Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
i recently moved into a new apartment and purchased a new high end system paradigm studio 40 v3 maranzt 6003 av receiver panasonic bd-60 blu ray player 42 " panasonic verria plasma and a ultra cube 10 paradigm sub . wow does this system do justice that ultra cube 10 is amazing to say the least i've never heard a sub like the ultra cube 10 working on getting rears any suggestions anyone . p. s. i have alot of jealous friends that spent double triple the money i spent.

KenThomas

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.56 of 5, 9.00 votes

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.

martinp24

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
4.25 of 5, 4.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1000.00 from Montreal

Summary:
I bought these speakers 3 weeks ago. The speakers i had before was paradigm mini monitors wich are great for the price but it is nothing to be compare with the paradigm reference studio's... The studio 40 provide you a very clear medium and a tight deep bass. Im using these speakers with a sim audio integrated i3 100 watts par channel and its doing as very nice job, good mix. When you buy something its always a question of price/value. I was looking at some reviews and some stupid dummies was comparing paradigm studio's with 5 000$ Martin Logan speakers... If you compare Martin Logan's speakers with paradigm signature series S8, ok fine! Anyways, for 1000$, the studio 40's are very decent speakers for sure, excellent value, terrific sound and a very good warranty.

Strengths:
Terrific sound, very good medium, deep and tight bass. very nice built, heavy, solid, looks very great. bi-wired.

Weaknesses:
I would say that the size of the speakers limit the stage sound effect... When a speaker is very small, it happens all the time, unless you pay big money. But lf you use them in a standard room (living room), they are perfect and youll be enjoying many hours of good music...

Similar Products Used:
Paradigm mini monitor, paradigm 9SEMK3, paradigm reference eclipse.

vanman

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 3.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1200.00

Summary:
Amazing speakers! Paradigm knows what their doing. The highs sound crystal clear and the mids sound perfect. Im going to have these speakers for a long, long time. You can't find better speakers for the pice.

Strengths:
Excellent sound for a good price. Good warranty. Nice looking

Weaknesses:
Laminated veneer, looks pretty good though

Similar Products Used:
Paradigm cc-470 V.3 Paradigm adp-470's V.3 Paradigm pw2200

Arthur Kyle

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 4.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1200.00 from Bradford's in Eugene

Summary:
Unbelievable product! The v3 out does the v2 by quite a ways and I would know I owned both the Studio 40 v2 and the original Studio 60. These are in a different class. The high are so much more refined than the previous versions of this speaker. They throw a wide and deep sounstage giving classical music the kind of attention that speakers in this class rarely do. I listen primarily to classical and jazz, but also enjoy the occasional pop or r&b record, these speakers leave no genre behind. I am thrilled beyond speech. Well worth $1200 +. I used to own Magnepan MG12's, great speaker but not as versatile as these.

Strengths:
At $1200 it's all strenths. You can buy more sophistication, but at what price. If there were more than five stars I would use them.

Weaknesses:
Laminate not real wood veneer. The laminate is well done so it is a minor gripe.

Similar Products Used:
Too many to list here. My current system: Paradigm Reference Studio 40 v3's Paradigm Mini Monitors v4's Paradigm CC470 v3 center channel Paradigm PW2100 subwoofer Premier Stands NAD C162 Pre amp Hafler 9505 Power amp Marantz SR 5400 A/V Receiver NAD C542 CD Denon DVD-2910 Universal player Rotel RLC900 Line Conditioner Studio Tech A/V Cabinet Sony 50WE655 LCD Rear Projection TV Liberty Cable THX Ultra Cap Speaker cable (2.00 per ft) Northwest Audio Labs Jim Ott custom interconnects (45.00 per 1 meter pair)