I have had my Monitor 9,s now for 20 years since 1999 when I bought them new. Still going strong. I run two pairs of speakers (the other set being B & W DM 309,s) off my now vintage Rotel RA 971 II integrated amp pushing only 60 watt per channel. ( do not underestimate this old amp however, it has GREAT sound and driving the speakers is no problem at all for it, even at very loud volumes ) The Monitor 9,s are the "main" speakers with the B & W DM 309,s as the "fill ins". These two sets of speakers really compliment each other and together sound fantastic, but take away the Monitor 9,s and you immediately hear it. They are just incredible speakers. Good bass, just the right mid range, and crystal clear tweeters. To my ears that is... I listen to a wide range of music from Sarah Brightman and Barbara Steisand to AC DC and bands like Collective Soul, Brian Ferry and Roxy Music, ABBA, QUEEN, etc etc. These speakers have never disappointed, and have been through many a party as well over the years. They are certainly not scared to take a beating. I give them a solid 5 for their sound and durability, as well as their value for money.

None really. If I have to complain, I live right next to the ocean and we have problems with high humidity. These conditions have caused the wood on one side of one speaker to start warping a itsy teeny tiny bit. Very small. Did not affect the sound at all. I had it fixed and all good now. Good enough for another two decades !

The Sounds are good

The element is fast broken

These speakers are really good. I am no audiophile and I have other speakers that cost half the price that sound just as good but these speakers still sound great.

This is for LuckyElmo below...

Your speakers are "popping" and "blowing" becuase your DENON is not able to handle the dips. You need an amp that is stable down to 4 ohms AT LEAST. What you really want is an amp stable down to 2 OHMS. My DENON is stable dow to 2 OHMS at 240wpc.

It is not the speakers fault, it is the under powered amp. Your DENON is only rated for 100w at 8OHMS. These speakers have two woofers that have bass and dips down into the 4 OHm range. THAT is what is happening. Your amp is preventing itself from getting fried from not being able to give the speakers the power they need.

Looks great, sounds great, great built.

Needs a large room to play well.

I have had my Monitor 9 for about six years or so and I absoloutly love them. I have powered with different NAD amps through the years and they sounded ok even with a small NAD 312 producing 2x25W. For a few years I owned two NAD 214 producing well over 2X200W (8ohm), fantastic!

I listen mostley to rock/metall, and even if the Paradigms aren't as extreme as the Cervin Vegas, they does it very well. Nowdays I also use them as front speakers in my surround system with Paradigm C-170 (soon CC-350 though) and what more can I say than amazing! Great sound for the money!

Similar Products Used:

Alot.

Great sound, not to big.

Lack of bass (again I am using a sub and judging the sound with/without the sub)

1st Off to the guy below. Get rid of the dennon and get a real receiver. 100w in Dennon realy means 20-30 true watts. Your probably under powering the poor things. Great speaker. This one will compete with speakers 2-3 more expensive. Very crisp and clear. Leaves a little to be desired in the bass area. No big deal if you run a sub. Very wide listening area. This is a real++ as my listening room is 24x30. They sound about the same throughout the entire room.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz sr7400 Receiver Marantz vc5400 DVD Monster HTS3500 Power Conditioner Paradigm mini moniter's Surrounds Paradigm PW2200 sub. (great sub)

I paid $2400 for FOUR speakers, not two. I noticed this later on. Sorry for this oversight on my behalf.

Sound good at all volumes, even with tone controls set at zero.

no speaker protection features, a great inconvenience when they fail.

Looking to buy speakers? Cosider this... Like everyone else says, "sounds good at all volumes, good sound for the money, blah,blah,blah..." HOWEVER, the tweeters blow without warning on these speakers, causing the inconvenience of being speakerless for 3 to 4 weeks for replacement parts to arrive. The warranty is only for five years, so what happens after this? I have had to bring them in on three separate occasions for the same reason. I am driving them with a DENON 685 2-channel x100 watt receiver, with both bass and treble knobs set at "0" as well as the tone defeat button pushed in, loudness 'off' on newer c.d's with louder output signals. My previous speakers were a pair of Realistic speakers from the 80's with auto reset safety feature. They cost about $200 for the pair. If there were any danger of "blowing" at a louder volume, they would simply trip off, and reset themselves 5 seconds later. What a great feature!!! but the dealer at the store told me Paradigm don't have this because they would lose sound quality. Arent these speakers supposed to be cutting edge technology where a bi-metal fuse device could be used that would cost 99 cents to make but would cost the end user , say, $50, because of the research and development cost? I would rather have a speaker with a bit less sound quality than a "dead" speaker, like I have now. I would have bought bookshelf speakers, had I known the b.s. I would have to endure for the $2400 can. I spent on them. I bought big because I wanted the noise factor. But, as mentioned earlier by myself and other reviewers, they do sound good at all volumes, but when they go for a poop, they really stink the joint out. "Like a Nike running shoe, with Paradigm speakers you pay for a name, not product performance..."

Very powerful drivers. have a big amp to get the most. Detailed with female voices. Can listen to many different varity of music, Classical to Rock

price in NZ dollars

$1500.00 in New Zealand Dollars (750 US)

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch CF-2

Bass Response. Efficiency, they sound good on nearly any set-up. Value, these speakers gave much pricier models a run for their money. Apperance. They look sweet w/o the grilles.

Bright. But you can always adjust that on you receiver. Big footprint. Not cheap. They are a good value, but they are not giving they away. Heavy. Makes placement a pain. Placement sensitive. 6-8 feet apart is amazing, but any variance from that and the imaging drops a bit.

First off, I am a budget-restricted audio enthusiast. I was only able to afford these speakers after my audiophile roommate upgraded to another set of speakers and cut me a deal on his beloved Paradigms. That being said, I got a heck of a deal. These speakers are some of the most versatile speakers I’ve ever heard. To say that these speakers are a good value is an understatement. $800 is a lot of money, but to never have to buy another pair of speakers it is money well spent. I have run these speakers on a myriad of entry-level to middle-of-the-road Home theatre amps (2 different Harmon/Kardons, Yamaha, NAD, Kenwood and Marantz) These speakers made the most of each situation. They had to the efficiency to rock house parties, yet had the detail to appease most audio geeks who listened to them. They are bright, not doubt about that. However, for 8” drivers they will rattle things off of bookshelves. I still have yet to find a (budget) Subwoofer that outperforms the Paradigms. I recommend these to all entry-level audio “wanna bes” and enthusiasts alike. They may very well be the last set of speakers you’ll buy. They’re not $10,000 speakers, but I’ve auditioned a few $1,000+ speakers…and the Paradigms held their ground, making it difficult to justify spending more money for mediocre improvements in sound quality.

Similar Products Used:

Wharfdale, Bose, Mission, Energy, Definitive.

Heck, just listen to Quadraphenia by the who at mid volume. Just great sounding.

I don't know how you can improve on these.

Very aesthetic, high quality speakers. You can tell designers were involved here, not just the sound but the look and feel were looked after. Fine sounding product all around with any style of music. My ears are very happy. I consider these to be amongst the best made anywhere. I'm a real happy customer.

Similar Products Used:

Infinity, Tannoy studio monitors