[crytpo]

I am going to be looking at speakers tomorrow with the distict possibility of getting a complete set. I am leaning heavily towards Paradigm, with Klipsch a close second. If I should decide on the Paradigms, what kind of price should I be looking for? I am looking at either the Monitor 7 or Monitor 11's, CC-370, and set of ADP-370's. I will be (soon I hope) running these with a Denon 3803. BTW, right now the local (and only authorized dealer in my area - Chesapeake, VA) B&M shop is advertising the Monitor 7's at $699/pair. Is that about the norm? Thanks in advance for the input.

 

[tuskenraider]

$699 is the retail price, not like a special or something if they would have you believe that. You should get at least 5-10% off that price. And I'll bet they give you the line "Paradigm doesn't like us discounting their speakers that much." If you buy a whole package, I would expect 10% off. That's about what I got off when I bought my Monitor 11's, 7's and CC370. I think you'll really find the Monitor 11's worth the extra $$$ over the 7's, which are fine in their own right. Currently demoing some ADP-370's myself as possible replacement for my 7's that I use as surrounds. Still kinda up in the air about the di-poles.

 

[crytpo]

What are your thoughts on the ADP-370's?

 

[GreatBop]

well... umm it comes down to your choice of either dipoles or direct firing surrounds, realy

 

[tuskenraider]

Well as a dipole speaker, I can't really say how performance is compared to others since this is the first pair I've demoed. The ADP's timbrely match my speakers so I'm not really gonna have interest in looking at others any time soon. Compared to the Monitor 7's it's definately a different experience. I've been listening to some DVD DTS concert disks, DVD-Audio, CD's with PLII enabled and of course movies. For movies I think I like them better than the direct firing 7's. They seem to blend just fine with my 11's and CC-370. The panning around the rears seems smoother with the ADP's. You also notice a more airy sound field that does make it harder to pick exactly where a sound effect is coming from, a good thing. Part of that is probably because the rears were about 4-5ft from the sweet spot, 2-3 at the outside seats. With the ADP's up on the wall, they're about seven feet away and the speaker isn't firing right in the back of your head. This also makes it a nicer experience for the listeners on the outside seats of the sweet spot not having to be so close and being overwellmed by a surround speaker. Another thing of interest is, even properly calibrated, that the overall sound seems lower at the same volume levels on the receiver with the ADP's than the 7's as surrounds.


Musically, I think the 7's are better because it's gives the music a stronger, more solid presence from the back with multi-channel music. With 2 channel music and PLII enabled there is also less rear presence, but not nearly as noticeable as with multi-channel. But I clearly watch much more movies than listen to multi-channel music and so it made me curious enough to bring em home to see what the pro's and con's were with directs vs. dipoles. They'll free up a little floor space, though I'm gonna miss the visual presence that the towers give, but that's just a mental hurdle I seem to be getting over. If I had more rear positioning options behind me(more room really), it'd make this decision a little harder. So after all this rambling, if your not a big multi-channel music person, and really don't have room to spread your direct firing speakers, most of us don't, I guess the dipoles look like the way to go.