Paradigm Reference Studio 20 v3 Bookshelf Speakers

Paradigm Reference Studio 20 v3 Bookshelf Speakers 

DESCRIPTION

Bass-reflex enclosure
2 5mm (1") satin-anodized pure aluminum dome tweeter
178mm (7") mica-polymer cone driver, 2-way design
54Hz-22kHz ±2dB, -3dB at 36Hz
90dB sensitivity
8 ohm compatible impedance
15"H x 8¼"W x 12¾"D
43lbs/pair

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-10 of 14  
[Dec 15, 2020]
Tamal32


Strength:

Very efficiently written information. It will be beneficial to anybody who utilizes it, including me. Keep up the good work. For sure i will check out more posts. This site seems to get a good amount of visitors. Dance Schools Adelaide Salsa Dance Adelaide Dance Shoes Store

Weakness:

Not at all

Purchased:
Used  
OVERALL
RATING
5
[Dec 02, 2020]
michaelpetersen


Strength:

I have 2 pair of these 20's and 1 pair of the larger 40's (all v3's). Needless to say, Im impressed with the speaker. Its a great overall balance. Wonderful detail. Warm (but natural) sound. Moderately efficient. And, can play and high dB's when its time to have some fun or piss off your wife. There is a reason these speakers are sought after in the used market!

Weakness:

I wish they were easier to find.

Price Paid:
500
Purchased:
Used  
Model Year:
2018
OVERALL
RATING
5
[Aug 16, 2007]
JS
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:



Sound.


Bookshelfs' have better image

Weakness:

Stands are expensive. grill broke and looks crappy

T H E B E S T !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Buy THESE!! I actually don't like dealing with the mnufctr but

these are the F#%KN BEST SPEAKERS E V E R.

BETTER than $50K B&W's I SWEAR!! You can listen to your 'waveyhaired-ionlylistentovinylandcanthearthepopsandspeakersshouldbesubduedandirealizeionlymake$13perhrbutcantbelieveyouwontconsiderbuyingthewilsons' dude or a guy who hasn't written a review before but was compelled by these beautiful speakers to.


I own a ProTools Studio and record/ master and am paid to consult on albums.

I have been told that I have ears.
.
Music just sounds great. I use these for my stereo & 5.1 set-up with CC-470
A M A Z I N G

Driven by Marantz SR8500 / Blu-ray / Kimber Cables (Kimber are cheap and
GREAT at Speakerlab in Seattle >Buy those too.

Customer Service

snobby / "talk to your dealer"

Similar Products Used:

Used TONS of monitors
- owned-
Dyn Audio
Marantz Speakers
Wharfedale (love)
Yamaha
Heathkit
JBL
Mackie

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Feb 05, 2007]
reed.hannebaum@charter.ne
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

See above. You can pour on more and more watts and these guys never sound strained. Top grade construction. To minimize diffraction, drivers are mounted flush to the baffle plate. Absolutely no listener fatigue. No noticable transition at the crossover point, and no noticable baffle step.

To experience that unbelievable imaging be sure to use a heavily weighted speaker stand. If you bi-amp, be sure to use identical amps to preserve phase coherence at the crossover point.

With the QUADs I often gravitated toward 7 channel stereo, but with the Studio 20s I prefer to listen to 2 channel stereo. Performance/price ratio is off the charts. I cannot praise these speakers enough!

Weakness:

I got a paper cut from the manual.

In order to upgrade from my QUAD 12L Studio monitors I knew a worthy contender would have to be extremely transparent and detailed, exhibit a broad sound stage, and have precise imaging. This is how the QUADs have spoiled me and nothing less would do. I don't need a strong bass response since I actively crossover my front speakers with stereo 15" sealed subs. Also, I am biased toward Paradigm, since everything else in my HT system is that brand.

So I purchased a pair of the Studio 20s and did an A/B comparison between them and the QUADs. I set the Studio 20s on top of the QUADs and used a speaker switch to go back and forth. This test took a long time since I wanted to give my ears a chance to get use to the new sound, I wanted short and long listening sessions, and I wanted listening sessions in the morning as well as the evening since your hearing changes. Also I wanted to listen to a wide range of music; vocals, instrumentals, classical, jazz, rock, and new age.

It turned out to be a good match, but overall the Studio 20s came out ahead. As glorious as the QUADs can sound, the Paradigms were better in almost all the typical metaphors we use to describe speakers. An area where the QUADs might come out even is with female voices. I have an audiophile grade recording of Rebecca Pigeon singing Spanish Harlem that sounds incredibly real with the QUADs; you would swear she is in the same room. Also, the QUADs are tremendous near-field monitors. But this is of no advantage in my listening environment. In all other respects the Studio 20s are the winner. Their extreme accuracy, absolutely huge sound stage, plus their incredible pinpoint imaging (you can accurately locate individual instruments even in a large ensemble) puts them on top. Also, the phantom center channel is extremely realistic. Of course tonally they match up very well with my other Paradigm speakers.

Similar Products Used:

QUAD 12L, Paradigm Monitor 3, B&W 602, Polk Monitor 5, Boston Acoustic A40, 1970's Advent floorstanding.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jun 24, 2006]
tgifbob
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Clarity, image, soundstage, presence, balance -- they don't get in the way of the music

Weakness:

Black grill and frame don't really fit in an all-white beach cottage decor but we'll live with it!

Thank god these Paradigm 20 speakers say it all by themselves 'cause they've left me absolutely speechless!! How something this small at this price -- or even double the price -- can deliver the pure, clear, present sound that they do is a mystery but trust me: they do. Whatever the source -- DVD audio, CD, even my iPod -- it all has a presence that I've never experienced in my home stereo set-up. I'm not high-tech -- running these with the new Panasonic SA-XR7 and using a fairly pedestrian DVD/CD player -- but the improvement over my old dbx direct/reflecting towers is stunning. Image, soundstage and the total lack of unwanted coloration gives me exactly what I wanted -- simply the pure pleasure of the music. And while the bass seemed a little lacking when we auditioned them in the store, there's more than adequate tight, impactful bottom end here at home. I thought I'd need to get a sub but not now. They just fill this space with amazing, wonderful sound. What a find!

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Apr 24, 2006]
mpgervais@nrtco.net
AudioPhile

Strength:

Everything about them. The perfect speaker for an audiofile on a budget. My 30 year seach has come to a successful conclution.

Weakness:

In a larger room a sub my be needed.

These are the speakers I've been searching for , for 20 years. Awsome soundstage , sweet revealling highs, the most accurate mids I've heard in speakers under $2000. Bass rolls of very smoothly and is adequate for the room there in (12ft x 14 x 6.5 ceiling). They just seem to energize the room.
They replace Paradygm Monitor 3's which were decent speakers but a bit dry sounding and a very norrow sweet spot. With the V3's it does'nt seem to matter where in the room you sit they soud great. We're driving them with a Rotel RA-971 that I've always liked, which now sounds even better. These speakers seen to tame the Rotel's brightness just enuff to make it sound silky and rich. As a experiment I conected the V3's to a 30 year old Sony 23 watt integrated amp and they still sounded amazing all things considered.

Similar Products Used:

Monitor Audio, Polk, BW. Energy

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Apr 15, 2006]
thymanst
AudioPhile

Strength:

impressive bass, great all round speaker - a classic in the making

Weakness:

none so far

Great soundstage,imaging - I have owned many speakers the last 3 years but these rank up there with the best. The bass is very impressive ,the instrument placement is very precise and the highs seem to sparkle. They are a large bookshelf speaker and look very good(sycamore(sp.?) finish) They are the first high end speaker I've paid retail for(worth it) yet to see a bad review of these speakers anywhere. Driven with a B&K Ref 4420 amp, Mcintosh mx130 preamp and pioneer dv-45a dvd player and kimber cable speaker wires.

Similar Products Used:

speakers last three years- Carver AL-III, Thiel CS 3.5, Klipsch Cornwall II and Heresy, JBL 4211b Studio Monitors, Dahlquist DQ-10, Soundwave Pointsource 3.0, Energy Pro22, Boston VR-M50, Paradigm Studio Monitors

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Feb 23, 2006]
accastil
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

very good sounding, looks very durable

Weakness:

quite a bit high toned at times

can outperform many floor standers out there. good bass considering its size, sound is very clean and detailed. tone is sometimes noticeably high. tends to be fatiguing when listened to at a prolonged period of time

Similar Products Used:

mordaunt short, yamaha

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
[Apr 25, 2005]
lomarica
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Imagining sound quality looks small size build quality

Weakness:

top could be wood grain

I had to downsize from my large Paradigm Studio Monitors circa 1994 when I finally decided to get a built in entertainment center. My initial concerns going from a floor standing to a bookshelf speaker were unfounded. The Studio 20's are fantastic. They sound great for rock,(I do have a large sub) classical and jazz. They are very detailed and have almost perfect imaging. While watching TV without the center channel on, the speakers just disapear and the sound seems to come from the center channel. In fact I have watched DVD's for 10 minutes or longer before I realized I forgot to turn my center channel amp on. The 20's have that "high end" sound that is hard to describe but you know it when you hear it. You can hear every individual instrument, voices sound very natural in fact so natural you almost don't even think about it, you just listen to the music which may be the ultimate compliment. I will be keeping these for at least 10 years. The price is very reasonable, don't even think about trying to save $100-200 for something else. The only other speaker I auditioned was the B&W602 and maybe it was the set up but I did not like their sound.

Similar Products Used:

paradigm center, rears and sub

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Feb 05, 2005]
dasaniali
AudioPhile

Strength:

Awesome new tweeter, very accurate, neutral midrange, and lots of bass for a bookshelf! Made me realize bigger speakers aren't necessarily better.

Weakness:

None at this price.

I nearly cried when I sold my Paradigm Studio 100s v2. I had to sell them because I moved into a smaller apartment which left no room for the 100s. I decided to step into the world of bookshelf speakers and eventually decided on the Studio 20s. All the speakers I auditioned were very good, but the 20s were the overall winners. They put out detailed highs, a beautifully neutral midrange, tight bass, and they look damn good in black. I no longer miss my 100s. The 20s put out a huge sound and the bass is surprisingly floor shaking. I couldn't ask for a better speaker for the money I spent. P.S. If you're in the Detroit area, check out Live Wire Audio in Windsor for a great price on Paradigms.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 1-10 of 14  

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