cheap, great sound.

none

just completed my HT system and i used the atoms as rear speakers together w/ all paradigm speakers. these speakers are great and sounded very clear and they integrated well with the rest of my system. i always compare speakers in the same price range and these are cleary the best. i give them 5 stars.

Natural, musical, clarity and imaging very good

A tad bright on the high end, a bit boomy midbass

Picked up a pair of these sound-unheard from a local dealer about 2 weeks ago. They were in the process of moving so their listening room wasn't set up, but sold them to me for $150 and gave me 7 days to return them. All I can say is, they ain't going back! Terrific sound from such small boxes.

Four days later, my Paradigm PDR-10 sub arrived from eBay -- $240 including shipping & insurance. So for just a bit more than $400, I've got it all -- great imaging, extra clear midrange and highs, and solid bass response down to about 30-35 kHz.

I have just two very minor complaints. The ceramic/metal composite (CMC) tweeter can be a bit bright on some material (mostly pop and rock but I tend to listen more to classical and jazz these days anyway) and the bass right around 90-100 can be slightly boomy. My listening room is small, only 10' x 10', and one of the speakers must be placed in a bad corner location, so this may be contributing to the problem. I plan on upgrading to a Yamaha HTR-5150 that splits the sub/satellite bass signal at 90 kHz which may alleviate the problem.

All I can say is, if you're looking for an inexpensive pair of loudspeakers that put out what sounds like real music, skip all the popular brand bullsh*t and audition these. Unless you dislike a lot of crystal-clear treble, you can't go wrong.

P.S. In my book, only a "price no object" speaker can garner a 5-star rating, and only those above, say, $1,000 can get a 4. So I give these a "5" for value and a "3" overall, the highest score a small bookshelf speaker can get.

price, sound stage, listen to 'em all day

i cannot tell you how surprised i was! you see, i have a pair of these in me living room, forty feet from my system downstairs. i purchased an adcom 750 preamp and whaalaah.. these little speakers had a sound stage, clarity and bass, yes bass. if you use these guys as secondaries you'll be astonished at their ability. and you'll never get tired of them - they cannot bore you. i credit my system for the sound they eminate but as i said, as secondary speakers they are unbeatable. the system is: Parasound 2200 II amp, Adcom 750 Preamp, Cal Audio CL-10, Adcom speaker switch, Adcom ACE-515 power filter, psb Stratus Gold's, LAT 1000 speaker cable, audioquest ruby and straightwire maestro inerconnects

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Minimus 7

Value for money!

Not great for really low bass, but they're small for chrissakes.

I love these speakers. They're awesome surrounds. I have Paradigm Mini Mons as fronts and a pair of atoms as rears.

The Atoms are phenomenal sounding. I mean PHENOMENAL. I still can't believe how great they sound. To think I only paid $110 for them.

It's size and very, very natural and clear sound

I use these as main and sorround speakers in my audio/home theatre sound system.

Together with Paradigm CC-170 and PS-1000 they make a very good system at a reasonable prize.

About the Atoms I started using them without the sub. I was amazed by the clear sound and how loud it could play.
Off course it is physically impossible to get a speaker this size to play the lowest notes.

I would with no doubt recommend this speaker (and the other ones mentioned) to anyone looking for a bargain.

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None at this size

Crisp clear highs and mids. Punctual lows.

Could use a bit more in the low dept, but when i add the sub, it will all be taken care of nicely.

well, up until a few weeks ago, i was to cheap to do anything to my setup. but after upgrading my reciever, i did the speakers. the first to leave were my Bose 101's that i had on the rear. I replaced them with a couple of KLH's i picked up real cheap (which surprisingly sound HELLA better), then i got a free JBL center that was included with the reciever. Today i went with a friend to help him out finding new speakers. we went to the Paradigm dealer, and i had NO intentions (or much money) to buy new speakers. Until i heard these Paradigm Atoms... i took one listen and threw the guy my credit card. these are AWESOME speakers. i used to have some VERY LARGE Jenson's up front (ya know, the $79/ea. spkrs with 15" woofers that Wards and Sears advertises every now and then) and those are FAR gone... the only thing i miss now is the bass. but i am soon going to buy a Paradigm PDR-10 Sub, and replace the rest of my spkrs with a CC-70 and ADP-170's.

Current Setup (crammed in a 9x9 room):

Reciever: Pioneer VSX-498
DVD: Apex A600-AD DVD
TV: Phillips|Magnavox 19"
Front: Paradigm Atoms
Rear: KLH 980B
Center: JBL Flix-10
no sub.

i paid the MSRP of $179 for these, and i don't regret a single cent. i know the dealer would've sold em for $20 less, but i didn't care.. i wanted to get these babys home and listen to em... and i am doing it now!

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B&W 301

Awesome value and sound for the $$$.

I have been wanting a home theater system for quite some time, and after reading all the positive reviews on the Atoms I went and had a listen. I couldn't beleive how great they sounded (especially for $169/pr). I ended up with an excellent home theater package including:
Atoms front and rear
Paradigm PDR-10 subwoofer
Paradigm CC-170 center channel
Yamaha RX-V596 receiver
The true test of this system came when we played A Bugs Life DVD for my daughter and her friend. They were actually hiding under the chairs.
I don't consider myself a rabid audiophile, but wanted a good system on a fairly restricted budget. The Atoms really gave me a system above and beyond my expectations for the money I had to spend!!! Check them out.

I bought a pair of these (the new version) for my bedroom system, and I recommend them very highly. They are featured in the current (April or May 1999) issue of Audio Magazine, and I can vouch for the high marks given in that review, in which Corey Greenberg judges them the best speaker available in anywhere near the price range, including the NHT and PSB. Paradigm is the first company to put a high-quality metal/ceramic dome tweeter in a budget speaker. Smooth, detailed highs previously unheard of at this price. I think even most hard-core audiophiles would be satisfied with these if they didn't know that they only cost $179 a pair. Of course, in a large space they would probably be enhanced by a powered sub, but that's true of any speaker of this size. Five stars even at twice the price.

I'm going on my 4th year now as an ATOM owner and I can't say enough how fantastic these little speakers are! They work best in smaller rooms like a bedroom. Proper placement can make a world of difference too! After 4 years I finally got some decent advice on how to place my speakers and my Atoms just disappeared! Granted, the sound isn't as three dimensional as more expensive speakers, but if your on a budget GET THESE NOW!!! I'm even considering picking up a pair of the newer version. (Same price as when I bought mine in '95!) Plus the new version comes with binding posts which is always a good thing. Everyone who isn't familiar with the high end and hears my "budget" stereo is blown away at how clean and clear it is! And they all think I spent over a thousand dollars on it. Hear is what i have:
NAD 502-originally $350, I got mine used for $75
NAD 304-originally $379, I got mine used for $250
My Atoms I bought new and I still have another year on the warranty!
I use Kimber Kable Silver Streak interconnects and a double run of Kimber 8TC.
Fantastic budget sounds!
That's it! Happy Listening!

I as well got these for my bedroom system, and I'm a VERY happy camper! I have a subwoofer attached, but the bass from these does quite well - much better than expected from these little guys. I also don't quite hear the "air" that I like to hear, but simply bumping up the treble control a little helps. But overall, these are very smooth, accurate, and musical. It isn't easy to get a natural sound from speakers this size and at this price point, but these do the job very admirably. For the price, you can't beat these, and I think they'd be perfect as rear surrounds (which is my next move.)I'm giving these 5 stars because for under $200, they sound unbelievable!