought that I had allowed enough space for the CC-690, but you know how the best plans can go awry! If this could work, it would have that "built-in" look. I just purchased a new Salamander Synergy Stand and added 7 outlaw 2200 mono amps to my system, and the next step was some new speakers. I also have two Velodyne SPL1500R subwoofers ready for action. I wanted to complete my front speakers and continue to use my present surrounds (some old Boston Acoustics) until we move within the next few years. I wanted to know the room layout before buying new surrounds. The front sound stage should remain typical. Would you recommend the Studio 60s or 100s for this setup? Any advice on these issues would be greatly appreciated.

Steve

I just upgraded from my Jamo c809's and a C80 center to the Studio 100's v5 and the 690 center. Should have them in about a week. I will post my feelings/pics too. Got a good deal (I think) from a dealer in my area that I have never dealt with. Chicago suburbs, southwest. Can't wait. The wife is a little pissed at me, I guess it's the couch for me tonight.

can't wait. The wife is a little pissed at me, i guess it's the couch for me tonight.

lol:D You'll like them!

lol:D You'll like them!

I am pretty sure I will love them. I was disappointed in the Jamo center that I had, which is why I started looking to upgrade. It's going to be a long week of waiting for me. I don't even want to use the theater until I get the new Paradigms.:D

I just upgraded from my Jamo c809's and a C80 center to the Studio 100's v5 and the 690 center. Should have them in about a week. I will post my feelings/pics too. Got a good deal (I think) from a dealer in my area that I have never dealt with. Chicago suburbs, southwest. Can't wait. The wife is a little pissed at me, I guess it's the couch for me tonight.Couch worth it!

... Can't wait. The wife is a little pissed at me, I guess it's the couch for me tonight.


You did plan to buy her some earings or shoes didn't you?


Brian

You did plan to buy her some earings or shoes didn't you?


Brian

No it's going to be a little better than that. She really wants an new computer, I will probably get her a new I Mac. That should keep her happy for a while, and hopefully she won't mind when I upgrade again, it's like I have a disease with home theater. I feel like a little kid at Christmas, the waiting is killing me. The speakers might be in Friday, but most likely early next week.

be sure to post your impressions of the speakers when they come in...

be sure to post your impressions of the speakers when they come in...

I will. Any recommendations for a center speaker stand the the cc690? Paradigm recommends the J-18 but it seems a little pricey.

For those that have seen the new v.5 finishes in person, can you please look at my component storage rack and tell me if you think it would match better with Cherry or Rosenut? My BDI rack is "Cherry" finish, but is a pretty dark cherry. Also, my Martin Logans also have "Natural Cherry" rails, which I believe is lighter.

Here's the link. (http://s80.photobucket.com/albums/j166/KCWolfPck/?albumview=grid&fullsize=CIMG1327.jpg)

What do you think? Thanks!

No it's going to be a little better than that. She really wants an new computer, I will probably get her a new I Mac. That should keep her happy for a while, and hopefully she won't mind when I upgrade again, it's like I have a disease with home theater. I feel like a little kid at Christmas, the waiting is killing me. The speakers might be in Friday, but most likely early next week.

If you paid as much attention to your wife as you do HT equipment... 'nuff said. I'll just leave it at that!:D

-T

If you paid as much attention to your wife as you do HT equipment... 'nuff said. I'll just leave it at that!:D

-T

I get more enjoyment out of my HT equipment;)

Rosenut.

For those that have seen the new v.5 finishes in person, can you please look at my component storage rack and tell me if you think it would match better with Cherry or Rosenut? My BDI rack is "Cherry" finish, but is a pretty dark cherry. Also, my Martin Logans also have "Natural Cherry" rails, which I believe is lighter.

Here's the link. (http://s80.photobucket.com/albums/j166/KCWolfPck/?albumview=grid&fullsize=CIMG1327.jpg)

What do you think? Thanks!

Hi Folks - I ordered a pair of 60s and ADP590s on March 7th (Saturday) from our friendly HiFi House in Wilmington, DE. I was told by the store manager that they may be here by Saturday...but he would confirm delivery with the 'buyer'.

Those who have ordered recently, how long did it take? I know it probably has something to do with location. Can't wait to set them up!
Jim

Repeat! I was hoping for at least one response.

Some great info here! For those with a CC-690, could you let me know if it is feasible to use without feet. I have 10 in. between TV shelf and speaker shelf; however, there is a support bar under the TV shelf which gives only a 9 in. opening toward the front. I could slide the box in from the side with a full 10 in. opening. A slight overlap with the supporting bar would probably not interfere with the speakers output. I thought that I had allowed enough space for the CC-690, but you know how the best plans can go awry! If this could work, it would have that "built-in" look. I just purchased a new Salamander Synergy Stand and added 7 outlaw 2200 mono amps to my system, and the next step was some new speakers. I also have two Velodyne SPL1500R subwoofers ready for action. I wanted to complete my front speakers and continue to use my present surrounds (some old Boston Acoustics) until we move within the next few years. I wanted to know the room layout before buying new surrounds. The front sound stage should remain typical. Would you recommend the Studio 60s or 100s for this setup? Any advice on these issues would be greatly appreciated.

Steve

I just installed a new kit of speakers from Paradigm including the v.5 Studio 100's, Studio 20's, CC-690 and Sub 15 and I can say that the sound did improve with a little playing. Now, I can't quantify this as there were other things that changed overtime including the location of the speakers and calibration using the Pioneer MCACC.
Brian

Hi Brian - I see from other posts you are powering your Studio 100's with an SC-05. I also own the SC-05 and am considering Studio 100 v.5s for my mains. I have heard concerns that the SC-05 may not have enough power for the 100's. Do you consider the speakers to be powered adequately in your multichannel setup? What is your music/movie ratio and how hard do you tend to push your system?

Hi Folks - I ordered a pair of 60s and ADP590s on March 7th (Saturday) from our friendly HiFi House in Wilmington, DE. I was told by the store manager that they may be here by Saturday...but he would confirm delivery with the 'buyer'.

Those who have ordered recently, how long did it take? I know it probably has something to do with location. Can't wait to set them up!
Jim


It took 11 business days (2 1/2 weeks total time) for the dealer to receive my 60v5's after I placed the order. It may have been the longest 2 1/2 weeks of my life LOL as I was super anxious for them to come in!

Those who have ordered recently, how long did it take? I know it probably has something to do with location. Can't wait to set them up!
Jim

Yes, for sure it has to do with location. If you already live in Ontario Canada like I do, it will take 2-3 business days typically :) (I have to brag this time because there are countless times when I read how fast you US guys get stuff so fast, and us Canadians have to wait for weeks and pay arm/leg to import stuff over the border)

Hi Brian - I see from other posts you are powering your Studio 100's with an SC-05. I also own the SC-05 and am considering Studio 100 v.5s for my mains. I have heard concerns that the SC-05 may not have enough power for the 100's. Do you consider the speakers to be powered adequately in your multichannel setup? What is your music/movie ratio and how hard do you tend to push your system?

The SC-05 is enough for moderate listening levels but I plan to add an external amp to power the LCR when time/money permits. The SC-05 is very good but at higher listening levels the transients can be well over 100wpc on the LCR so having a more powerful amp to drive them is desireable. In my case, I 'm currently living in an appartment so I can't really 'turn it up' anyway so the power limitation of the SC-05 should be OK.

The SC-05 is a very good AVR as the MCACC is one of the better audio calibration systems. When/if you add an external amp the SC-05 will work as a pre/pro so you will still have the benefit of the MCACC.

I'm thinking about an EQ device for the subwoofer and am leaning towards the Behringer FBQ2496. The Sub15 can use Paradigms PBK but that's $400 so I think I'd rather not give Paradigm $350 of pure profit for there PBK.


Brian

Hi Brian - I see from other posts you are powering your Studio 100's with an SC-05. I also own the SC-05 and am considering Studio 100 v.5s for my mains. I have heard concerns that the SC-05 may not have enough power for the 100's. Do you consider the speakers to be powered adequately in your multichannel setup? What is your music/movie ratio and how hard do you tend to push your system?

I was using a yamaha rx-v1800 (130w*7) to power a pair of 60v5's. This week I just added an Anthem MCA-20 (200w*2) to drive them. I found there was no difference in sound quality for normal listening, but we I turned the volume up, I found a dramatic improvement.

is this the official price?

Reference Studio/10 - Blk/CH/RN (ea) 399.00
Reference Studio/20 - Blk/CH/RN (ea) 599.00
Reference Studio/60 - Blk/CH/RN (ea) 999.00
Reference Studio/100 - Blk/CH/RN (ea) 1499.00
Reference CC-490 - Blk/CH/RN (ea) 799.00
Reference CC-590 - Blk/CH/RN (ea) 1199.00
Reference CC-690 - Blk/CH/RN (ea) 1499.00
Reference Sub-12 - Blk/CH/RN (ea) 1999.00
Reference Sub-15 - Blk/CH/RN (ea) 2799.00

I didn't see it posted, but if it already was, I apologize, but I just noticed the paradigm website has been updated with the new Studio series.

http://www.paradigm.com/en/reference/fronts-studio-series-2-2-13.paradigm

Finally got my Studio's today. Awesome sound!

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o43/mkr12162/StereoPics096-1.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o43/mkr12162/StereoPics090.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o43/mkr12162/StereoPics092-1.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o43/mkr12162/StereoPics095-1.jpg

Finally got my Studio's today. Awesome sound!

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o43/mkr12162/StereoPics096-1.jpg

That looks like fun!!!:D

What anthem amp is that?

It took 11 business days (2 1/2 weeks total time) for the dealer to receive my 60v5's after I placed the order. It may have been the longest 2 1/2 weeks of my life LOL as I was super anxious for them to come in!

Thanks. Just got a message today that my speakers will be in Friday...for pick-up Saturday.:D Should be a fun week-end. I agree that's it's been a long two week!
Jim

Finally got my Studio's today. Awesome sound!


Nice setup bluegrassbubba! Who makes that AV rack and what is the size of your TV? I really like how the 690 fits on the shelf. Any downsides to having it in there like that? It looks like a perfect fit! :)

I went with the MCA 30 , letting the 3900 power the sides.

That looks like fun!!!:D

What anthem amp is that?

I went with the MCA 30

I did too:) Nice system!!

The rack is a Salamader Synergy Triple, with riser, I had exactly 11 inches of height under the riser, the center fit perfect, and still have space to prop up if I need to, but the 690 seems to be sound great. The tv is the Sony 60 inch, it also fit well. Thanks.

Nice setup bluegrassbubba! Who makes that AV rack and what is the size of your TV? I really like how the 690 fits on the shelf. Any downsides to having it in there like that? It looks like a perfect fit! :)

I was using a yamaha rx-v1800 (130w*7) to power a pair of 60v5's. This week I just added an Anthem MCA-20 (200w*2) to drive them. I found there was no difference in sound quality for normal listening, but we I turned the volume up, I found a dramatic improvement.


Yes, that is what I would expect. At moderate to low listening levels the external amp isn't needed but when you are playing that high action movie at anything near reference levels the external amp will almost certainly make a difference.


Brian

Hey Brian,

That's the exact set up I was interested in purchasing (100's w/ 20 surrounds, sub15, and 690center). Did you have any thoughts or initial impressions that you would like to share?


As I mentioned I did notice an improvement in SQ after a few days and even though I think there maybe something to the break-in thing I think most of the difference was due to changing speaker positions and MCACC calibration/EQ.

But, the system is sweet and I am very pleased. I had Studio 60's and a Servo 15 before so I was familiar with the Paradigm sound and the new system takes me another step. I like an accurate sound system and I think Paradigm is about as good as anybody at accuracy. I just love the way they seem so effortless.

The Studio 60's I had before were in Cherry but the Servo 15 was not offered in Cherry. For my new kit all my speakers including the Sub 15 are in Cherry so they match nicely. The Sub 15 is a big box and at over 100 pounds is not so easy to move around on carpet, but then again, the Studio 100's and CC-690 are pretty big as well.

I've been meaning to take some good pictures of the system but that will have to wait until Sunday as I'm into a project at work that doesn't give me much 'me' time. I also want to build a wall unit to house the components and provide media storage but that to will have to wait until I have some free time.


Brian

For those with a CC-690, could you let me know if it is feasible to use without feet.
Steve


My local dealer says yes, and recommended that for certain furniture.

Finally got my Studio's today. Awesome sound!

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o43/mkr12162/StereoPics096-1.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o43/mkr12162/StereoPics090.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o43/mkr12162/StereoPics092-1.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o43/mkr12162/StereoPics095-1.jpg



Sweet setup. Those 100's are going to sing.
Isn't the smell of new electronics great !

How long do you guys think you needed for the speakers to break in? I plugged in mine last night (60s) and without calibrating my Marantz receiver the sound was not at all what I had hoped for and what I heard. I will calibrate the receiver the proper way this weekend and will give the same cd a try again.

How long do you guys think you needed for the speakers to break in? I plugged in mine last night (60s) and without calibrating my Marantz receiver the sound was not at all what I had hoped for and what I heard. I will calibrate the receiver the proper way this weekend and will give the same cd a try again.
First off IMO speaker break-in is when the unit acclimates to room temperature and your ears get accustomed to the sound second what is
it about the sound that disappoints you.

The sound is very "cold" and digital. Maybe its just because I never had good speakers so they might sound "weird" to me. But when I heard them at the store they sounded very good, with lots of warm sound which I really like. I am using a Marantz 8002 receiver and thought the sound through it will be nice and warm. I am using CA740c as the source.
I will let them play a bit more, see if it sounds better to me today, and set up the receiver with audissey on the weekend. Also on saturday I am getting Emotiva XPA-3 and see what difference that amp will make, if any.

For those that have seen the new v.5 finishes in person, can you please look at my component storage rack and tell me if you think it would match better with Cherry or Rosenut? My BDI rack is "Cherry" finish, but is a pretty dark cherry. Also, my Martin Logans also have "Natural Cherry" rails, which I believe is lighter.

Here's the link. (http://s80.photobucket.com/albums/j166/KCWolfPck/?albumview=grid&fullsize=CIMG1327.jpg)

What do you think? Thanks!
I also think the Rosewood would look great. I have only seen the Cherry finish in pictures, but my Rosewood 60's and cc590 v5's are just beautiful and looking at your pictures think the finish would match fairly well.

I also think the Rosewood would look great. I have only seen the Cherry finish in pictures, but my Rosewood 60's and cc590 v5's are just beautiful and looking at your pictures think the finish would match fairly well.

Thanks for the input. I have decided on Rosenut. :D

Finally got my Studio's today. Awesome sound!



Those are some beautiful speakers. Excellent choice in deed.

Hello Bluegrass Bubba

The speakers look great enjoy:D

The sound is very "cold" and digital. Maybe its just because I never had good speakers so they might sound "weird" to me. But when I heard them at the store they sounded very good, with lots of warm sound which I really like. I am using a Marantz 8002 receiver and thought the sound through it will be nice and warm. I am using CA740c as the source.
I will let them play a bit more, see if it sounds better to me today, and set up the receiver with audissey on the weekend. Also on saturday I am getting Emotiva XPA-3 and see what difference that amp will make, if any.


what kind of room do you have.... if it is untreated (hardwood floors & drywall - no carpet) they studio's can be bright with the metal dome tweeter. I have to dial my upper end down with my Studio 100's in my bright room...

The sound is very "cold" and digital. Maybe its just because I never had good speakers so they might sound "weird" to me. But when I heard them at the store they sounded very good, with lots of warm sound which I really like

Yes, try to calibrate them first. Paradigms tend to be clear and bright, and if your room is reflective, they'll sound cold.

I was shocked coming to Paradigm from my other brands of speakers, the Paradigms sounded a bit thin and bright but calibrating them helped a lot. And definitely let them run a bit (even 5-10 hours can make a difference)

Paradigms (pre-v.5) have always been known for sounding "neutral". Not bright nor warm. Which is one of their selling points. So maybe it is your room or the amp used. And some might blame speaker cable (though I wonder about that...if it's just not snake oil).

Okay, maybe I'm crazy, but I could swear that the Studio 40's were a thing of the past for v.5.

Well, I just had to do a double take :D Link (http://www.paradigm.com/en/reference/fronts-studio-studio40-model-2-13-1-27.paradigm)

Okay, maybe I'm crazy, but I could swear that the Studio 40's were a thing of the past for v.5.

Well, I just had to do a double take :D Link (http://www.paradigm.com/en/reference/fronts-studio-studio40-model-2-13-1-27.paradigm)
The image looks like the v.4 version.

Okay, maybe I'm crazy, but I could swear that the Studio 40's were a thing of the past for v.5.

Well, I just had to do a double take :D Link (http://www.paradigm.com/en/reference/fronts-studio-studio40-model-2-13-1-27.paradigm)

That is the v.4 version. There is no more Studio 40. The new series is on their website now but maybe that old page is still there. You can also download the studio catalog showing a 10, 20, 60 and 100. No more 40's...

I spent some time today with the Studio 10's & 490's and the 100's and 590.

I was really, really impressed with the Studio 10's. They're pretty amazing little speakers. They have quite a huge soundstage and sounded very nice to my ears. I'm thinking about trying to convince my wife to buy a pair for our bedroom. I think the rosenut finish would perfectly match our furniture.

I really liked the 490 as well. It had great dialog intelligibility and sounded very natural. I thought the 490 sounded a bit better than the 590. I worry that it might be a little too small for my room, but I'm not sure.

I liked the 100's, but I didn't do much critical listening on them. They're quite a bit bigger than the 60's.. even though the new series has a much higher WAF, I'm still worried these might be a little too big. So I didn't want to get too attached.

That is the v.4 version. There is no more Studio 40. The new series is on their website now but maybe that old page is still there. You can also download the studio catalog showing a 10, 20, 60 and 100. No more 40's...

I thought the same thing, but I could swear that the 40 was previously absent from the site, but now suddenly listed again. It could very well be that they are using a stock picture from v4, if this is a new addition to the current lineup.

At least that's my wish anyway since I really want to upgrade my pair of 40's v3, but still utilize my J-23 stands.

Paradigms (pre-v.5) have always been known for sounding "neutral". Not bright nor warm. Which is one of their selling points. So maybe it is your room or the amp used. And some might blame speaker cable (though I wonder about that...if it's just not snake oil).

I keep hearing people say Paradigm's are bright, but I too have read (and think) they are more neutral. Does neutrality tend to promote brightness in a bad room, whereas a warm speaker would hide some of this due to its nature?

Has anyone heard the in-wall Paradigm SA-ADP's yet? I have my HT in my living room and need to have the left and right surrounds as in-wall's. Right now I have Studio 100's v4 as the mains and a CC-590 for the center. But I kept my original Polk TC-615's and the in-wall surrounds. I was thinking of getting some SA-30's to replace the Polk's, when I noticed the SA-ADP's.

But because of the way the room is, I have the surrounds behind the seating area and raised up about 3 ft above the listener. I was wondering if the SA-ADP's will be a better choice than the SA-30's?

Thanks,

TL

I keep hearing people say Paradigm's are bright, but I too have read (and think) they are more neutral. Does neutrality tend to promote brightness in a bad room, whereas a warm speaker would hide some of this due to its nature?


Most rooms will tend to boost some frequencies while reducing others. It's not unlikely that a room with highly reflective walls with little to attenuate the high freqs may sound overly bright. Running a calibration like MCACC will almost always improve the sound and adding room treatment that reduce reflectivity will also help. Doing both is to be preferred.

Paradigm speakers tend to be very accurate and that can be read as neautral. But, no matter the speaker, it is only one part of the system with the room being very important and the amp/AVR not nearly as important.

Of course, if the program source is a low bit rate mp3 the sound can be very digital/metalic/cold/crappy no matter what speakers or room...


Brian

On Saturday I had a few hours to kill and decided to go see the new Paradigm Reference Studio series speakers. I owned Klipsch RB 81 fronts and after auditioning the Studio Reference 10's V5 I purchased three for my front sound stage.

I had to order the extra 10 for center duties and the store allowed me to take home the CC490 center until the 10 comes in. I am quite impressed with the 10's and they sound amazing compared to my Klipsch in my apartment.

Will the 10 center channel be adequate or should I pony up and purchase the CC490 which is a very nice center channel? They are placing my order on Tuesday for the extra 10 and if everyone feels the CC490 will work better then I will order the 490 because the 490 I have now is black and I bought the 10's in RN.

Thanks,
Ted

I keep hearing people say Paradigm's are bright, but I too have read (and think) they are more neutral. Does neutrality tend to promote brightness in a bad room, whereas a warm speaker would hide some of this due to its nature?

What is neutral by definition (ie. the highs are neither boosted nor rolled off) sounds bright to many people. When you let the higher frequency detial come through, it can bring out the best and worst of a recording.

For example, I often listen to CNet's car tech podcast. When referencing a car's stereo, they often give preference to systems that "make XM radio sound good". Many consumers would rather not hear accurate highs, and define neutral as what strikes a good balance for their own preferences.

On Saturday I had a few hours to kill and decided to go see the new Paradigm Reference Studio series speakers. I owned Klipsch RB 81 fronts and after auditioning the Studio Reference 10's V5 I purchased three for my front sound stage.

I had to order the extra 10 for center duties and the store allowed me to take home the CC490 center until the 10 comes in. I am quite impressed with the 10's and they sound amazing compared to my Klipsch in my apartment.

Will the 10 center channel be adequate or should I pony up and purchase the CC490 which is a very nice center channel? They are placing my order on Tuesday for the extra 10 and if everyone feels the CC490 will work better then I will order the 490 because the 490 I have now is black and I bought the 10's in RN.

Thanks,
Ted

The 10 is the better choice than the 490 if you can fit it upright. Having 3 identical speakers across the ideal setup. Horizontal centers are a compromise.

Excellent points. I just do think think its accurate, no pun intended, when people refer to the Paradigm's as being as bright, which, at least on these boards, has a negative connotation to it. For example, a friend of mine talked himself into PSB Sync Ones (2x the cost) because he read a couple of posts that referred to the Studio's as being bright (yes, people are sadly influenced that easily). So it kind of turns people off from a great speaker at a great price point when people keep reading about them being bright, which most of us know is not true. I guess it comes down to one's ear, and if you think they are bright, then you have not heard a truly bright speaker before :p

Most rooms will tend to boost some frequencies while reducing others. It's not unlikely that a room with highly reflective walls with little to attenuate the high freqs may sound overly bright. Running a calibration like MCACC will almost always improve the sound and adding room treatment that reduce reflectivity will also help. Doing both is to be preferred.

Paradigm speakers tend to be very accurate and that can be read as neautral. But, no matter the speaker, it is only one part of the system with the room being very important and the amp/AVR not nearly as important.

Of course, if the program source is a low bit rate mp3 the sound can be very digital/metalic/cold/crappy no matter what speakers or room...


Brian

What is neutral by definition (ie. the highs are neither boosted nor rolled off) sounds bright to many people. When you let the higher frequency detial come through, it can bring out the best and worst of a recording.

For example, I often listen to CNet's car tech podcast. When referencing a car's stereo, they often give preference to systems that "make XM radio sound good". Many consumers would rather not hear accurate highs, and define neutral as what strikes a good balance for their own preferences.

I have owned quite a few bookshelf speakers in the past and I must say I do find the Paradigm Studio 10 to be the brighter side of neutral. Compared to say, the NHT Classic 3 (which is very neutral), I find the Paradigm is slighter brighter. You can hear a clarity and sparkle in the treble on the Studio 10 that is sometimes lost on other speakers which is a good thing.

Metal dome tweeters can be bright, in a bright room.... I have moved mine from my bright room down to a pseudo treated room, and it was a completely different experience. With that said, I auditioned the new Sigs with the Be tweeter in a relatively bright room - brick walls with very minimal treatments and I observed no brightness what so ever - just airy pleasant high end with tight mids - very very well balanced.... just a much more gracious step the chain to higher end reproduction.

They are as close to a ribbon tweeter I have ever heard.... truly one of the best speakers I experienced to date..

Metal dome tweeters can be bright, in a bright room.... I have moved mine from my bright room down to a pseudo treated room, and it was a completely different experience.

Sure, but I was referring to one metal dome speaker compared to another metal domed speaker. It's all in the voicing of the speaker as a whole, and how the designer chose to utilize the particular chacteristics of the tweeter and it meshes with the rest of the sound.

As I said, when I first got my Studio 10, I was surprised how much brighter it sounded than my previous speaker, in the same room. It's not that it was inaccurate, in fact, it should be because my room is a bit reflective, Overall the differences were probably noticeable due to my previous speaker was erring on the side of being too laid back, compared to the Paradigm which are erring on the brighter side of neutral.

On another note:
Has anybody bought a Paradigm speaker recently and found the quality control to be a bit less than satisfactory lately? I already returned one pair due to a buzzing noise, and my second pair has noticeable scratch (small one, but still). It's a little disappointing that I've had better luck with speakers that were Made in China than my Canadian made ones.

Seems like people keep saying Paradigms are bright because they are neutral :confused:

From what I am reading, the more correct thing to say is something along the lines of Paradigm is not forgiving in a less than ideal room. Which supports the many posts in here where people were thrilled at the dealer, then got them home and were surprised the sound changed. Sounds like some people should have gone with a warmer sounding\laid back speaker. The dealer I brought mine at was a mom and pops place, his listening room was not treated, nor ideal, so I had a good sense of how they would sound in my home. Kinda sucks how some dealers with their treated rooms give you this semi false sense of how the speakers will sound. Oh well.

On another note:
Has anybody bought a Paradigm speaker recently and found the quality control to be a bit less than satisfactory lately? I already returned one pair due to a buzzing noise, and my second pair has noticeable scratch (small one, but still). It's a little disappointing that I've had better luck with speakers that were Made in China than my Canadian made ones.[/QUOTE]

Interesting that you mention a buzzing noise. I picked up a pair of Signature ADP3's a few weeks ago which also had a buzz. Both speakers buzzed from the right side tweeters under the right (wrong?) conditions. I also noted plenty of fine dust on the backside of all 4 grills. It reminded me of the fine powder you find everywhere after after sanding a drywall patch job. Finding that dust was a real letdown, especially on a speaker of this price.

I don't blame the Paradigm QC team for the buzzing tho, just the filth. Here's why. The buzzing rarely happened and then only briefly. You'd have to be very familiar with the song or really "staring with your ears" as Ken Nordine would say to hear it in the mix of a dense movie soundtrack. After I discovered it was the ADP3's I threw everything I had on my test cd's at it in an effort to repeatedly reproduce it. I had no success with the standard tools used for identifying what seemed to be an obvious flaw in one of the speakers components.
High level pink noise/sweep tones/bandwidth limited warble tones all failed me. Then I said enough of this and just popped in some music to listen to and there it was. The buzz was back! Three short seconds of a song, even at moderate volume uncovered what test signals couldn't. That's why I don't blame the QC department for the buzz.
Once I notified my dealer of the problem he immediately ordered the replacement parts and 6 days later I had the new tweeters installed and all is now as it should be. Warp, what was the speaker/driver you had problems with?

Hello all,
What would you recomend buying , I have an Onkyo 706 amp, this is for my apt in NYC, the listening room is about 15/12 feet. I will be using these speakers as my main fronts? Is it worth getting the 20s over the 10s?

Seems like people keep saying Paradigms are bright because they are neutral :confused:

Not me, I am basically saying they are very slightly brighter than neutral, at least compared to other well reviewed speakers I've owned (NHT, B&W, Energy, Epos, Dynaudio). For example, I'd say my B&W's were Neutral Minus 5% Brightness, and the Paradigms are Neutral + 5% brightness (where 5% is just a made up small number)

Hello all,
What would you recomend buying , I have an Onkyo 706 amp, this is for my apt in NYC, the listening room is about 15/12 feet. I will be using these speakers as my main fronts? Is it worth getting the 20s over the 10s?

I'd say the 10's would be absolutely fine if you are going to use them with a sub. More than fine actually. If you don't intend to really shake the room up, even without a sub, the sound is pretty satisfying for music.

Warp, what was the speaker/driver you had problems with?

I could hear a buzzing whenever I played strong bass beats. It was hard to tell where it was coming from, but it almost sounded like it was coming from the tweeter. It was faint, but it was there, and the other speaker was perfect when playing back the same bass notes. Luckily for me, the turnaround time is quick, because I don't live far from Toronto where these speakers are made.

I'd say the 10's would be absolutely fine if you are going to use them with a sub. More than fine actually. If you don't intend to really shake the room up, even without a sub, the sound is pretty satisfying for music.
Thanks! I went with the 20s because I could not resist the deal I got.

My Signature S6 V2 in Piano Black's fit and finish is just TOP notch. No buzzing, no scratches just great sound. Ohh, also not too bright in sound.

I just listened to the new Paradigm Studio 100 V5 to compare to the S6's and i can tell you that the S6 still sound the best... They however did a good job with the new 100's. I really Like the new cabinet design. And it seems like the bass hit's harder on the new 100's than the V4's.. But i can't still hear that clear sound the Signature's produce..

cheers,

does anyone have any comparisons of the Paradigm Studio 20 version 5 to the older v4s?

I don't know if I should pick up these new versions if there's problems with them (QC), or simply because they aren't as good as version 4.

On another note:
Has anybody bought a Paradigm speaker recently and found the quality control to be a bit less than satisfactory lately? I already returned one pair due to a buzzing noise, and my second pair has noticeable scratch (small one, but still). It's a little disappointing that I've had better luck with speakers that were Made in China than my Canadian made ones.

Interesting that you mention a buzzing noise. I picked up a pair of Signature ADP3's a few weeks ago which also had a buzz. Both speakers buzzed from the right side tweeters under the right (wrong?) conditions. I also noted plenty of fine dust on the backside of all 4 grills. It reminded me of the fine powder you find everywhere after after sanding a drywall patch job. Finding that dust was a real letdown, especially on a speaker of this price.

I don't blame the Paradigm QC team for the buzzing tho, just the filth. Here's why. The buzzing rarely happened and then only briefly. You'd have to be very familiar with the song or really "staring with your ears" as Ken Nordine would say to hear it in the mix of a dense movie soundtrack. After I discovered it was the ADP3's I threw everything I had on my test cd's at it in an effort to repeatedly reproduce it. I had no success with the standard tools used for identifying what seemed to be an obvious flaw in one of the speakers components.
High level pink noise/sweep tones/bandwidth limited warble tones all failed me. Then I said enough of this and just popped in some music to listen to and there it was. The buzz was back! Three short seconds of a song, even at moderate volume uncovered what test signals couldn't. That's why I don't blame the QC department for the buzz.
Once I notified my dealer of the problem he immediately ordered the replacement parts and 6 days later I had the new tweeters installed and all is now as it should be. Warp, what was the speaker/driver you had problems with?[/QUOTE]

I just picked up a pair of 60's and ADP 590s a week ago. The rose nut finish and sound quality are fantastic. I'm amazed by the large 'sound stage' produced by the 60s. For the record, I've been amused by the 'bright' concerns brought up recently....No issues here.
Jim

does anyone have any comparisons of the Paradigm Studio 20 version 5 to the older v4s?

I don't know if I should pick up these new versions if there's problems with them (QC), or simply because they aren't as good as version 4.

I bought a pair of 20 v5's (and a CC-590) and haven't had any QC issues come up with any of them, speakers work flawlessly so far, and sound amazing to boot. I haven't compared them to the v4's though, so I can't comment on that.

Hmm I'm wondering if someone can help me out.. the house where i'm living has an awkward main room... I wonder if I can draw this out kinda badly.

http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/972/roomlayout.png (http://www.imagehosting.com/)

I'd like to place the speakers around the TV.
Now, the whole point of this is.... should I stay away from Paradigm speakers because of picky placement? I've read some posts here that people say its a little tricky finding a good spot. I don't really think my listening area is the most ideal spot... but.. maybe someone with more experience can help me out!
Thanks,
Dan

I'm liking the new studio line...can any one give me a round about price for the new 10's, 20's and 60's? Thanks

frenchmon.

did a new drawing..

Excellent points. I just do think think its accurate, no pun intended, when people refer to the Paradigm's as being as bright, which, at least on these boards, has a negative connotation to it. For example, a friend of mine talked himself into PSB Sync Ones (2x the cost) because he read a couple of posts that referred to the Studio's as being bright (yes, people are sadly influenced that easily). So it kind of turns people off from a great speaker at a great price point when people keep reading about them being bright, which most of us know is not true. I guess it comes down to one's ear, and if you think they are bright, then you have not heard a truly bright speaker before :p

I agree that Paradigms are generally neutral in sound, which IMO makes them great for mixing with other brands that you might prefer (for the fronts say, for stereo music). It is amazing how easy they are to fit in and not "stick out" with so many other speakers, that is if you just "have" to.

However, and I am going way back: there was a time when Paradigm used soft dome tweeters (I have some of those in one system still, largish, about the size of 40s). Now those were (are) sweet-sounding, but the bass is much poorer than nowadays even though by looking at the drivers you might think otherwise. They are not that good for HT sound IMO. The last several series of Paradigms are MUCH brighter than those. So it depends what you're comparing to when you use the term "bright", it's all relative.

Anybody else have any comments on the dip in the ~2kHz range these speakers seem to have? Do you think that might make them sound a bit bright to some people, what with that recessed important range decreasing the sense of "fullness"?

As promissed, here's some pics of my new v.5 speakers...



Brian

Some more pics



Brian

Say what you want about v4 vs v5 SQ, but the v5's are simply stunning. Beautiful pics! What sub is that and can you post what you think of the sub. A friend of mine is considering one of the new Studio Subs vs an SVS Ultra, my advice is the latter if you have room for it.

Say what you want about v4 vs v5 SQ, but the v5's are simply stunning. Beautiful pics! What sub is that and can you post what you think of the sub. A friend of mine is considering one of the new Studio Subs vs an SVS Ultra, my advice is the latter if you have room for it.

Agreed. They are really excellent pictures! I'm actually thinking about the same system (100's in front, 690 center, 20's surround). I too am considering an SVS Ultra and the Sub 15 for my sub. I would also be very interested in any reviews and initial impressions that you could share about the speakers and your sub.

Best Regards,

CM

Agreed. They are really excellent pictures! I'm actually thinking about the same system (100's in front, 690 center, 20's surround). I too am considering an SVS Ultra and the Sub 15 for my sub. I would also be very interested in any reviews and initial impressions that you could share about the speakers and your sub.

Best Regards,

CM


I'd be interested to hear about the Studio subs as well. I have a HSU STF-2 that I'm looking to upgrade, and right now I'm considering the HSU ULS-15, SVS Ultra, and Paradigm's new Studio subs. (Usage is probably about 45% music, 30% movies, and 25% games)

(Rest of the system is a pair of 20 v5's, CC-590, and Mini Monitor v5's as surrounds)

Agreed. They are really excellent pictures! I'm actually thinking about the same system (100's in front, 690 center, 20's surround). I too am considering an SVS Ultra and the Sub 15 for my sub. I would also be very interested in any reviews and initial impressions that you could share about the speakers and your sub.

Best Regards,

CM

Yes, it is the new Sub 15 and I do like it a lot. I'm not at this point able to really crank up the volume as I live in an appartment but at or near reference levels the volume and visceral effect when playing an LFE heavy passage is pretty impressive. Most of the music I have does not really test the sub much so the biggest use comes from mostly action movies. Max Payne probably overdoes the LFE thing but is a good reference source to test a system.

I do not yet have the sub EQ'd but plan to get something like the Behringer FBQ2496 to do so. I think the location I have the sub in is working pretty well as there doesn't seem to be any obvious freqs that are boomy or weak. If Paradigm were less gready with the PBK I'd concider that option but I have a problem with paying $400 for something costing less than $100...


Brian

I am interested in hearing what other people think of the Paradigm v5 CC-590. I have listened to it for about 5 weeks now and I am, to put it mildly, very unhappy. Given that it is a speaker that has a MSRP of $1,200, I would expect a very good sound from it. Instead, it sounds boxy, voices are muted, and there is just no prescence with it. And that is not a good thing considering 90% of my listening is HT. I have it paired with v5 Studio 60's (which sound superb) and actually enjoy the sound of 2-channel viewing over 5.1 simply because the fronts sound so good and the center sounds so bad.

I did run into a problem when I first brought it home, in that the mid-range driver was not connected and was actually broken. It was replaced by the dealer and shipped back to me. So much for Paradigm QA and QC.

Anyway, no dealers in my area have the v5's on display as yet so I can't go and listen to another 590 for comparison. I have tried to like this speaker, but time hasn't improved it's performance as far as I am concerned. Now, I'm just a partially satisfied Paradigm customer. How do you feel about your 590?

I ordered my new Paradigm system today, all are Studio v.5 and in Rosenut:

Mains - 100s
Center - CC-690
Rears - Esprit

I will be running a pair of JL Audio Fathom 113s with that set up (currently have 1, will order another)

This system will be replacing my previous speakers system that consisted of:

Mains - Martin Logan Ascents
Center - Martin Logan Stage
Rears - Martin Logan Scripts
Sub - Martin Logan Descent

I'll looking forward to the new sound.

Thanks for the update raptorsys! I'm glad to hear that they're working out well for you. Please keep us updated as you get to listen to more!

I'm sorry to hear that your having trouble ezdriver. I have been pretty set on getting a v5 setup for a while now. Paradigm has a great reputation and fair pricing for what you get, but I'm a little concerned by what you are saying. What's more troubling is that you aren't the first person to complain about poor PQ. QC seems to be an issue for the v5's, since it seems to be so hit or miss - people are either thrilled with them or are running into similar issues as you. Please keep us updated on whether or not you are able to resolve your 590 problem.

hope this is the venue for this: my Paradigm Studio 100 version 3 (basically identical to version 4) have an issue. My front right speaker only, makes a distorted bass noise on low frequency stuff like Bolt on bluray or anything in the low hz. I checked all the drivers by pushing them in alittle I didn't notice any friction. The other speaker is fine any ideas before I take it in to have it looked at?

I am interested in hearing what other people think of the Paradigm v5 CC-590. I have listened to it for about 5 weeks now and I am, to put it mildly, very unhappy. Given that it is a speaker that has a MSRP of $1,200, I would expect a very good sound from it. Instead, it sounds boxy, voices are muted, and there is just no prescence with it. And that is not a good thing considering 90% of my listening is HT. I have it paired with v5 Studio 60's (which sound superb) and actually enjoy the sound of 2-channel viewing over 5.1 simply because the fronts sound so good and the center sounds so bad.

I did run into a problem when I first brought it home, in that the mid-range driver was not connected and was actually broken. It was replaced by the dealer and shipped back to me. So much for Paradigm QA and QC.

Anyway, no dealers in my area have the v5's on display as yet so I can't go and listen to another 590 for comparison. I have tried to like this speaker, but time hasn't improved it's performance as far as I am concerned. Now, I'm just a partially satisfied Paradigm customer. How do you feel about your 590?

Sorry to hear you're disappointed, I understand how that goes.

I didn't like my 590 at all initially, I was really disappointed with it, especially considering that one speaker cost as much as my pair of 20's. Voices sounded nasally/congested/stuffy, and the imaging wasn't that good - you could tell all the sound was coming from the speaker itself, rather than the speaker disappearing and the sound seeming like it comes from the screen/TV.

However, now that I've used it for 20-30 hours or so, it's opened up pretty nicely (I just played music through my receiver's Pro-Logic II Music setting, so the center channel would get broken in quicker). Voices don't sound muffled any more, and the soundstage has spread out a lot; dialog actually sounds like it's coming from the TV rather than the center channel below it. I angled the speaker up toward my ears more, too. This also helped quite a bit. I have the 590 positioned below my TV, I'd say approximately at knee to stomach level when seated, a foot or two below the tweeters on my main speakers (20 v5's, which I love BTW). I've angled it up by putting about 1/2" rubber feet under the existing feet on the front edge of the speaker, and it's much better now.

My receiver's Audyssey EQ feature still has to make some pretty large changes to the speaker's response though, IIRC it was -2 dB at 250 and 16k Hz, and +2 dB at 2k and 4k Hz, with +/- 1 dB on the surrounding frequencies to smooth it out. So the speaker is definitely not flat; I would bet this is an intentional design choice the engineers made to try and keep the dialog clear and avoid sibilance, but I've let Audyssey flatten out the freq. response anyway.

Hope that helps.

Hello all,
I have 2 questions regarding the Paradigm speaker stands (J series, or S series).?
1. for fronts (with the 20's) what height stand do you use 22's,23's or the 26's, 29's? There website says 29 for the studio 20's? I can see if you were using these for rear surrounds this would be ok?
2. Do the J series stand cost $400.00 a pair? That is crazy. Does anybody know where I can get a better deal for these? I live in NYC.

hope this is the venue for this: my Paradigm Studio 100 version 3 (basically identical to version 4) have an issue. My front right speaker only, makes a distorted bass noise on low frequency stuff like Bolt on bluray or anything in the low hz. I checked all the drivers by pushing them in alittle I didn't notice any friction. The other speaker is fine any ideas before I take it in to have it looked at?

Did you try switching the left and right speakers to see if it follows the same speaker. If it does then if you can tell which driver is doing it you can get a new one from Paradigm. The drivers are pretty easy to replace.

Hello all,
I have 2 questions regarding the Paradigm speaker stands (J series, or S series).?
1. for fronts (with the 20's) what height stand do you use 22's,23's or the 26's, 29's? There website says 29 for the studio 20's? I can see if you were using these for rear surrounds this would be ok?
2. Do the J series stand cost $400.00 a pair? That is crazy. Does anybody know where I can get a better deal for these? I live in NYC.

I have 20's for my front speakers and J-29 stands, and they work perfectly; the tweeters are right around ear level, and around halfway up the height of my TV. It puts the tweeter at roughly the same height it'd be at if you had a pair of Studio 60s or 100s.

Yes, the J-29's do have a $400 msrp ($400 per pair). You could look around for a used pair on ebay or audiogon (mine are v2 stands, not sure what they changed from the v1 design). Also, if you buy new, your dealer should be able to give you a reasonable discount on the stands (10-15% off is pretty typical at a hi-fi store).

Some more pics



Brian

Beautiful setup Brian. Congratulations and enjoy.

I'm liking the new studio line...can any one give me a round about price for the new 10's, 20's and 60's? Thanks

frenchmon.

bump

Raptorsys: I really like that speaker enclosure for the 690. Did you buy it or make it?

ez

I'm liking the new studio line...can any one give me a round about price for the new 10's, 20's and 60's? Thanks

frenchmon.


Try page 4 of this thread.

Raptorsys: I really like that speaker enclosure for the 690. Did you buy it or make it?

ez

I made it from a couple pices of shelving stock from Ikea. I cut one of them to make two pieces about 10.5 inches long then screwed them into the other one that was not cut. For added strength I picked up a couple metal breackets shaped like an "L" and screwed them into the back so that the legs are braced to the shelf and will not tip over sideways.

I also made the stands for the Studio 20's. I used two pieces of 3/4 MDF glued together for the vertical parts and 3/4 inch plywood for the base and top. Painted gloss black but would probably go semi-gloss black if I were to do it again.

My next project, when I get the time, is to make an AV wall unit to house the components and store my CD's/DVD's/Blu-ray's.


Brian

I have 20's for my front speakers and J-29 stands, and they work perfectly; the tweeters are right around ear level, and around halfway up the height of my TV. It puts the tweeter at roughly the same height it'd be at if you had a pair of Studio 60s or 100s.

Yes, the J-29's do have a $400 msrp ($400 per pair). You could look around for a used pair on ebay or audiogon (mine are v2 stands, not sure what they changed from the v1 design). Also, if you buy new, your dealer should be able to give you a reasonable discount on the stands (10-15% off is pretty typical at a hi-fi store).
Thanks for the info.

As promissed, here's some pics of my new v.5 speakers...

Wow. Great looking speakers. Thanks for sharing. I'm a previous Studio 20 v3 owner and the new series has me longing to go back.

HeffeMusic: Go to Sound City. The address is 58 West 45th in Manhattan. Ask for Steve in the audio department. They are an authorized Paradigm dealer and they do discount.