Looks. Midrange is forward (nice), bi-wirable.

Imaging not as good - but for the price?!

Awesome speaker for the money! For those that found the highs shrill and harsh, please bi-amp (or at least bi-wire) and use higher quality interconnect, cables, and electronics. I started with cheap cables - when I upgraded them, it really warmed up the sound. There may be better speakers out there, but you will pay much more to get them!

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo DVSP502 SACD/DVD Harman Kardon AVR630 Transparent Audio Interconnect 200 Paradigm Reference Monitor 7 v3 Mains Paradigm CC370 v3 Center Channel Paradigm Reference Monitor 3 v3 Rears AudioQuest CV4 Speaker Cables JBL Subwoofer (cheap; need to replace)

Upper-range clarity, detail and tonality. Very good price.

Will not faithfully reproduce hard rock. Sometimes shrill. Totally unforgiving of poor recordings. Cabinets look a bit chinsy.

I must admit, the first time my neigbor let me listen to his pair, I was blown away. But since then I've had several other occasions to audition them thoroughly, and I'm not happy with them. I would not buy a pair for myself. Allow me to explain why. On acoustic and classical selections, these speakers shine. They are very detailed in the upper range. Well recorded acoustic songs ("Big Love" by Fleetwood Mac) sound great. These speakers reproduce string guitars, horns and symbols with amazing detail. If you are into classical, jazz, country or light rock, these are a good choice; especially for the money. However, if you are like me and sometimes want to rock out, then keep shopping. These speakers do NOT handle hard rock with anything near the aplomb they do acoustic and vocal pieces. When the notes get busy and the rock gets hard, these babies throw in the towel. The mid-range becomes a muddled mess and the upper-range quite harsh. This may be due in part to their 2-1/2 way crossovers instead of true 3-ways. Also, my neighbor's Onkyo TX-SR601 could be part of the problem. However, many hard (and not-so-hard) rock tracks sound better on my Sony Walkman than they do on these. And I mean that in terms of instrument separation and tonality, not just less distortion. Also, they are totally unforgiving of old recordings (Bruce Springsteen Live 1975-'85). They sound 2-dimensional, lifeless and soul-less; no warmth at all. Also, at times even well-recorded acoustic tracks can sound overly harsh when the note is slightly off or there is slight feedback. In my opinion, these strike a poor balance between upper-range clarity and detail and overall tonality. While the highs are somtimes entrancing during well-recorded acoustic pieces, you pay the price in terms of overall tonal balance when things get really busy, especially during hard rock. It all depends on what you are looking for. Personally, I want speakers that handle rock just as well as classical. After doing months of research, I found that my original brand (Boston Acoustics) does this much better than most. I am willing to sacrifice some upper-range detail for some added warmth and the ability to enjoy hard rock. Listening to hard rock on these was a downright painful experience. That's why Boston Acoustics' VR2/VR3 lineup has made it to the top of my wish list. These are good speakers if you only listen to acoustic music and light rock. (Classical guitars sound quite lusty on these!) But, personally, I want more versatility in terms of what I can listen to. That's a deal-breaker for me. I'll pass on the Paradigm Monitor series, thank you. Your personal music tastes may differ. If so, then these might be right for you.

Similar Products Used:

Boston Acoustics A100's.

Clear highs =). Revealing

Lack of bass.

This post is to retract what i wrote about these monitor 7's 2 years ago. 2 years ago i went on and on about high bright and nasty sounding these speakers are. It turned out it was my cheap ass lowfi Nad integrated amp that was the culprit. After mating it with a decent amp(used Acurus) they SING!!!! Before I was afraid to turn it on for it tore my face off with shrill bright highs. Now I can't turn it off coz it sound so good. It must be the new amp. I was going to sell it too coz i couldn't stand it anymore. Now, you gotta pry them off my cold dead fingers =)

Very natural sounding highs and mids. Tight and controlled bas without sound overly done in some of the more touchy bass frequency's

soundstaging is the only weakness. It is good, but not as good as some of the other speakers I have heard. Granted most of the speakers I am refering to around at least twice the price. I believe that most likely the crossover has a lot to do with the soundstage of these speakers.

I have been around audio for many years and have actually worked in the field as a manager of a high end audio shop. I have worked with many brands of speakers over the years. Where I worked we were paradigm, mirrage, and B&W dealers. But I had reps coming in with other brands of speakers all the time and I know from experience what a speaker should sound like. When the 7's first arrived at the shop I was not impressed. They were built well but they looked like just another speaker in a big world of speakers. So when I hooked them up to the shops Adcom audio setup which consisted of all Adcom components(Adcom 5400 amp) and first heard these speakers they really suprised me. The balance of frequencies was good. There was no sense of weakness around the crossover point and the bass was very tight and revealing. The one thing I did notice is that unlike some speakers that make a bad recording sound good by overemphasizing some frequencies the 7's actually showed how well the studio did on the recording. The imaging was excellent for a budget audiophile speaker(you wood have to spend $2500 or more to get imaging that was any better) and the soundstage was good. The Mirrage speakers did image better than the 7's but their dynamic range was terrible(anything over casual listening levels resulted in distortion or woofer poping). The Paradigm monitor 7 was a dynamic marvel only speakers 3 time their price could match. In fact You had to be trying to make these speakers distort before they would(by cranking the bass knob or cranking the preamp way up past any speakers listening level). Another thing about these speakers I love is the fact that they sound good for any type of music out there. Not like the B&W speakers which no matter what model you are listening to they seem to only sound good for classical or vocal music. You put rock in a pair pf B&W's and it just does not sound right.In fact that is the only area that the B&W was slightly better at. Classical and vocal music sounded wonderful on the 7's and the B&W models but the B&W's seemed to be a little more revealing in the midrange(but way to overbright for any other type of music). So when I decided to purchase a pair of speakers for my home the paradigm 7's were the perfect choice for my wide range of music tastes. In fact I listened to the whole paradigm lineup of speakers and the only speakers that to my ears sounded as good or better than the 7's were the reference series and they were 3 times the price of the 7's. Being a family mane I allways see the value of real world priced audio products. I mean you don't have to own $5000 dollar a piece speakers in your system to be an audiophile. Being an audiophile is studying music, audio equipment, and being able to set up a system that can sounds the way it should sound for as little money out of pocket as possible. I believe this is the ongoing mission for most audiophiles. With these speakers I think my mission is over for know(at least for the speakers in my system.)

Similar Products Used:

Mirrage m7's,B&w cdm series, bose 4.2's(very bad build quality and terrible drivers used.), have worked with the whole Energy line.

I like the Cherry finish. Looks great. Outstanding sound. Can't beat the price. 100% Canadian Baby!

None so far!

I am new to the audio world and I have been reseraching loudspeakers for about 2 years and finally came across a great deal on the Monitor 7s. I brought them home, hooked them up to my Outlaw 1050 and gave a listen to the old Miles David CD...Wow! Great Base for the size, excellent mids and clearity. I don't find these to be bight at all.

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Axiom M40ti, Klipsch, Energy

clear highs and mids, price, and looks. doesnt need a big receiver to power. crank these up and they sound better.

not very strong on the bass. weakness would be for anyone to think they are weak.

I have a CD purchased in 1997, since I have bought these speakers, I have heard instruments that I didnt know they were there. Nice clean sound for highs and midrange. it lacks a little on the bass, but really nothing to worry about. great for music and for tight budgets.

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Energy Conniseurr 5.

Copious bass, sharp high frequencies, overall good value

Maybe a little too bright, and too bass heavy Cheap finish, rather boxy and ugly (contrast with, for instance, the Kef Q5s)

I have been auditioning speakers for my living room. I examined the Paradigm Monitor 7 and Paradigm Ref Studio 20 in great detail (these were the only speakers in their price range the local audio store had, and their excellent sales guy gave me some story about why these two were the best value for money). In the store, the Monitor 7 seemed to outperform RefStud 20 for most music (latin, pop, percussion/instrumental). RefStud came out ahead for classical string/vocals. It seemed that RefStud just didn't have any bass. When I brought the Monitor 7 home, the bass was more than adequate - a little too much perhaps. But more annoying was the "brightness" of the tweeter. My ears started hurting after an hour of "Afro Cuban All Stars" - especially during the trumpet passages. The Studio 20s were much better and their seeming lack of bass didn't reproduce in my living room - apparently the listening room at the store severely dampens bass due to all the other speakers absorbing the lower frequencies. Although I believe the Monitor 7 is good value for money, I would go with the Studio 20s any day. But be sure to check them out for yourself - you might actually like the added bass of the large cabinet, or the brightness, for your type of music. A minor irritant - I couldn't get the monitors to line up parallel to the wall. Maybe my apartment floor isn't level but even a slight angle shows as a tilt for a 1m high speaker. Also, the finish is cheap.

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm Reference Studio/20, Kef Q5

These speakers strongest asset is the flat responce +/- 1.5db from 70hz and up. The mids are the clearest I've heard on speakers costing $2000 and below. The bass is like I said just right for my room, with just a hint of muddyness at the port crossover point. I wonder what these wood sound like in an acoustic suspension enclosure.

My old Polk RM-3000's had better imaging but that was the only thing that they did better than the Paradigm's.

I'm a poor audio nut. I went looking for a decent pair of bookshelf speakers in about the $500 range and found these for under $500 with some cosmetic damage that some puddy and a black Sharpie fixed up nicely. I was impressed after listening to the clearity and timbre nuetrality these speakers have. The bass is just right for an apartment dweller like myself and the mids are some of the best I've heard. The treble is a bit bright but my room which has hardwood floors and plaster-lath walls and ceiling. I expect that they wood be more nuetral in a room with such modern luxuries as carpet and things, but that's what treble knobs are for and turning my down does the trick.

Similar Products Used:

PSB, B&W, AR, etal

GREAT MIDRANGE AND HIGHS.

BASS IS WEAK IF YOU LIKE FULL, POWERFUL BASS.

I PURCHASED A PAIR OF MONITOR 7, V3.0'S, ALONG WITH THE PARADIGM PDR-12 SUBWOOFER. SUPERB HIGH'S AND MID-RANGE. SOMEWHAT WEAK ON BASS, BUT THE SUB PROVIDES GOOD, SOLID BASS. I ORIGINALLY WAS TO PURCHASE A PAIR OF MONITOR 11'S, NO SUB. WHEN I MENTIONED TO THE EXPERIENCED SALESMAN THAT I WAS CONSIDERING A SUBWOOFER, HE RECOMMENDED THE MONITOR 7'S WITH THE PDR-12. HE SAID THAT I WOULD BE GETTING THE SAME TWEETER AND MIDRANGE SPEAKERS AS IN THE MONITOR 9 AND 11'S, AND THE SUBWOOFER WOULD PROVIDE SATISFACTORY (EXCELLENT) BASS. HE WAS RIGHT.

Similar Products Used:

B&K ST2140 AMP AND B&K PT3 SERIES 3 PREAMP/TUNER. JBL L80t3 SPEAKERS.

Clear at very loud levels good mid-range. Sound even better with a quility Amp.

Need a good amplifier to power these speakers

The Monitor 7 speakers are one of the better affordable quility speakers, they can hit a wide range of sound and never sound compressed. I recomend to use an amp with at least 200 watts a chanel, it really does wonders for the bottom end(if you use an under-powered receiver you will pay the price...no bottom end)

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Angstrom Radax 1800 Speakers Paradigm cc370 Paradigm pdr12