I just got some Atoms this week and man o man do I love them. The sound that comes out of those babies even from the radio is incredible. Having been a victim of mini-systems in years past, hooking up these was a joy.

These little speakers are great, I cant belive what a bargain they are, for $199 you get a pair of speakers that sound allsome and can handel amazing amount of bass for a 5,1-4 inch speaker. I have a pair of Mission's that can't handel half the power that these can and there rated for 75watts, the Paradigm's 80watts.For $200 I don't think you can buy a speaker that will out perform these!
My system:
TV:25" Zeneth
Receiver:Pioneer VSX-464s
cd player:Pioneer
Fronts:Paradigm Atom's
Center chanel:Paradigm cc-150
Rear:Mission's
Sub:PS-1000

In the near future I want to buy a pair of Monitor 3's with the cc-350 to match!
But for the medum size room I have now everythings perfect.

I bought these for rears for my home theatre. No other speaker that I listened to in the same price range could beat it. Bullets whiz by and music is clear and crisp

Neutral, uncolored sound. Small size. Price

None

An outstanding speaker. If you are looking for an affordable, natural uncolored sounding speaker that will easily fit into any room this is your choice.

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None

Amazing seperation. The clarity is unheard of. Sounds like you're wearing headphones. You hear every single thing. And you can even turn the volume down, and still hear the music. Unlike cheap speakers. I bought them to hook up to my computer. Also got an Onkyo 474 reciever. Together it's a sweet setup. The clarity even makes the Klisph 5.1 look bad, my room mate has them. I thought they were great. But when I listen to them now-they sound muddled. The speakers best use is mids and highs. Very musically inclined. And they are supercheap for this sound. Really better than $300 Klipsch computer speakers.

On a bad note. The bass is weak. It really is, even compared to Boston Acoustimass Computer Speakers, with a cheezy subwoofer that costs less that $50. I'm looking to get a subwoofer. It plays normal music alright-but big bass music like rap or dance really needs a subwoofer.

I think I said everything.

Midrange and Highs, Construction, Prize

None

One of the best bookshelf speakers for the money. I do not
think that they lack bass at all. Nice and tight. Quality
construction. I love these speakers.

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Jamo Cornet, Infinity SM85

Good balance, clarity, and midrange at this price.

Bass, but that's not the point, and really I think what bass it DOES have is tuneful for a speaker this price and size.

BEST SPEAKERS FOR $150. Perhaps the best speaker until you hit the $250-$300 range. I think they're better than the boomy Titans. In comparrison I have a pair of KEF RDM 2s in my reference system. The Atoms really can't compete and sound a little weak in the imaging area and overall naturalness of tone when compared to the KEFs that cost 8 times the price of the Atoms. That's expected, but I wanted to check to see REALLY how much more speaker I got when I bought my KEFs. I didn't get the Atoms thinking they could out perform high dollar speakers; That's not the point. I simply wanted a fun small speaker that I could take with me on trips, put in the bedroom, etc. etc. Don't get me wrong, these little speakers are nothing short of amazing when you consider price. I love em. They're easy to enjoy. The only speaker that might compare to these is the NHT super zeros. Upon first listening to the Super zeros I got the impression that they sounded thin, however I think they have more precision and can ultimately be more musical when mated with fairly high-end electronics. That's why they're loved by audiophiles all-over. The Atoms on the other hand seem to do better with AV receivers etc. The Atoms have more bass than the NHTs, but the NHTs have much better imaging and perhaps a little better midrange. That's pretty much the BIG trade-off you get between the two. If you have extra cash and want a sub too I'd get the NHTs for a beginner Audiophile system. If you want better balanced speakers that you can use by themselves for multiple purposes at a VERY attractive price the Atoms are the way to go. Thumbs up to Paradigm.

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All the good speakers around the $300 price range. (NHTs, Missions, PSBs etc, etc.) I auditioned A TON of speakers.

I'm using the atom's as surround speakers and they do very well. I bought them for $135 brand new. For the money you cant go wrong, I've never heard them distort and they sound very clean and natural. They can handle everything I throw at them without strain. Very impressive.

The Atoms were my first "serious" hi-fi loudspeakers.Excellent value for the money.
Good overall sound but the bass is a bit congested and the woofer bottoms out with demanding recordings. The best thing to avoid is to filter out the bass below 80 or 100 Hz and use a subwoofer.
The speaker also lacks air but its strong point are the midrange frequencies.
Vocals sound particularly convincing.
Recommended

mid-range and especially treble

deep bass

I just bought five Atoms ($70US/each) for a home theater setup. That room is not quite ready, so I set up the new Atoms for comparison with some of my other speakers (you can audition in a store all you want, but until you get your speakers home you can't REALLY listen to them in-depth compared to other speakers you know well): Maggie SMGa's, Large Advents, Mission 732's. These are all more expensive speakers than the Atoms (when new), although used Large Advents go for the same or less than new Atoms -- a kind of fair comparison and what follows refers to that match.

Large Advents are my all time favorite affordable speakers because of their just plain musicality -- they are just a joy to listen to music with.

On unpacking the Atoms I noted how very light they are. My first impression after listening to the Atoms vs. the Advents was "Boy, am I glad I didn't get the Titans." The Atoms lack any really deep bass, but what they have is quite solid. The Titans I listened to (in the store) might go another 10 Hz lower, but they were definitely boomy and that was re-inforced listening to the Advents that have solid deep bass. (Interestingly, both dealers I shopped for Atoms/Titans noted the boominess aspect of the Titans.) The Atoms' mid-range is at least as good as the Advents while the treble is clearly superior. These things have a very crisp high end. The Atoms have considerably better imaging than the Advents (small speakers seem to do this better than big box speakers). Surprisingly, the acoustic suspension Advents and ported Atoms have very similar sensitivity. When fed by my 120 watt a side Scott receiver there was at most a couple dB difference in volume (on my sound level meter) as I switched back and forth between the speaker pairs. The Advents were famous for being power hungry. I was getting 100 watt peaks with either set of speakers with no signs of strain! Nice -- you could really feel the air puffing out of the ports on the back of the Atoms.

I'm very happy with the Atoms; they will make superb home theater devices and will be great for music as well.

I very much recommend them. The only reason I give only 4 stars overall is the lack of deep bass. (I doubt if anything their size at any price does much better, though.)

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Tandy LX-5, Mission 732