Price Paid:  $150.00 from L.A Audio

Summary:
Compared to other speakers this size, the detail and imaging make the Micro the best purchase. Even placing these as your main speakers, they put most $300 bookshelf speakers to shame! All you have to do is bring your own CD to your paradigm dealer, and listen. I use these as my surrounds, GREAT sound.

Strengths:
Price, imaging, detail is great for such a small speaker.

Weaknesses:
Cover/grill does not come off. sold only in pairs.

Similar Products Used:
Bose Jewel cube speakers. Boston Acoustics Micro series.

Price Paid:  $125.00 from Rabsons

Summary:
I have a Paradigm System in my home consisting of Mini Monitors as mains, a CC-370, ADP-370 for rears, and a PDR-12, so I knew what kind of quality Paradigm offered. When I want to my local hi-end speaker store I really had the Cinema 70's in mind of what I wanted to purchase. All I wanted was something tiny, that I could mount on the walls in my office, and wouldnt disturb my fellow workers. The salesman who I knew from my previous purchases recommended the Micros, so I decided to give them a listen. During the comparison at the store I was amazed at how much better the Micros sounded. The bass extension for such a small speaker was really unexpected. There was really no comparison between the two speakers. And since I had spent over $2,000 the last time I was there, the guy gave me a great deal on the pricing (which just shows how much the mark up is).

Strengths:
Good bass extension for a small speaker Nice midrange Small Cheap

Weaknesses:
None at this size and price

Similar Products Used:
Paradigm Cinema 70 NHT Super Zero XU

Price Paid:  $145.00 from Midwest Micro

Summary:
In a word: WOW! These speakers are incredible. I use them as rears in my home theater set up. They pair incredible well with my DM303s that I use as fronts. As others have stated, the bass is exceptional for such a small speaker. My only issue is that some of the wood on the sides is chipping off. I've already spent too much time mounting them to unmount them to return them, so I'm just going to get a black marker and fill in the chip. No big deal, but things like this annoy me.

Great bargain for $150. I highly recommend them.

Strengths:
Incredible sound!

Weaknesses:
Some construction defects

Similar Products Used:
B&W DM 303

Price Paid:  $120.00 from Stereo Discount Center

Summary:
Went to Stereo Discount Center in Providence, R.I. because they were advertising a pair of NEAR floorstanding speakers for $388. I had never heard of them so I checked the reviews here and knew I had to listen to them. After asking the sales guy to pop in Dark Side of the Moon, track 1 I sat down with my wife and said "I'll take them" before track 2 came up!

I then decided to listen to some rear surrounds to compliment the NEAR fronts and asked to listen to the Paradigm offerings because of the reviews here. Although the listening room was not as conducive to in-depth analysis as the floorstanding room, what I heard convinced me the Paradigms were a bit better for me than the similar size KEF and much better than the Def Techs in that price range.

I have only used them for 2 channel music and television thus far but am amazed at the deep and accurate sound they produce for their size and price. I suspect they will get better after they break in and serve admirably as rear surrounds. Looks like I'm buying a Paradigm center channel and subwoofer!

Strengths:
Ridiculously good sound from such small speakers.

Weaknesses:
None and don't anticipate any!

Similar Products Used:
Listened to KEF and Definitive Technology in same price and size range.

Price Paid:  $125.00 from Rabson's Audio/Video in NJ

Summary:
First off, let me say that the Micros are exceptional speakers for their size and price. I am using them as rear surrounds in a HT system with all Paradigm speakers. The sounds that do come from the year are always very clear and definitely add to the HT experience.

At one point, I did do a switch and used these as my fronts just to see how they would perform. For such small speakers, they were amazing. The bass extension on these guys is truly incredible for their size. Now, they're not going to shake your room, but for music, they sound group. Pair them with a small sub (PDR-8 maybe) and you'd have a quality set up that takes very little space and costs a very reasonable amount.

My only issues with these speakers are that the grills are permanently attached. This really isn't a bit deal, but it's just annoying. Second, the bass port is in the back. This makes mounting them to a wall a bit tricky b/c you have to put the speakers a little further from the wall than flush up to it, otherwise the bass will get all whacked out. It will create a "boomy" sound. Other than that, these things rock.

I would highly recommend these as surround speakers to anyone with space or money constraints. I also would recommend these as front speakers for a setup in a small room or perhaps in a bedroom.

Overall, they are great. Kudos to paradigm again for an outstanding product.

My setup:

Up front: Paradigm Mini-Monitors
Center: CC-170
Rear: Micros
Sub: RBH -10"
Receiver: Onkyo 575x
CD: Harmon Kardon FL-8550
DVD: Sony S360


I would recommend any of the products I own. The setup above is a really great entry level system for anyone on a budget.

Strengths:
Sound, construction

Weaknesses:
The grills don't come off, the bass port is in the rear which makes mounting a bit tricky

Similar Products Used:
Garbage KLH speakers