Paradigm Owners Thread - Page 780

I have paired Monitor 9s (series 7) with Denon 1911 AVR and am keen now explore a stereo amp. Would the folks on this forum have an opinion on which stereo amp should I check out? I have heard NAD goes well with Paradigms while some people say Marantz makes them appear brighter. I am fine with a bright sound (though not on the lines of Klipsch).

Any suggestions?

very cool. thanks man!

Do you mean instead of your Denon 1911? The 1911 does not have pre-outs, so you can't just add an amp, you'll need to entirely replace the entire AVR if you want an upgrade.

Marantz and Denon both use the same amp... they're both part of the same company. Very minor differences between them.

Onkyo AVRs have a more robust amplifier section than the Denons do, and otherwise similar features (not entirely, but you have to decide which features you want most). Or if you went with a Denon 3312 you could see how well that does for you, and add an external amplifier like an Emotiva, for instance, to have all the power you could want. Both Denon and Onkyo use Audyssey, considered the best room correction out there.

SE Center vs. Center 3...

What are their manufacturer recommended sales prices?

I had thought the MSRPs in the US for the two are $499 and $599 respectively.
However, in Canada, I think the MSRPs are $649 and $619.

Is that correct?

BTW, I have room for either of these models. Which would you consider?

SE is 2 db less sensitive, requiring 40 watts less power.

You need a big boy avr. I would look at the Denon 4311CI.. It has enough power not to need a external amp. If down the road you choose to add one, it has the ability to assign internal amps to whichever speakers you choose. Yamaha can't do this like the Denon can. It also has audyssey xt32 room correction. High quality avr that will fit your needs. What exactly is your budget for an avr?

I have the SE Center, and like it. MSRP for the SE Center, late 2011, was $600 (or $599, whatever).

Thanks.

It turns out the Canadian MSRPs for the Center 3 and SE Center according to my local shop are CAD$599 AND CAD$679. That meant that the actual take home price for the SE Center ended up being a fair bit more costly. Also, since it's going into an AV cabinet I was hoping for a sealed box, but none had it. All of them - the Center 1, Center 3, and SE Center, are rear ported.

So, I ended up just ordering the Center 3. I hope to have it in a few days. Hopefully it should match up with my Monitor 7 speakers well enough. I believe they're the original Monitor 7s, because they don't have the v.X on the label anywhere. That makes them, what, 15 years old? (I can't remember exactly when I bought them, but it was in the 90s.)

I will admit though I'm a wee bit disappointed they're no longer made here, since I live in the same province as where Paradigm is located.


?

You mean the SE requires more power. My Sony receiver isn't so strong, so having less power requirements would be a good thing, so advantage Center 3... unless I'm totally confused.

Hello


I'm purchasing 2 monitor 7s with a center 3 and want to know if I'm making a good choice on receiver . I'm thinking about purchasing a Pioneer 1021 or 1121 are they good choices? I fill like I'm not spending enough considering the speakers will come out to $2200.00 compared to the unit $300.00

Sorry big guy best room correction easily goes to anthem arc. Its not even close

This may be sacrilege to some, but I tend to spend less on receivers and more on speakers. Those Pioneers will be fine, unless your usage is out of the norm.

Hell, I've got a Sony STR-DG800 hooked up to Studio 60s and a Studio CC, Titan surrounds, and an SVS PB-13 Ultra and it all sounds great together. Mind you the room isn't huge, and I don't crank to crazy volumes.

I can always downgrade the speakers to titan monitors and center 1 so I can buy a more expensive receiver.

Do you guys think I'm getting a fair price? Dealer wants

$782 + tax for monitor 7s FMV 900.00
$1042 tax for monitor 9s FMV $1198.00
$520.00 + tax center 3 FMV $600.00

Kalani,

What I want is to have an integrated amp (pre + power, not an AVR) to allow for a more "musical" experience. Hence, not looking to upgrade my AVR to a higher version. I would like to go for a separate integrated amp altogether which I can keep switching to for my music needs.

Cheers

Check out the Outlaw Audio rr2150. I use it for 2 channel music listening
with a pair of Paradigm Studio 40's (v4).

Nah. If you have limited funds, get the better speakers. You can always upgrade the receiver a few years from now, and it will be a cheaper upgrade, and by that time there will be some new format that you might want. Electronics often go out of date in a few years, but good speakers can last decades. 20 year old speakers can play Dolby Pro Logic, DD 5.1, DTS, and uncompressed audio via HDMI. However, to support those in your receivers over that same period you would have had to upgrade your receiver several times.


I've been out of the loop for a while, but are we allowed to post discounted pricing now? I thought it was just MSRP.

Thanks for the inputs. However, as mentioned to Kalani too, I am looking to add a separate integrated amp for pure stereo sessions. So not sure if I want to upgrade my AVR. I have heard (pun unintended) that stereo amps are so much better for 2.0 than the AVRs and I want to check that path.

I am not looking for a very high end integrated amp so I would ideally like to keep my budget within 30K Indian rupees (INR) which translates to ~600 USD. Unfortunately, the pricing in India sucks vis-a-vis US. One way to look at it is that the Denon 1912 retails for 45k INR which is ~900 USD

So may be if you can give me some pointers to suitable integrated amps (NAD 326?) I can do the further auditioning.

Cheers

Unfortunately, Anthem is way way outta my budget

I've heard good things about that, of course, but since the poster was coming from a Denon, I was giving him the lay of the land with the more traditional brands, in case that's what he's looking for.

That said, do you have any links to reviews that out ARC head to head with Audyssey MultiEQ XT or XT32? I'd be curious to read them.

+1 I too would love to read up on the differences Arachnid.

The thing that bothers me is the amps in the Anthem receivers being somewhat anemic compared to Pioneer and Marantz for the price of these things and this is from a company that makes some of the most powerful separate amps in the industry.

Agreed.

Before I bought the 809 I looked into the Anthem's because my local dealer recommended them with the Paradigms I purchased. A few things didn't sit right with me as I had a hard time spending $2k for a receiver that needed to be updated via computer to USB and that required the user to set speaker distances manually. I listened to them and they sounded great, however, would never fly in my home network because the features just aren't up to the current times yet. Maybe the next line will be more modern.

I am curious for any one to chime in....


I currently have a 5.1 system with Paradigm Signatures S8, C5 and S2. I have been contemplating going to a 7.1 system and found a great deal on a pair of S4's. Would this be overkill? Would it be best to hold out for a pair of the Signature ADP's? All of mine are V1, so I am concerned that if I go with either V2 or V3 that the sound will not be matched.

Any input is greatly appreciated!

Thx in advance!

Kal Rubinson did a test with ARC and Audyssey and they both did a great job. Its a good read if you want to check out the article. It didn't seem like either one has a big advantage over the other. I have seen Kal post that he prefers XT32 over the ARC version found in the MRX receivers but I don't have time to search for the thread right now.http://www.stereophile.com/musicinth...itr/index.html

If you listen to any multi channel music, those adp's are gonna kill it for you.

The beauty about surround setups is, you don't need large speakers for anything but the main LCR channels. I run studio 20s for my left and right wides and 10s for front height, rear height and rear surrounds. The best thing is with multi channel music, it all matches.

If you want to save some cash and music isnt going through the system, mirage omd5s work well for 7.1 additions.

A couple of questions:

I have Studio 100's V1 in one setup and Studio 60's V2 in another setup.

Right now I run a couple of Studio CC2's for centers.

I picked up a couple of CC-570's V3 for next to nothing without grills and one with a bad tweeter. For $100 in parts I can have them up to snuff. Then I would have less than $350 total into both center speakers.

1) Would these be a good enough match for my 100's and my 60's?
2) Would it be worth the upgrade considering the low price point?

One other question - I currently run Polk Monitor 40 surrounds in a 5.2 system with my 60's. I can get a pair of Studio 20's v3 which need some repairs ($40 in parts) and have some cosmetic issues for $100. Would this be a worthy upgrade? I listen to a lot of multi channel music. Guessing this is a Yes.

Thanks

Hey guys I was wondering if it is well worth it to upgrade from the Paradigm Monitor line to the Studio line???? Can some people who have done this comment on the improvements??? Hard to justify the $ if the difference in sound quality is minimal! I am very curious or is it just worth it to jump right to the Signature line? lol Thanks guys! I will have to go demo some Stuidos at my local shop!

Oh and what do you guys use for your Receiver to run the Studio's? Curious since my local shops just say Marantz and Anthem are good since they carrey those of course!
I am currently using an Onkyo AVR to power my Monitor line and the salesman told me to change my AVR immediately! lol thought it was sort of funny! Salesman I tell ya!! haha

I upgraded from Monitor 7v4s to Studio 60v4s and I would say that, overall, it was worth it.

The S60s aren't as "bright" or "open" at the top as the M7v4s, but they have better midrange and a stronger bottom end, so the sound is a bit "warmer" and they're much better for the occasional straight (i.e., "Pure Direct" mode) two-channel listening. Also, the S60s can be pushed harder/louder than the M7v4s before becoming shrill or fatiguing.

The most satisfying part of the upgrade from Monitors to Studios, however, was the move from my old CC-370v3 - a solid CC speaker - to the CC-690. It's a beast and it sounds beautiful!!

I run the S60s off my Marantz SR6003, and the CC-690 plus my Studio 20v4s off my Emotiva UPA-5. The Marantz has no trouble handling the S60s.

I upgraded and it was worth every penny. Music in movies comes out magnificant while still carrying that big punch. I would never go back to the monitor line after having these babies. You do need to up the amp to make them work properly. if you are heavy into music you need a 2 channel power amp forsure like an A2 from anthem.

studio 60s, cc590, sa 10r in ceiling rears, sub 12 and mrx 700

I got the Center 3 today. The sizing is really nice for my setup as it's about the same width as my previous CC-150. It's hella deeper, and somewhat taller, but it's nowhere near as humungous as the CC-390 was and it's not even as big as the CC-290.

Not surprisingly, it sounds way, way better than the CC-150. Very clean-sounding, and it doesn't fade to bleah at the low end like the CC-150 did. It's not quite in the same class as my Studio CC in the other room, but nonetheless I'm quite pleased with the Center 3 given the huge difference in price between the Center 3 and the Studio series.





Before I got this I was wondering why Paradigm didn't release an in-between Center 2. However, it does seem to make sense to me now. In terms of street pricing it is a couple of hundred $ more than the Center 1, but it's also a huge jump in specs, and I suspect a significant jump in quality and range, but without the huge jump in width. In that context, the hypothetical Center 2 becomes somewhat redundant.

The only issue with the Center 3 I've noticed is the slight boominess I can sometimes get with it located in my AV cabinet. As I suggested earlier, I suspect it's due to the rear porting of the Center 3 - not necessarily ideal for a partially enclosed space. I suspect the Studio CC-490 would be better in this regard, but then again it is also rear ported, and it costs almost twice as much. Considering my Center 3 already cost as much as my 42" plasma TV, I figured its pricing was much more appropriate for that system.

P.S. The GF really loves the Center 3, because of its musicality. The CC-150 was simply lacking at the bottom, and the Center 3 fills that range in nicely. It's also quite responsive, without being overly bright. In fact, I think it's crisper than my Monitor 7 speakers. However, my speakers are I believe the first version of that model from 15 years ago or so.