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Popular Floorstanding Speakers
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Top Ranked Products from Paradigm Reference.
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Rating
Reviewed by:
tunefulnoise
(AudioPhile)
Review Date
January 26, 2008Overall Rating
 4 of 5
Value Rating
 5 of 5
Used product for
More than 1 year Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5,
2.00 votes
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Review 1 of 149
Price Paid:
$160.00
from Simply Stereo Summary:
I had the original Atoms, which I've since given to my brother (and I miss them!).
To get such a full-bodied sound and such volume out of a tiny, cheap box was and
is amazing. The Atoms are so much fun to listen to you don't really miss what's
not there - deep bass, the last word in transparency or treble extension. They did
the important things right, like a flat and uncolored midrange. An outrageous
value. Strengths:
Sound quality way beyond what their size and cost should allow!
Diecast aluminum woofer basket
All the money went into improving the sound Weaknesses:
Modest bass extension and volume capabilities, but way more than you'd expect.
Spring clip wire connectors
Unflared port opening
Fixed grill cloth
Foam woofer surround Similar Products Used:
KEF Chorale speakers
Polk Monitor 4 speakers
Polk Monitor 5 jr.+ speakers
Boston HD9 speakers
Ohm C2 speakers
EPI 100 speakers
Frazier Model 5 speakers
Polk SDA2 speakers
JBL Control 1 speakers
Sony SS-MB350H speakers
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Rating
Reviewed by:
louofm1
(Audio Enthusiast)
Review Date
January 11, 2008Overall Rating
5 of 5
Value Rating
5 of 5
Used product for
More than 1 year Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5,
2.00 votes
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Review 2 of 149
Price Paid:
$0.00 Summary:
After on of my 16 month old twins decided to put his fingers through the woofers on my old Infinity Studio Monitor SM105s (from the early 90's), I knew it was time to look for new speakers. Yes, I know I can replace the foam but I decided to find something smaller. My wife and I recently purchased a larger HDTV so we wanted something small and mountable to fill the front stage.
I've been a huge fan of Paradigm products for the last 7-8 years. For several years, I've owned an amazing and very powerful PW2200 paradigm sub that matched my infinity speakers quite well. The Infinities (back then) were decent speakers. The put out spacious highs and very good mid-bass (10 inch woofers). However, they always lacked the bottom end which my paradigm sub easily handled. I picked up a pair of Atoms a few years ago to take care of the rear channels.
I suggested another pair of Atoms for the front but the wife still felt they were a bit too bulky. She was thinking about something very small. I didnt mind purchasing smaller speakers as long as they had clean highs and solid midrange. This was the problem. Everything I listened to sounded terrible or was lacking midrange. I listened to a set of Infinity Bravos and was very disappointed. It sounded like music being played through an empty tin can. I went to my dealer to take a listen to the Paradigm cinema series. The highs were excellent but they were still lacking in midrange (because of the driver size). I was worried that my system would be missing a huge midrange between the speakers and my sub. The dealer kept suggesting the Atoms. He told me that he sells "Definative Technology" speakers at 3 times the cost of the Atoms but don’t compete. Finally, I had him switch to the Atoms on display (without a sub) and they instantly filled the room with beautiful sound (highs, mids and even decent bass). Since he offered me a deal I couldn’t refuse on last year’s version 4, I didn’t resist. I asked if he would help me deal with my wife. He agreed to sell me the speakers but stated I was "on my own" with the spouse.
I trust my dealer greatly and he has never steered me wrong. He made a comment that in the 20 years he's been selling audio products, he has never ever heard a better sounding "bookshelf" speaker than the Atom.
Strengths:
Beautiful spacious sound, great midrange, solid build quality, made in Canada (not China), cost Weaknesses:
Fake wood finish .. but what do you expect at this price. The quality is in the driver and tweeter. Similar Products Used:
Infinity, Polk Audio, Boston Accoustics
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Rating
Reviewed by:
Renko
(Audio Enthusiast)
Review Date
January 13, 2007Overall Rating
5 of 5
Value Rating
5 of 5
Used product for
More than 1 year Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5,
2.00 votes
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Review 3 of 149
Price Paid:
$200.00
from Sound Decision - Roa Summary:
The Atoms are still the best speakers I own. I mistakenly thought I was getting better speakers by spending $600 for two floor standing speakers and another $350 for two satellites and a center channel speaker. I used those speaker to replace the Atoms and Paradigm Micros which I was using with a sub and no center channel. After several months of adjusting the speaker settings on my stereo and never being completely satisfied with the sound, I pulled out the old Atoms and hooked them up to the stereo's second speaker channel. I could not believe what I had been missing. I compared the speakers directly and could instantly hear how much clearer the Atoms were. I watched parts of a movie I had viewed the night before without being able to understand much of the dialogue. Through the Atoms, I could hear everything I was meant to hear in the movie. I then compared the speakers listening to a variety of music. Again, the Atoms were much fuller and added a certain depth to the music that had been missing. I am now searching for a good deal on a Paradigm center channel speaker and am preparing to sell the speakers on which I wasted $950. I was considering paying $2,000 or up for speakers that will go into a theater room I am in in the process of putting together. Instead, I am going to simply use six Atoms and a Paradigm sub. For speakers costing less than a grand, the Atoms can't be beat. Strengths:
Incredible depth of sound. Weaknesses:
Lacks low end base, but thta is easily compensated by the addition of a sub. Similar Products Used:
axiom m3tis, B&W 303s, Marantz 6MKIIs
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Rating
Reviewed by:
dude8370
(Audio Enthusiast)
Review Date
March 9, 2006Overall Rating
5 of 5
Value Rating
5 of 5
Used product for
1 to 3 months Visitors rate this review
3.60 of 5,
5.00 votes
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Review 4 of 149
Price Paid:
$140.00 Summary:
Wow! is the best explaniation to say about these speakers. They are driven by an onkyo tx-sv727. These speakers greatest strength is their bass!! No need for a subwoofer, these pups can handle it on their own. If you are looking for a speaker, stop and buy these! They are forgiving on old recordings, but will show off on great recordings. you can't go wrong with these Strengths:
BASS!!!! Detailed and forgive old recordings, and show of the good ones. Weaknesses:
they are only 80 watts for suitable amplifier range and operate at 50 wats, but you wont notice that. Similar Products Used:
Paradigm 7semk3
NHT Super ZERO
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Rating
Reviewed by:
marknrox
(Audio Enthusiast)
Review Date
February 26, 2005Overall Rating
5 of 5
Value Rating
5 of 5
Used product for
Less than 1 month Visitors rate this review
4.20 of 5,
5.00 votes
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Review 5 of 149
Price Paid:
$180.00
from Local Dealer Summary:
GIANT KILLER!!
If you’re reading this, then you’re thinking about getting them. Stop thinking about it and buy a pair!
Shopping for my parents, and having experience with Paradigm speakers, I knew I was going to get them either the Atoms or Titans. Even after reading all the reviews I could find, I was not prepared for the sound I would hear from these small boxes!
I borrowed a pair from the local dealer to try at home. My living room is approx 16x19 with 11 ft. ceilings and a very open floor plan. These little Atoms filled my room with full, rich, and incredibly detailed sound. Who said they don't have enough bass?! These speakers are truly amazing. A good sub or the Titans may be in order for loud hard hitting rock. But you WILL be surprised at the amount of bass. For home theater you will need a sub anyway, so that could be the ultimate in price/performance.
Knowing my parents would be playing mostly older 50’s and 60’s recordings like Otis Redding, Percy Sledge, Wilson Pickett etc, I was afraid the age of these recordings would be exposed and come across thin and bright. WRONG! The Atoms are forgiving, and let the original intentions of the recording come across warm, clear and clean, not even close to being too bright or forward like Paradigms can be sometimes. It was rich with lots of crisp detail and the horns on Otis Redding’s ‘I’ve Been Loving You Too Long To Stop Now’ had a wonderful mid-low bite to them. And these are the older recordings! Playing newer, better recorded material is where they truly leave you in awe.
I fell in love with these little speakers and couldn’t wait to get home from work to play them. It’s truly amazing that they can get this kind of sound out of such small boxes. And at this price you can sit back, close your eyes and lose yourself in fine music reproduction, just like real audiophiles! Strengths:
PRICE and size. Did I say price? Easy to listen to. Wonderful mids and highs! Brings out fine details. Surprising amount of bass. Sounds great with all music styles and recordings. You’ll get more out of these little speakers than just ‘good speakers at a good price’, you’ll find yourself actually having fun! Weaknesses:
Cons: I gave them to my parents.
At this price it doesn’t seem fair to criticize. So I’ll say none. Though placement is critical. I had “mine” about 18” from back wall and 7 feet apart, isolated on top of my Monitor 11’s. If you place a tuning fork on a bookshelf or table it will resonate. If these speakers are placed on a bookshelf male voices will become hollow and have a chestiness quality. It will also add false bass and muddy the sound. Get stands or place them in the open isolated from the surface and you will be rewarded! Similar Products Used:
Paradigm Micros, Mini-Monitors, Monitor 5, Monitor 11
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