Paradigm Owners Thread - Page 313

? Those speakers are in the Monitor Series.

Nevermind. Yosh was talking about the Studio series and you typed Monitor instead. I agree with you on that then.

Thanks very much for jumping in. Auditioning both center speakers at home sounds like an excellent idea. My receiver should be arriving today, so I will be able to start auditioning equipment at home w/ my electronics.

I am not at all adverse to building a system w/ mini monitors instead of floorstanders. I have been listening to the entire Paradigm line over the past few weeks and really loved the bookshelfs.

So, with a $3,000 speaker budget and the room/equipment detailed in this thread, what system might you recommend? Also, please advice regarding need for upgrading the sub. Any specific recommendations for this particular room?

Thanks in advance.

In my haste to post a response, I missed making the point that while the Titans, Minis and Atoms are part of the Monitor series, they are NOT floor standers and thus provide you with the option of Stands or shelves ( in far enough away from the rear walls)

As for a recommendation, If your listening is not bombastic and occasional movie soundtracks, then the combination of a CC-290 center, Titans L&R,
Minis rear and Atoms (7.1) accompanied by a AV123 MFW-15, Small REL, SVS or a HSU. They should accompanied by 1st rate cabling Like Kimber 8 or 4TC or even Anti-Cables (http://www.anticables.com/). As for the Subwoofer I highly recommend the Audioquest SUB 3 powered cable-- it is fantastic!!!

Again, my choices are based on cost first, then sonics. This grouping will plant you firmly in very good sonic territory. I have never been a fan of the floor standing monitor series. I found their bass thin compared to the Studio 20 and 60's with the price difference being minimal.

I am sure other members will add their choices and bias' to this thread... and rightfully so. But unless you will have a dedicated sound room/ AV room, the WAF will nuke most Siggies or floor standers.

Thanks for the recommendations. You are correct that I do not listen at "bombastic" levels. Good call. Some follow-up questions.

(1) If you saw my original post, you know that I currently own a PSB Subsonic 5 sub bought several years ago. This was a $500.00 powered sub rated quite well for the value at the time. When you suggested the AVS MFW-15 at $699, would this represent a significant upgrade? Do you think the Subsonic 5 should be upgraded? Would something like the MFW-15 give me reasonably tight well defined bass for music (i.e. upright jazz bass)? I'm guess many lesser subs would be just fine for the bang-boom of movies. If I put more money into my sub (let's say around $1,000), would I get something more musical.. or just more power?

I am not a bass junky. Mostly listen to jazz, classical, and then smatterings of everything else.

(2) I am going to start with a 5.1 system for now. If I use Titans L&R, CC 290 center, still use the Mini's for the surrounds?

(3) When I called my local dealer, he implied that they rarely sell the Titans because by the time a monitor speaker gets this big, folks usually go for a Monitor 7 or 9. Do you feel Titans in the front (paired with a good sub) would outperform a Monitor 7/9? Will a Titan/Mini speaker system be large enough to deal w/ my 17x17 room?

(4) I owned some Kimber cable in the past and loved it. 8TC worth the cost over the 4TC? I see this stuff come up on Ebay. Any problems getting it used? I already have an audioquest subwoofer cable- a green snake-like pattern. You feel Kimber truly has an advantage over something like the typical recommendations that come up on www.bluejeanscable.com?

P.S. If you lived in my town, I would buy you at least a beer for your time...

Oh... to add also, I did get the CC-390 but I found the difference between the 2 not to be worth the HUGE size. Atleast in my setup, i'm not sure how broken in the 390 was but the 290 is about there and sounds alot better then when I took it outta the box.

The CC-390 is perfect to use if you have the pefect setup, but I don't so I didn't see huge difference.

My Monitor 9's (v.5) were 3 week old floormodels that I got for $775 (CDN) with warranty.

The DSP-3400 Is one of Paradigms newer Subs, I'm debating weither getting that or a Servo-15v2. I'm not sure if the servo is worth the extra $400 with no warranty over the DSP-3400.

Ginovino, your recommendation of Titans and Atoms with a good sub is admirable but to suggest he spend $500+ on cables/wires seems way over the top considering his budget.
He'd be better off to spend that money on speakers or electronics.
But I see you used to work at an audio salon....sorta makes sense now.

And to avoid Paradigm subs? Have you heard a Seismic, the PW series or a Servo15?
There are other brands out there that are good but if digm's subs are that horrible, then
dealers wouldnt be selling them.

My 1st recommendation for headshrinker2 still stands.....Studio 20's, CC590 and a Seismic 10/12 with using his B&W's for surrounds. That should be ok as far as the WAF factor goes.
And just to reiterate what most already know, what it sounds like at the dealer is going to sound different in your home, hopefully for the better.

Hi Yosh.
I auditioned a new pair of Studio 20's, expecting to like them based on all the wonderful reviews. I'm really beginning to question if there was possibly something wrong with the speakers or setup at the dealer, because they didn't shine at all. I really liked most of the Paradigm speakers I heard that day- Monitor 7 and 9, Atoms, Mini's, and Studio 100's. There were no Studio 40's or 60's to audition. The 20's did not resemble the high end of the Studio 100's, which I really loved. I hope to hear a tried and true pair of 20's some time in the future.

While I enjoy the midrange of the various B&W monitors, I came to feel that the upper frequency range of these speakers were polite and soft as compared to the Paradigm.

Using the B&W DM 303's as surrounds for now certainly makes sense, especially if it allows me to put more money towards the front three speakers. Definitely something I will consider.

Before I bring a really big honkin' center into my family room, I think I'm going to audition a CC 290 first to see if it works to my ears satisfaction.

Appreciate the suggestion that Kimber at this time would probably put me over my budget. Perhaps this will be a future upgrade.

If I were to use monitors in both front and back, do you agree with G's suggestion to have Titan's as front L/R? Are there many folks on this forum who have happily used Titan's for the front stage of their HT setup?

Monitors or Floorstanders? Do other folks agree with G's recommendation to go with Titans R/L in the front rather than Monitor 7 or 9?

Thank in advance!

I have v5 Titans and a CC190, bottom line is you have to decide which is better for your situation.

Thanks for the reply How do you like your setup? What are you using as surrounds? Are you satisfied with the CC 190? I noticed that Paradigm recommends the C 290 for use with Titans. How did you choose the 190?

Regarding the front speakers, here is where I am coming from. At least in the front, by the time you have a monitor on a stand it takes up approx the same amount of space as a floorstander. So at least in the front, size is not a strong argument here when choosing between monitors and floorstanders.

Will I have a better performing system if I pair a monitor and a great sub, vs a floorstander like Monitor 7/9?

Happy Holidays

Hey Paradigm owners! I've been thinking of getting the studio series for my new home theater room and had some questions. My current receiver is the Yamaha v663 and I already have 2 MFW15 subs. Eventually I can add an amp to the 663 but can't really afford to do it at the moment since we are building a new house and having to buy everything.

1st question: Studio 60 vs Studio 100. I've done lots of reading on here but still haven't decided which would be better. The room will be a 15x17 fully enclosed room. With the 2 subs, do I need the Studio 100's or will the 60's be good enough? I'll spend the extra money if need be but I didn't know if it'd be wasted and I wouldn't really notice a difference getting the 100's since the lower sound will already be taken care of. Still undecided on which center channel also. Probably 690 just because, lol.

2nd question: Will that receiver (v663) perform well enough for the time being? I'm thinking about adding the Emotiva UPA-7 eventually since it's not too expensive and gets good reviews but won't be adding it anytime soon.

The sides will be the ADP-590's obviously. Thanks for any help. I won't have my house complete until April so I still have lots of time for research but just trying to get things narrowed down.

It works fine, I have seen people using the CC190 for things higher then Titans. I am using some Energy RVSS surrounds I found for 120 bucks. I am not one of these people that thinks timber matching is such a big deal for surrounds. I went with the CC190 cause I really just didnt feel I needed to spend the extra cash on the 290. Bottom line no matter what you buy your ears are going to adjust to the sound, you just have to be happy with what you hear. Dont forget the used market is always a good place to look to get higher end stuff for the money you want to spend.

I just picked up a pair of Studio 100s and have them in a 15x17 room that opens part way along one wall. I have a 10in sub for the low bass. With the 100s crossed-over @70hz they still play a pile of low material that sounds great....I also am tryin to get a little extra cash to get the CC-690, as for the 60s vs the 100s, of course I will say go for the 100s they sound phenomenal. I have no complaints!!!

I dont see any reason why the 60's wouldnt be fine.

I am planning a new HT. My current plan is to use Paradigm CS series in-wall/ceiling speakers. I listened to some CS-160s & 80Rs at a local dealer and was impressed with the sound for in-walls.

Dealer recommended CS160 pr for L/R, CS-LCR for center, and CS-80R for surrounds, with a DSP 3200 Sub.

Does this sound like a good system? It will be mainly for movies in a room with wood floors and hard surfaces. I will add absorbtion where I can, such as drapes and rugs.

Would I do better with three CS-LCRs in the front? I have not heard these. I also plan to add another pair of 80Rs later to complete 7.1. I will be looking into other subs after reading post in this thread.

Any thoughts are appreciated!

I have been auditioning speakers for a few weeks now and am close to purchasing a 5.1 Studio 100 setup (2x Studio 100, 1x CC-690, 2x ADP-590). If I purchase these I will need a new receiver. There are two Paradigm dealers in town and both said that I could drive these with a Marantz SR6003 just fine (specs say 100w/channel). My current room is about ~1500 cubic feet that does not open to any other parts of the house. I'm confused on what to do about amplification.

Option 1: Marantz SR6003 for amplification
Option 2: Onkyo TX-SR806 + Emotiva XPA-2
Option 3: $600-800 receiver + Emotiva XPA-5

The Marantz + an Emotiva is probably a bit outside my budget (unless my dealer gives me a very good deal on the Marantz) but in the long term I can always add an amplifier later. I'm just wondering if I should be purchasing a separate amplifier to start with.

My other question is about ADP-590 mounting. For my current room I would really prefer to ceiling mount these. I'm looking at http://www.panavise.com/index.html?p...eqskudatarq=58 for brackets (rated to 20 pounds). Do I run a serious risk of damaging the speakers by attaching these mounts? I'm not worried about them falling I'm worried about screws into the speaker cabinet.

did anybody try to use mini v4 as a center ?
is it better than 370, how much ?

You shouldnt need to buy an amp right away, they are nice to have dont get me wrong, headroom is always a good thing, but most receivers put out enough power to give a great expierience. Take baby steps amps can always be added later if you feel you really need that extra BAM. Quality speakers and a source are far more important IMHO.

I'm running 100's with a CC690 powered by a Parasound 250WPC 3 channel amplifier and the surrounds (20's) run by my Marantz SR5002. Before with a cheaper Behringer amplifier, it sounded ok but once I brought the Parasound amp into the picture, it sounded fuller and seemed to open up the soundstage especially at higher volumes.

If and when you decide to add an amp to the picture, make sure its powering at least the front three, not just the 100's. Any receiver will work driving those speakers but more power will benefit louder listening levels.

Thanks for the advice on the amplifier. I have a small room and I don't typically play anywhere near reference level so I will start with just a receiver.

Now I just need to figure out how I can ceiling mount the surrounds.

hi,
I'm new to the forum. I am finishing off my basement and wanted to put in a nicer home theatre setup than our existing one in the family room(denon amp/canton speakers). came across this forum when setting up my panasonic tv - great info. hoping to find out some general info if someone has the time.
I found these for sale in my area:

2 Studio reference 60's
2 ADP-350 dipole surrounds
1 LCR-450 Studio reference center channel
1 PS-1000 subwoofer

question - any issues to look out for in buying used? is this a good mix of speakers - I know that is a relative term, but don't want to buy something that was put together by someone just to sell. What amp/reciever in the $500 to $1000 range might go with this set up? I think I will buy that new. finally, any idea what the speakers would be worth in good to excellent condition (since I won't buy if they look crappy). not sure if i'm allowed to ask that question on this forum.

thanks for responding

I will just say this, you can find better subs out there over the Paradigm.

So besides saving money, I won't be missing out on much by not going w/ the 100's?

BTW, this room is pretty much only for movies/video games/TV....not really music

I dont feel you will but of course its just my opinion. Your room isnt huge and those speakers sure arent just small whimpy speakers. Gives you some cash to spend on something more important, an awesome subwoofer.

lol, well I certainly won't be buying a subwoofer since I just bought the 2 MFW15's

Oh god I so forgot about that, my apologies.

Ha, it's all good. I was thinking the same thing, that the 60's will probably be more than enough. Hell, I'm using JBL satellites right now so anything is an upgrade. Trying to get all my picks together for when my houses is completed though I'm super excited for my media room.

If your room is that small and you wont be playing it loud, whats with choosing the 100's and CC690? Save some money and get the 60's and CC590 then.

And concerning your placement of the dipoles, they either mount on the side walls or on stands....you dont hang them from the ceiling.

If the 60's and surrounds look and sound good, snatch them up if they're priced right.

The cc I would leave alone and PS sub is up to you but way too boomy for my tastes.

Then again, if its a package deal and you can get it cheap enough, grab it and sell off what you dont want/need.

before i pull the trigger. your thoughts on the signature 6 vs. studio 100s




for centers cc690 vs.sig c5