Paradigm Speakers - Mini vs 7s

The Monitor 7's are excellent speakers. The Mini's (which to my ear are almost the same as the Atom's) are very good. If you have a good subwoofer the Mini's are probably plenty for HT, if your speakers are primarily for music then go with the 7's. (Personally, I have the Paradigm Titans)

I just got done auditioning some Minis, Atoms, and CC 290 in my house over the past few days. My room is 17x17. No question, this system filled the room just fine.

Before boxing everything up to take back to the store, I tried comparing speakers in 2-chann for stereo music listening. I found that I preferred the Atoms over the Mini's. At least to my ears for music, neither speaker did anything wrong or offense. But neither speaker excited me either.

The Monitor 7's are a fun speaker- not neutral, but pleasant to listen to. My local dealer sells lots of these for HT setups.

Have you listened to these speakers yourself? No substitute to your own ear. These choices are so personal, afterall.

BTW, I just picked up an Onkyo 706. No complaints so far.

Good luck with your choices.

Yes, I have heard the Studio 20's. They are an extremely well-loved and well-reviewed speaker. I had my local Paradigm dealer order a pair for me to demo. Strangely enough, I did not like them. I strongly suspect something might have been wrong with the set-up.

FYI. I spent part of the morning talking with a local AV guy who used to own a high end stereo shop. He suggested that Onkyo receivers sound considerably less good than Denon. He added that Marantz sounds even better than Denon. I am seriously considering returning my 706.

-- Rob

Did you go w/ Onkyo or Marantz on your receiver? Inquiring minds want to know.