Paradigm Owners Thread - Page 3

Monitor 5(ver.4) for L/C/R
Mirage Omnicans(Height restrictions)
2 pr. pw-2200
Integra 7.1
sony dvx777es player

I bought all monitor 5's for my front soundstage with intentions of upgrading to studio but the monitors
seem to sound better evry time I watch a movie . My room is dedicated at 17X23X10. The pw-2200 sure
move a ot of air. I wonder what two seimics would do? hmmmm?

Studio 20's/ver 3
CC-470/ver 3
Minis/ver 4
SVS PC-Ultra
Another pair of 20s or maybe some 40s will be next!
It sounds good to me though.

Went here sat. to demo S8.

http://www.spearitsound.com/Paradigm/paradigmhome.htm

What a place. They have been there for 35 years and also have B&W new and used all over the place.

Stop by there if you can.

I'm another happy Paradigm owner.

All V3's

Studio 60's
CC 570
ADP 470's
PW 2200

When the wife is away I sneak down our old performance series 5se's as rears for a full 7.1 setup. It actually sounds great.

Receiver: Harman Kardon AVR 7200 (way more than enough for this setup)

Room is a dedicated theater 12 X 18 treated with acoustic cotton below ear level and dead front wall with bass traps.

Projector: Infocus SP5700 on a 103" screen
Player: Pio. 563a

I'm very happy with my results and don't see upgrading any time soon.

Nice thread

Fronts: Studio 60 v3
Center: Studio CC-570 v3
Rears: (on order: ADP-470)
Sub: HSU VTF-3 MK 2
Pre/Pro: Denon AVR-3802
Amp: Anthem MCA-50
DVD: Panasonic DVD-RP82
Sat: *C Motorola DSR500
PVR: TiVo Series2 (mod for Canada & upgrd. to 160GB)
TV: Hitachi 57T500

Any other Canadians here?!

Lots of Canadians here!

Monitor 7 v3 mains
Monitor CC370 v3 center
Monitor 7 v3 sides
Mini Monitors v3 rear
PW2200 sub

Powered by Bryston 6B-SST , 4B-SST and 4B-ST

Cheers!

Front reference active 40's
center ref active 450
sides ref active 450
back ref active 40's
subs to servo 15's

Lexicon MC12 v4eq

I have had these speakers for about 4 years and really like them. I hope they last a long long time (they dont make them anymore )

Brad

studio 20's v3 front
CC-570 center
Focus side (temporary)
Servo-15

Marantz 7400

room is not accoustically treated.

Avoid the CC! Use a Monitor 5 if you have the room for it to be upright.

Monitor 11 v.4 - mains
Monitor 5 v.3 - surrounds
CC-370 v.3 in a horizontal version enclosure of the Monitor 5 size/tune
(I call it CC-370/Monitor5 hybrid)

Wow nice setup Brad. I think the Actives would give the Sigs a run for the money. I am a former Paradigm owner so I hope you don't mind me posting here. I used to have semi-active setup.

Active 40v2
Active CCv2
Studio ADPv2
Servo-15
Anthem AVM20v2 pre/pro
Anthem PVA5 amp

Had to sell them do to change in living situation

Ron
Dont mind at all. I beat you miss them. I dont see many people with actives.
For the money they are real hard to beat.


Brad

Cool Thread..

All in Sycamore finish..

Mains: Studio 40 v.3
Center: Studio CC-470 v.3
Surrounds: Studio 20 v.3
Sub: Servo-15 v.2 (the new one.. 1200 watts!)

Powered by a humble Cambridge Audio 540R (for now until the new house and dedicated room).. Sounds fabulous despite the untreated loft.. The new room will be analyzed and treated better.

Pics in my gallery.

I have:

Denon 3805 (used as pre-amp only)
Bryston 9BSST power amp
Studio 80/v2 front
Studio CC/v2
Studio 20/v2 rear
PW-2200 sub
Source is a home-brew HTPC

The speakers were bought in '99 and have been used almost exclusively for home theater. There's no room treatment and the current location is not ideal but it still impresses everyone who hears it. I couldn't be happier and feel no great need to upgrade (although I do have a dedicated music setup in another room).

Great thread

I have-

F) Studio 100s v2
C) Studio CC
S) Studio ADP-470
BS) Studio 20s v2

Denon 4802r (used basically as a pre/pro now)
Outlaw Audio 770 power amp

...and mine are powered by 2 Harman Kardon Signature amps: 1.5 & 2.1.

Sorry to hear that. The Active 40's are very special. I've never heard the Ac tive CC's or ADP's.

I wonder if anyone's put together a 5 Active-40 and twin Servo-15 set-up.

100 v3 mains
cc-570 center
ADP-470 rear speakers x 2 (mounted on side)
an old Sony sub but looking to upgrade.

Any advice? I was thinking Velodyne DD-15 vs. Paradigm Signature Servo sub. I'm jealous of all you Signature owners=) Sounds like one awesome setup everyone has. Someday I'll upgrade but I got my reference setup a few months before I heard about the Signatures coming out and am pretty happy. Gotta love the look of their products too.

Dave

Sig S8's
Sig C5
Sig ADP's
Sig Servo Sub
(all in the rosewood finish)

I am really glad to hear that the ADP's sound good with multichannel/high-res music. I just placed an order for them this weekend, and was really conflicted over whether or not to get the dipoles. I am only running 5.1 at this point in time. The room I'm currently using as my HT, is somewhat small, and direct radiating speakers would just not have worked out as well.

Unfortunately, I will be unable to mount the ADP's on the side walls. I will have to put them on the back wall, right over where we sit. We use two recliners that are 2 ft. from the back of the wall. Should I put these puppies centered directly over our heads, or is it better to have them mounted a little over to the side?

Evan

[quote=wrg2]Dave, don't really know how big a difference sonically the Sigs are to the Reference and for some it's not enough to justify the additional expense... ..Me personally, as I mentioned previously, just couldn't get past the Birdseye Maple finish. It fits in to my audion room decor perfectly.
QUOTE]

I've posted quite a few times on this subject, there's been a lot of comparisons between the Sigs and Reference. Most of them conclude that the Sigs are better sonically. But the argument always centers around whether the difference is worth it financially. I was drawn to the Sigs from the Studios for aesthetic reasons as well. In comparing the two you can't dismiss the build quality and finish of these speakers.
I liken it to the difference between cheap furniture and high quality furniture, you can buy a dining room suite made out of pressboard for $1000, but how much more would you pay for a quality hardwood suite? Probably 10 times more.......
As to whether the cost difference is justified sonically, that's a tougher decision.
When I heard the Sigs in the showroom, I would of had to say no. But when I got them home and spent some time with them, in my room, with my gear, I quickly began to re-think that. If budget were no consideration I'd have to say that the sonic difference was definitely worth the price. If you're limited in your budget, you've got to do you homework. That is, take both home and try them out in your environment.
If you've already got a good sub, the difference in price between the Studio 100's and the Sig S4's is not that great and merits consideration. I easily prefer the S4's over my previous 100 v.2's. I can't comment on the v3 100's without having heard them.

From the threads I've read over quite some time now:

Monitor to Studio = why'd you buy Monitors anyway? (I don't get this rationale at all)
Studio to Signature = not worth it.

I went in to the store thinking I'd get a Monitor 9 or 11 based on my budget, and ended up liking the Studio 20s for the same price much more. (I ended up getting the 60s, but my wife helped me stretch the budget more because she loved them).

I haven't heard the sigs yet... I'm not worried about the finish as much because they'll all be hidden in my HT room someday soon anyway. The main benefit I see sonically is the extra front-firing driver on the ADPs.. I wish the 470s had that.

Those are blanket conclusions that don't take into consideration a whole whack of variables. Like equipment, budget, room characteristics, usage, and decor just to name a few.
Just as "miltimj" has eliminated aesthetics as a consideration and "wrg2" and me included it; different reasons for different applications.

Maybe I just don't get it, but what is the point of your post?

The reference series are an absolutely extraordinary deal. Simply fantastic price/quality ratio. Can't be beat. For the majority of consumers, this is the sweet spot.

To move up further in the chain, we run straight into the law of diminishing returns. It's the invisible line, where you have to spend quite a bit more money, to get that last extra bit of performance. The quality goes up not only in sound, but in aesthetics as well. To some of us it's worth it, to others, it's not. However, it's certainly not a waste of money, or an overpriced ripoff. The Signatures are still extremely competitive in terms of performance/price with other marquee brands. If compared directly to the B&W 800 series (and many others), I think they're a downright bargain.

It's only when we compare the value of the Signatures, to the incredible value of the Reference series, that the Signatures look expensive. (and when you see them in person, they do look expensive !). I was not comparing the Signatures to the Reference series when shopping. I was comparing them directly to much more expensive speakers. I'm extremely pleased with my purchase, and feel I still got a great deal. I believe the entire line of Paradigm products gives a lot of bang for the buck. I personally, am very glad the company decided to go head-to-head with the much more prestige and high-end speaker manufacturers. I believe they scored a bull's-eye, and hit them squarely right between the eyes.

Evan

When I was demoing and buying my Paradigm's, I looked very closely at the Sigs and the Studios. The Paradigm Rep said, that the only difference is the premium finishes. I demoed them in my theater side by side and for the cost, I personally heard no difference, nothing to make me think the Sig's sounded better at all. They both sounded flat out awesome. So, I bought the Studio's and have been very happy with them.

Redhouse

My point is the Monitor series are like the bastards in the family line-up. Overlooked constantly. I see suggestions for someone looking at the bigger Performance line to check out Studios (usually used for budget restraints), not Monitors. Why would Monitors, the next obvious step up, be completely overlooked?

I auditioned the Studio 20's vs. Monitor 11's. Sure the 20's sounded a little better in the mids/highs, but it couldn't hold a candle to the output levels of the Monitor 11 (which is a deal-sealer for me). So at the louder playback levels I like for music, the Studio 20 would lose out, versus the Monitor 11, because it runs out of steam, so to speak...

Now the CC-370 flat out sucks. That's why I rebuilt mine to the size/tune/bracing/enclosure thickness of a Monitor 5.

BINGO!!!!
In your room, with your gear, side by each; IMHO that's the only way to find out for sure if it's worth it to you. Opions on these boards are extremely subjective at best, always take them with a grain of salt.