Summary: 98% of everything you have read here is true about these speakers. For the money they are not going to be beat. Yes other speakers can & will sound better, but at what price?? I was in the market for some new front speakers to replace my dads 1979 JBL 212's. They still sound good but I wanted tighter Bass than I was getting, better imaging so on, & so on. So off I went. I do use a Studio CC center channel so I am fairly familiar with Paradigm sound. I went to my stereo store and asked see hear some Paradigms. ( I had no need to audition any other brand as I was already hooked on their sound) I auditioned the Studio 100's and the Studio 40's. (Music used: Paul McCartney, Yanni Live at the Acropolis, Moody Blues & Pink Floyd) There is a definitive difference between the two. The 100's do have a tighter Bass, are a little more detailed, & have better imaging. I would guess that it helps having 4 7" Bass drivers. The studio 40's held their ground strongly, exceptionally tight bass for a 6 1/2" midrange bass driver, highs are very clear and defined. They can be a bit bright if not used with warmer sounding amps. The pride and joy of the speaker has got to be the midrange, it is superb. Voices sound so realistic as well as the instruments. Drums also sound fantastic when cranked. They love power and cry for more (must be clean power) I decided to go with the Studio 40's mainly because I didn't have the 2k to drop on the 100's at the time. Wife would have killed me. I do plan on using these for the rears in my home theater when I do upgrade to the 100's. For now I find myself listening and relistening to my cd's over, & over & over again. I run them for now off an Integra 7.2 6 channel 100w certified high current power amp. (Soon to uprgraded to a Marantz 7 Channel Amp rated at 140W into 8ohm) I also use Kimber Cable speaker wire and Ultralink connectors. Some people argue it on these forums, but I did notice a small difference when I upgraded my speaker wire. I do run them bi-wired as that also made a difference in the overall sound quality for the better. My home system consists of Paradigm Studio 40's fronts got free $300 stands with them, Studio CC for the center, Paradigm Titans for the rears, smokin Bang for the Buck on those little guys and a PW200 Paradigm 12" 400W RMS Subwoofer this thing throws some seriously weighted bass Sony 51" & Mitsubuishi 46" widescreen T.V.'s, Marantz 6 channel amp, and Kimber Cable speaker wire. If you are in the market for good quality sound, you would be doing yourself a disservice by at least not checking out the Paradigm line. Youd won't be dissappointed.
Strengths: BANG FOR THE BUCK, Midrange in wonderful, Nice tight punchy bass, detailed highs with above average imaging.
Weaknesses: Heavy ( Can that be counted as a weakness???) I didn't think so either.
Summary: I purchased these as a starting point for my first real audio system. Mine are the V.2s. I used them for awhile as a 2.0 system, but eventually added a subwoofer. These speakers have a generous amount of bass, and I pretty much bought the sub just for kicks. I would be happy with the system either way.
When I bought these speakers I was originally looking for some floor standers for around $500-$600. I listened to Boston, Athena, B&W, Klipsch, Definitive, Magnepan, and some others. I choose these speakers because of their musicallity and the way they reproduce acoustic instruments, especially guitar. The high range is a bit pronounced on these speakers, which could be annoying to some. However, they have excellent bass, a nice full sounding midrange, decent stereo separation and imaging.
I would say that they are a good do it all, bang for the buck speaker. They will work for HT and for music. Some speakers, like Klipsh and Difinitive, sounded good for HT, but kind of washed out for music...because of the horn tweeters I would imagine. I really liked B&W 600 series speakers for music, but I ended up buying the Studio 40's because they were priced more reasonably. The B&W's sound a little restrained, while the Paradigms are at the other end of the spectrum. Both are excellent sounding speakers though.
For the money I don't think you can go wrong with Studio 40s, that is if you like the way they sound.
Every speaker has a weakness (or a unique sound). You just have to go listen and choose the speaker that sounds the best to you.
Strengths: -Price/Performance ratio hard to beat.
-Excellent bass, comparable to just about any floor standing speaker.
-Versatile: will work well by themselves or in a multichannel system, for music or for HT.
Weaknesses: -Slightly pronounced high end
-Take up as much space as a floorstander
Similar Products Used: None, that I have owned.
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Summary: I purchased these speakers to replace an ageing pair of Paradigm Atoms as surround speakers. I originally wanted to go with the studio 20's but I was offered a fantastic deal on a set of 40's so I opted for the advantages and the dynamics they add to my system. With studio 60's up front my sound stage is very well balanced for home theater and for DVD Audio. The studio 40's sound is almost indistinguishable to my 60's, which really makes me appreciate the complexity of the sound I am getting when listening to multi-channel formats. The studio 40's have a much more open mid range than I expected, and aren't quite as forward sounding as I expected either. For their small size they are very large speakers with exceptional transparency. I would classify their sound much as I would classify the sound of my studio 60's. They are laid back, precise and very neutral with just the right amount of bass for their size when used with a subwoofer. I wonder now if maybe I should have purchased the studio 40's for mains a few years back when I was upgrading from monitor 3's....Hindsight’s 20 20 but either way I couldn't be more pleased.
Strengths: Exceptional sound at a very reasonable price, sharp esthetics are pleasing to the eye. Paradigms renowned engineering and attention to detail.
Weaknesses: I wish I bought the real wood veneers instead of the light cherry laminate. The laminate could look a little more natural.
Similar Products Used: Paradigm Atoms, Mnior 3's and a few other speakers not worth mentioning.
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Summary: Let me start by stating that I already own a set of studio 20s, studio cc, along with a set of handmedown cambridge model 6s for my rear channel. I cannot throw enough glowing praise at the good people at Paradigm for all my enjowment with listening to my 20s in stereo music listening. However, for multi-channel music listening as well as movie soundtracks, the old yet reliable cambridges just weren't cutting the mustard in the back. Since my media usage is 60% movies/multi-channel music and 40% 2-channel music, I wanted to treat the surround info with as much respect as my front trio (20's and cc)does.
With that said I wanted to upgrade my main speakers while "demoting" the 20's to surround duty. I had intended on purchasing a set of studio 80s or 100s, but instead I ended up "settling" on a set of 40s. I say "settle" because Paradigm is no longer manufacturing my studio series and has upgraded them into a new line of studio speakers. (No way my wife would let me purchase a whole new 5 speaker set) Hindsight being 20/20 I am absolutely thrilled with my purchase. The 40s are identically timbre matched as far as my ears can tell with a much much sweeter midrange. I've already broken them in for about 50 hours or so and they just get better and better! The upper end is just as amazingly accurate as the 20s, a little "tinny" out of the box, but has since mellowed out.
I read a review in home theater magazine from a reviewer who had paired up his studio 20s with a marantz sr8200 receiver and claimed it was a match made in heaven. He was oh so right! I absolutely love the sweet music that my marantz and the studio speakers make. (no pun intended) The more clean power you feed these speakers, the more impressive results you'll get. The only drawback that I have found with the studio series is that they are very analytical, crap-in equals crap-out. I almost threw out my entire collection of internet derived music(anything 128kbs or below) because most of it was just too awful to listen to. (I have since started rebuilding my whole music library at higher bit rates. Sorry recording executives.)
Anyway, pound for pound and dollar for dollar, I would match my speaker suite up against anyone of similiar price. The 80s and 100s are fine for those who do a majority of their listening in a room the size of a gymnasium and bi-amp them with hulking solid-state monsters. But for those on a beer budget with champagne dreams, these are your speakers.
Strengths: gorgeous midrange
very accurate tweeter
solid construction
matches very well with warmer laid back amplification
hard to find sound this good in their price range
Weaknesses: slightly analytical, but not a prob with good source material and good amplification.
Similar Products Used: when I bought the 20's I also auditioned:
B&W (not my cup of tea)
Def Tech (not a fan of the active speaker design, could never get them balanced right)
Boston (pretty harsh)
Klipsch (harsh with a horn)
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Summary: What else can you say about these terrific speakers? I already owned a pair of Monitor 11's and was pretty happy with the sound. Then I heard these babies demoed at the same store. Wow! There was the midrange magic that I longed for. Performers sounded like they were in the room. Soundstaging was likewise on par with some megabuck speakers I've listened to. Anyway, I bought them and the Monitor 11's, as good as they are, have been taken off duty.
Strengths: Crisp, detailed highs, grainless midrange with superb transparency, great bass from such a little box.
Weaknesses: No bottom octave, but what did you expect?
5 of 5
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