I went through a phase of buying audiophile quality speakers to hear for myself what the difference between speakers really is. I put these up against my Klipsch Heresy's, Klipsch KG2's and many others that I don't even remember the names of. They have incredible bass extention, large, deep, detailed soundstage.
I put a couple of years on them before moving them to the main living room and now will pass them along to someone else, not because I don't want to keep them, because I have to clear out some audio gear and I bought a little set of speakers to appease my wife.
I am really impressed with these. Can't say enough good about them. If you have a chance to pick up a set of good used ones, do it. You will be surprised how well they sound.

Great low end for such a smaller speaker
Last of the great Paradigms before they went downhill
Decent imaging
Great price on these used today

Can be a bit boomy in some cases
Used speakers may be a bit beat up today

I bought these speakers in 1993. The Mark 2 series was probably the last of the great Paradigms before their new revisions actually got worse then better. The new Monitor series is an example of that (Version 5s). I owned these speakers right up to the late 90s, when I sold them off. Big mistake. Newer versions have weaker bass and the quality of the newer speakers has gone down. I put them on Premiere stands which are also made by Paradigm. If you get a chance to get any mark 2 series speakers, go for it! The tweeter in this series was farmed out to Vifa. Its a soft dome tweeter. The woofers are made by Paradigm and are solid. My 5SE speakers suprised me when I got them. For the low end of the series, they produced so much low end bass, it sounded like I had subs in the room. The bass fills a large room. Granted its not super low like many large subs, they do hold their own. The mids weren't bad and the high end not bright. Imaging was quite good for such a large speaker. I could hear some notes extending beyond the speakers. Now that I sold them I'm running B&Ws again. Also good speakers, but they don't have the low end those old Paradigms did. For anyone hesitating on getting a set of these old speakers, I emailed Paradigm (a Canadian company no less) and they still have parts and speakers for these old models. So buy a set of Mark 2s and give them new woofers to make them like new.

Customer Service

Paradigm Canada- still offers service on these speakers

Similar Products Used:

B&W 602 series 2 and 3