pinchechris

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5, 4.00 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Over rated in my opinion. I picked these up used pretty cheap so I can't complain too much but all I can say is that they're very un-exciting to listen to. They might have bass and they might have treble but they lack any realism or depth. These are older, the first series so I'm sure they've come a ways in the 5th incarnation. It's no excuse though because with a good sub my 1990's NHT Superzeros absolutely blow these out of the water in every way possible. I keep going back. These will be sold and I will continue to search for a bookshelf speaker that can compete with NHT for the same dough.

txsmoke

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $100.00 from Salvation Army

Summary:
I picked up a pair of v.1s and an LCR-450 at Salvation Army for about $120. Some of the best mney I have spent. These are extremely power hungry, but if you have 200w/ch or more, these will do really well in a small room. Very good bass extension, smooth mids and nice highs. Imaging is good in my small office. Money well spent.

Strengths:
Bass, size

Weaknesses:
A little ungle in black

Similar Products Used:
a/d/s L470, L570, L570/2, L1290/2, Klipsch KG-4, NHT Super Zero and One, Minimus 7w. Design Acoustics PS-10a, Polk 5jr, Celestion SL6

Price Paid:  $350.00 from used

Summary:
This is my first step into semi audiophile equipment. I have a very large room that is a challenge for these guys to fill with sound and my electronics are not optimum but I should get all that ironed out soon. The speakers are very detailed and dynamic with great range (lows to highs) and seem to image pretty well even in a 2 channel setup. The speakers sound very relaxed, none of that edginess you get with some speakers. Can be run at very high volume without distortion but they sound the best at low to moderate volume in a very quiet room.

Strengths:
Detail and great range (they go pretty deep for a bookshelf)

Weaknesses:
Don't put out quite as full of sound as theirlarger siblings the Studio 40's

Price Paid:  $500.00 from AVU

Summary:
Well I promise this won't be another one of those reviews: the "Feel-Good-for-my money" variety. I first sampled this speaker about 1.5 years ago. I fell in love with these instantly. This courtship went on for months. I would always bring the same set of CDs (CHESKY's Ultimate Demo Disk, Holly Cole TRIO's "Girl Talk" & "Blame it On My Youth", DKrall's "All For You" and Patricia Barber's "Companion". For the first time recently, I brought Cedar Walton's "Upfront"). I compared it with B&W's 601 Vers.2 and PSB's Stratus Minis. My local dealer allowed me to take them home for 1 week periods since they know me and bought from them before. Anyway here are my "too" bits. The B&W are phenomenal for the price, truly a Rule Maker! Mids & Upper-Mids were spacious and well separated. The PSB was a click better for BASS reproduction and slightly smoother highs. STUDIO 20s: These guys kept up with the other 2 and offered a good equal placing in the selection process. Enter Patricia Barber's "Companion". This is a LIVE Recording at a Local Chicago Club (PB's hometown). In between the song, during applause I could swear that there were surround speakers running (Surprisingly because I have a 2-Channel tube amp). Audience reactions and clapping were thrown accross and behind me that I snapped over my shoulder to verify that I WAS indeed alone in the room. THIS SPEAKER IS A RULE BREAKER!!! In comparison to the new V.3's (which were clearly 2-3 dBs more sensitive and a hair more articulate in the ambient highs) the V.2's were slightly smoother and sweeter. The Version 3's were sharp-bordering-bright in the upper octaves, which to me suggests fatigue over longer periods. If you can score some DEMOs of the V.2, take em now and sort the CC bills later. If you CAN score some, and don't take the opportunity... you WILL regret it. Between the 20s and the PSB Minis, price was the biggest factor. EQ: AudioPrism Debut w/ RRose Signature Factory upgrade Counterpoint SA-7.1 Pre EAR CD-1000 Transport Muscal Fidelity D-to-A converter MIT Term cables all around

Strengths:
Spatial accuracy, Focus(or separation), very sophisticated mids, upper mids, and, highs. Enough Bass to achieve accurate reproduction for acoustic recordings, or more...VALUE!!! SOLID Construction.

Weaknesses:
Rear port may be tricky for room placement. cheap looking finish when up-close.

Similar Products Used:
B&W 601, PSB Stratus Mini, Mission 775 (yes, I know it's FloorStander), JAMO 707i (yes, ...), Studio/ 20 V.3, LINN Kan II (the supposed LS3/5a Killer, not!)

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
This is a review of the Studio 20v3s model.Associated equipment is a Denon dvd 900 as the source.Amplication is a limited edition Adcom 585.Cabling is Voodoo reference,Acoustic research ICs and Bluetruth biwire from better cables.Tubed Preamp is a Dared 2000SL-a. The first thing I noticed about these speakers is the speed of the new midrange drivers.The phase plug definitely improves the clarity.Paradigm has increased the driver from a 6 1/2 to a 7 incher.Openness is something that also comes to mind when you fire them up.Bass is tight and clean without bloat.The treble is smooth and nonfatiguing..this is a must for me when listening to speakers.The soundstage the 20s throw is amazing.It can easily fill a medium size room and over power a small one. Looks and build quality are very good.I was very impressed with the new look..eye candy for any living room!It actually makes the v2s look bland! The off axis response is some of the best I have heard.Standing 3 feet to the outside of the left or right speaker..you can easily place the center image in the soundstage.Depth is on par with some Martin Logans I auditioned recently. It maybe unfair to compare the 20v3s with Sonus Faber Concertos a monitor twice the price.But this will give you an idea of just how good these speakers are. We will start with the tweeters.The Sonus is little smoother and refined.Instruments sound just a tad more real.On the other hand the 20v3s have a deeper and wider stage,almost euphoric.While throwing a larger dispersion.They both disappear with the music.Bass is also great with both speakers.Paradigm has done a great job getting the sound out of the box.I didn't detect much boxiness if any with them.The soundstage is more see thru with the 20v3s in comparison the the Sonus which is a little thicker.At low listening levels the 20v3s win out.The low level resolution is excellent and allows you to hear all the music without having to crank it!But don't think you can't crank them they can really play loud and hold their composer without becoming compressed. I could live with the 20v3s without a sub and feel as thou I'am not giving up much in the bass performance.In my room they reach easily below the 40 hz range, which for me is the threshold of feeling the music not just hearing it. If these two speakers were in the same room and I had to choose one it would be the 20v3s.Simply because of the value to performance ratio that puts them out front. I suggest at least a 100 wpc solid state amp to get the best out of them.Before spending more than $2000 on some monitors it would be wise to audition the 20v3s and maybe save yourself some money!I have no doubts these speakers will make the recommended components list for most of the hifi mags.

Strengths:
Midrange speed,Bass for a monitor,Soundstage,depth,and imaging.Looks good aswell

Weaknesses:
At this price point it would be hard to knit pic and find a weakness in these speakers.No their not perfect but neither is any other.

Similar Products Used:
Sonus faber,Soliloquy,Martin Logan,Maggies,Psb,Paradigm reference v2s,Vienna acoustics,Boston acoustics,Linn, Monitor Audio and a few others