Interesting Vs battle today with Paradigm and Totem
Hello all!!
Got back to the shop early today , had a bit of a easy day. Installed a exsisting 2 channel system , Denon surround bar on another system and ISF calibrated the Sharp LCD. Sold a Upgrade this morning and called it a Day.
Back at the Lab , we put out our brand new Paradigm Studio 100's in Cherry finish. I must say they are some damn sexy speakers. Just seeing them the upgrade bug bit ( I know I just got new speakers but damn they are nice looking) Anyway they have had about 8 hours total of play time , one of our salesman is the son of our Paradigm Rep. It's cool he gives us some inside news and he is very into audio. Love it.
Well anyway I sat down in front of them , popped in some cd's and went to town. Now mind you the Studio 20's also got the upgrade , we had them for months now and they are just simply fantastic. I would buy them they are incredible sounding bookshelf speakers. Far better then all years past models. They kinda now have a B&W N series cabinet look to them with the round back.There is a lot that went into this years upgrades.
So back to sitting there with my shiny cd's , I noticed something about the build of the speaker , it has a dedicated midrange speakers like a B&W FST but in Aluminum with a small rubber surround. Nicely done and I was even more excited to get them going. I have them connected to our Krell system along with some Totem Hawks which I switch back and forth by moving the Cardos Speaker wire banana plugs( gotta love easy banana). So I'm sitting there listening and I'm not feeling at all what I am hearing. I listen some more and found the speakers to be extremely tight and hardly no mid range at all. totally unlike Paradigm they are all about Mid range. Weird but I'm gonna chalk it up to not broken in all the way yet I guess.
I switched over to the Hawk and guys and girls these little **** speakers put up a sound stage so real it's scary. I'm so damn Impressed with Totem every single time I listen. The Hawks are winners in every single musical way. With Krell powering them they sound so real. Effortless. When switching back to the Paradigms one can only think "damn these are some cheap **** sounding speakers. I'm gonna go further and say the Hawks "CLOWNED" the Paradigms. Again I'm trying not to judge as they don't have enough play time and the Hawks are well broken in.
I had fun tonight even though Paradigm let me down for now. I'm gonna go back to them and try again after they get a weeks time on in the shop. I'm gonna turn them on before I go out in the field and when I return I will turn them off. Then next week I will sit down again and listen. Hoefully like B7W N series FST drivers they will come alive and give me what I expect from such a beautiful speaker. The Studio 20's are amazing and I expect nothing less then from the new 100. In the past I have not cared for any floor standing Paradigm speakers. I don't get it as everything else they make is fantastic.
Got back to the shop early today , had a bit of a easy day. Installed a exsisting 2 channel system , Denon surround bar on another system and ISF calibrated the Sharp LCD. Sold a Upgrade this morning and called it a Day.
Back at the Lab , we put out our brand new Paradigm Studio 100's in Cherry finish. I must say they are some damn sexy speakers. Just seeing them the upgrade bug bit ( I know I just got new speakers but damn they are nice looking) Anyway they have had about 8 hours total of play time , one of our salesman is the son of our Paradigm Rep. It's cool he gives us some inside news and he is very into audio. Love it.
Well anyway I sat down in front of them , popped in some cd's and went to town. Now mind you the Studio 20's also got the upgrade , we had them for months now and they are just simply fantastic. I would buy them they are incredible sounding bookshelf speakers. Far better then all years past models. They kinda now have a B&W N series cabinet look to them with the round back.There is a lot that went into this years upgrades.
So back to sitting there with my shiny cd's , I noticed something about the build of the speaker , it has a dedicated midrange speakers like a B&W FST but in Aluminum with a small rubber surround. Nicely done and I was even more excited to get them going. I have them connected to our Krell system along with some Totem Hawks which I switch back and forth by moving the Cardos Speaker wire banana plugs( gotta love easy banana). So I'm sitting there listening and I'm not feeling at all what I am hearing. I listen some more and found the speakers to be extremely tight and hardly no mid range at all. totally unlike Paradigm they are all about Mid range. Weird but I'm gonna chalk it up to not broken in all the way yet I guess.
I switched over to the Hawk and guys and girls these little **** speakers put up a sound stage so real it's scary. I'm so damn Impressed with Totem every single time I listen. The Hawks are winners in every single musical way. With Krell powering them they sound so real. Effortless. When switching back to the Paradigms one can only think "damn these are some cheap **** sounding speakers. I'm gonna go further and say the Hawks "CLOWNED" the Paradigms. Again I'm trying not to judge as they don't have enough play time and the Hawks are well broken in.
I had fun tonight even though Paradigm let me down for now. I'm gonna go back to them and try again after they get a weeks time on in the shop. I'm gonna turn them on before I go out in the field and when I return I will turn them off. Then next week I will sit down again and listen. Hoefully like B7W N series FST drivers they will come alive and give me what I expect from such a beautiful speaker. The Studio 20's are amazing and I expect nothing less then from the new 100. In the past I have not cared for any floor standing Paradigm speakers. I don't get it as everything else they make is fantastic.
Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
Post edited by mantis on
Comments
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How's it a revelation that Totem sounds better than Paradigm? How many years behind are you Dan? That install stuff has kept you away from the rest of the world
CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint. -
My Paradigm 20v3's took forever to break in. Finally after about 400 hrs they really changed and the tweeters smoothed out and they became a lot more balanced. I had a chance to listen to the v3 vs the v4 at one of the audio dealers I visit regularly. I didn't hear enough difference to justify upgrading, and I thought the v4 gave up a little mid-range to the v3.DKG999
HT System: LSi9, LSiCx2, LSiFX, LSi7, SVS 20-39 PC+, B&K 507.s2 AVR, B&K Ref 125.2, Tripplite LCR-2400, Cambridge 650BD, Signal Cable PC/SC, BJC IC, Samsung 55" LED
Music System: Magnepan 1.6QR, SVS SB12+, ARC pre, Parasound HCA1500 vertically bi-amped, Jolida CDP, Pro-Ject RM5.1SE TT, Pro-Ject TubeBox SE phono pre, SBT, PS Audio DLIII DAC -
I'm not at all a fan of Para. floor standers, their Cinema series are a great speaker for the money but that's all I care for from them. They just don't do it for me they are just kinda lifeless with no real dynamics.
Dave -
Maybe one day you'll also realize B&W is over rated."He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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You gotta love what you sell Face....the bane of the installer is the fact you have walls.CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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Maybe one day you'll also realize B&W is over rated.
The 600 series and CM's are quite nice IMO.
Dave -
I've heard the 600 series up to the 800D's and wasn't a fan at all. YMMV."He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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It's not a revelation at all. I just expected more out of the studio 100's. I'm hoping they loosen up a bit. We shall see. And as far as the install stuff , I'm sorry to say I'm more connected to the world of audio them most my brother.:cool:How's it a revelation that Totem sounds better than Paradigm? How many years behind are you Dan? That install stuff has kept you away from the rest of the worldDan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
dave shepard wrote: »I'm not at all a fan of Para. floor standers, their Cinema series are a great speaker for the money but that's all I care for from them. They just don't do it for me they are just kinda lifeless with no real dynamics.
Dave
Basically my opinion with a few exceptions. All of there on wall stuff is fantastic. Very dynamic and there subs flat out rock. The new Sub 25 is crazy.Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
Maybe one day you'll also realize B&W is over rated.
How so? I wouldn't say that . I'd say they are not for everyone but one thing is for sure many speaker companies try to copy what they have done. They set the bar years and years ago.
They still make great speakers today. Actually the Cm series is simply amazing. The CM7's and the CM9's are great speakers. I would own them. Last time I listened to them I started to fall in love. They are great speakers.Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
You gotta love what you sell Face....the bane of the installer is the fact you have walls.
Actually thats not true either. I don't like a lot of stuff we carry. You know whats funny about carrying stuff? You actually get to form an educated opinion.Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
I've heard the 600 series up to the 800D's and wasn't a fan at all. YMMV.
Thats cool , B&W isn't for everyone but I'm curious what you didn't like about the Cm series? And the new D series? I like the little LM1's they are great multi purpose speakers. There brackets are excellent. They sound great.Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
Actually thats not true either. I don't like a lot of stuff we carry. You know whats funny about carrying stuff? You actually get to form an educated opinion.
Oh, ok...just checking. I guess I have an uneducated opinion because I don't install gear as professional like you....what was I thinking? I'll crawl back into my audio hole.CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint. -
Just letting you know the so called walls you talk about don't exsist. Has nothing to do with your own un profressional opinion of anything man. Don't be so defensive.:pOh, ok...just checking. I guess I have an uneducated opinion because I don't install gear as professional like you....what was I thinking.Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
Oh, ok...just checking. I guess I have an uneducated opinion because I don't install gear as professional like you....what was I thinking? I'll crawl back into my audio hole.
Whats a audio hole?Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
Danman,
not sure about all the products you guys carry but...
what speaks can be run off a receiver (not sure why but i'm thinking pio sc-07/27) for ht?
since you install for a living, what have you seen in the field that works?
what about "mantis-tested" recommendations for those of us looking for field-tested combos that work?
thanks,
KG -
Danman,
not sure about all the products you guys carry but...
what speaks can be run off a receiver (not sure why but i'm thinking pio sc-07/27) for ht?
since you install for a living, what have you seen in the field that works?
what about "mantis-tested" recommendations for those of us looking for field-tested combos that work?
thanks,
KG
I'm sure Dan will answer,but understand,your question has numerous possibilities from various brands. Narrow it down to bookshelf,floorstanders,and obviously 8 ohm speakers unless you have an amp,which you didn't specify either. Any 8 ohm speaker will work with the pioneer,question is what your taste is. Get out and listen to some and get a feel for what you like.HT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's -
The Sc ICE models work really good with a lot of combos. For theater I like the Definitive Technology Mythos series. I've had great success with Paradigm as well. A really good double duty system with that receiver is the Revel Concerta series. We carry a lot of brands of speakers , it's a pretty damn big list but I feel these are the strongest 3 for theater and the Pioneer. We have Triad but I have yet to hear them with the Elite receiver. Not sure how that combo will work out.Danman,
not sure about all the products you guys carry but...
what speaks can be run off a receiver (not sure why but i'm thinking pio sc-07/27) for ht?
since you install for a living, what have you seen in the field that works?
what about "mantis-tested" recommendations for those of us looking for field-tested combos that work?
thanks,
KGDan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
I went to a hi fi shop to check out Totem speakers.Listened to the forest model through Jolida equipment.I liked them,I like my para. 100's v2's just as much.As a result I didn't buy em.Had it been the other way around I probably would have come to the same conclusion.Those wind speakers look real good but wern't hooked up.
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Totem Hawks were in my living room for a year until I had to sell for bills. Totally awesome speakers... I liked them just as well as the Forests. I might check out Dynaudio next time I have the budget. They had trouble filling my rather large living room.My Iron Man training/charity blog.
HT:
32" Sharp LCD. H/K dpr 1001 to Outlaw Audio 7900 to Polk LSi + Paradigm Studio center. Hsu DualDrive ULS-15. PS3/Wii. Outlaw 7900.
