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Review 1 of 7
Price Paid:
$1800.00
from Eastwood Hi-Fi Sydne Summary:
Paradigm have a winner on their hands with the Studio 40 version 3. I find listening to music through these loudspeakers a daily joy that always seems to bring a smile to my face. Whether it be classical, some jazz or even cranking out some magical rock guitar solos from one of my favourite bands - the sound produced always seems to give me a good and content feeling. That should give you some idea of how much I enjoy and appreciate good quality sound reproduction - not to forget the Paradigms that do very well in producing it.
I bought them in the month of January, 2006. I had been after a good pair of stereo loudspeakers for a long time and I decided then it was the time to do something about it. I read quite a bit about what was available from magazines and from various internet forums. The various makes that seemed to be getting more favourable reviews than most others were Paradigm, B&W, JBL and Monitor Audio to name just a few. With that in mind, I set off for some auditions in the City and in the Blue Mountains. Needless to say, for the price range between AUD$1,500.00 and $2,000.00 - the winner was the Studio 40 version 3. To be honest, I was also very tempted by the Studio 60 version 3, but they were just out of my budget range AUD$2,400.00
Loading them into the car from the store wasn't a problem, I was just surprised with their weight - a tad on the heavy side. These are my first pair of loudspeakers that I have owned, and I guess you pick up on small things like that. Taking them out of their boxes wasn't a problem and in no time I had them on their stands and wired to go.
As you have probably already read a number of reviews about these speakers, I'll just briefly reiterate what I believe to be fair and honest appraisal. The strongest attribute these speakers have is their midrange to upper midrange. They really do produce that band of the audio range so well, I can't be much plainer than that. The high frequency range is very good as well. It is not too overly emphasised and it blends very well with the superb upper midrange. The bass (remembering it is a stand loudspeaker) is tight and punchy, giving the sound a well integrated and complete picture. The bass was more than I expected for such a small driver. From my measurments it is a 6" driver and it is as the brochure says, a 2 1/2 way design. The forward facing port just below the bass driver I believe does help a good deal in providing that extra kick it needs to sound right and wholesome.
Out of the box and over the first two or so months, the bass is refined and a little reclusive. However, over the past two or three weeks, it is really beginning to shine and develop into a stronger and defined character. I didn't really believe that audio equipment had such a 'breaking-in' period and that it can have a noticable difference to the sound - but I believe it does, specifically the bass in this case. The other drivers in the unit may and probably do 'develop' over time, but at this point in time the bass seems to have come out of its 'shell' as it were.
When auditioning the various loudspeakers, and after deciding that the Paradigms were for me, I noticed a few things that I just want to quickly mention regarding using different equipment. One in particular is 'soundstage'. Loudspeakers do vary in their ability to provide a 'picture' or a 'wall of sound' that is presented to you, detailing placement of musicians in breadth as well as in depth. I'm not for one minute say that the Studio 40s did a beautiful job of this. They did a good job of it, but by no means a great job. They dispersed the sound in an amicable way and I was content with that. I did however listen to other more expensive loudspeakers and expensive amplifiers to go with them. To point out what I mean by how well the soundstage was with these upper-class units I'll quickly detail a scene from the audio store for you;
From a bank of loudspeakers in front of me, I had no idea which loudspeaker the sound was coming from! It was as simple as that. I was sitting down and the sound could have been one of five different pairs in front of me. There was no way of accurately fingering which pair of loudspeakers was producing this beautiful sound. It was just a 'wall' of wonderful sound.
The Paradigm Studio 40s gave a very good go of doing this, and for their size and price I believe that's as good as you might get. However, the soundstage improves a lot more as you use better and more expensive amplifiers and CD players. This, I am sure of. So it is not by any means only the loudspeakers capability in providing a better soundstage. For a few hundred dollars more, I believe you can easily improve your loudspeakers ability in providing clarity in soundstage buy pairing them with like minded audio equipment. I think it has something to do with channel separation. This probably sounds far fetched but I used various CD players as well, and I did notice better channel separation with the more expensive CD players that produced the more defined 'soundstage'.
Anyway, I think I have written enough. In conclusion I highly recommend the Studio 40 version 3 from Paradigm. I believe they provide me with very good quality sound reproduction and for their price bracket, they are the best loudspeakers in the market today. Strengths:
Without doubt it has to be it's midrange to upper midrange capability.
Very smooth and extremely well blended high end frequency.
Tight and punchy bass for a small sized loudspeaker that will develop with age.
Great looks. This speaker not only sounds good for its price bracket, it's sexy too.
Good quality construction. Although I didn't mention it, the terminals are a great design.
Ability to produce high decibels when requested. Best done after warming them up.
Weaknesses:
Decent soundstage provided. Can be improved with better audio equipment.
Require speaker stands. Recommended that they be approximately 23" to 25" high.
Manufacturer recommends that the grills be in place - can't see the good looks.
Similar Products Used:
Amplifier: NAD C372.
CD Player: Marantz CD 7300.
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