I listened to these speakers at a local hifi store. I must say compared to other speakers in its price range, they are excellent. Build quality is top notch. Sound was ok but I noticed it was not as detailed as some smaller bookshelfs I heard from Pinnacle. I truly like Paradigm speakers and feel they are a great value/dollar.In the end, I choose Pinnacle speakers over Paradigm Studio series because the sound was more towards my liking. However, Paradigm speakers at any price point offer the best build quality when compared to other brands similiarly priced.
I would love to hear the new version of the Studios and see what improvements they have made.

I spent a total of 6 months researching and listening to speakers for my home theatre setup. And since I also enjoy a lot of 2 channel listening, the front speakers would be the most crucial purchase. I listened to Energy, Definitive Technology, Jamo, Infinity, Klipsch, Boston Accoustics (which I very much dislike, might I add), Accoustic Research (which I really hate, and is SOOO overpriced). Anyhow, upon my first listening session with the Monitor 9's at a local dealer, I fell in love. They were hooked up to a Yamaha RX-V793 AC-3 receiver, and they sounded great. I bought them on the spot (March '98). Upon setting them up at home though, I was a little disappointed. I was using a Kenwood 1070VR (AC-3 ready receiver), which isn't exactly anything hot. And the speakers sounded way too bright. But after breaking them in, the top end toned down a little and the bass became a little more pronounced. Since then, I've gotten rid of that receiver (if you can even call it that) and bought a Nakamichi AV-7. The sound difference was like night and day! The highs are sooo smooth and sweet, and the bass is well defined and tight. It appears as though the midrage is a little lacking with a lot of pop/light rock music, but when listening to music with a lot of vocals (Sarah McLachlan, Diana Krall) the midrage really seems to come out. They sound great! I have yet to hear a pair of speakers that sound even close to this good in this price range! If you are looking at getting some home theatre speakers, or even affordable two channel speakers, then these are a definite must-have!

My wife wanted me to sell my car because we had three cars and we could not afford the insurance. I refused until it occurred to me that I had an excellent bargaining device. If I sell my car then I can take the proceeds and buy the speakers I have been lusting after for the last 15 years. My only problem was that I didn’t know which speaker it was. So I proceeded to listen to several speakers from 4 different stores until I had narrowed it down to 4 speakers: Polk RT800 ($800), AR9 ($1,000), Vanderstein 1C ($800), and Paradigm Monitor 9 ($640). Here’s the Skinny.
My system consists of the following: Rotel RC-980BC preamp, Rotel RB-970BX amp, Velodyne 1215X sub, and a Sony CD player (nothing special). I borrowed a 4 way A/B switch box from one of the stores for comparison. A second set of refined ears was assisting in the analysis.

Before settling on the final four speakers I compared the Boston Acoustics Linfield 950 to the Paradigm Monitor 9 at the store and thought the Boston’s were excessively bright and lacking of bass, however they were very clear. I also compared the Klipsch 8.5 to the Vandersteen 1C. The Vanderstein seemed to sound a little muddy in the showroom and the Klipsch was way to strong on the midrange. I selected the Vandy because with all the good reviews it has received, I figured I should at least give them a chance in my home environment.

We compared 2 speakers at a time and took the winner to the next round. The 1st round pitted the Polk RT800 against the AR9. The Polk was clear but boxy. The AR9 was full w/ excellent bass and filled the room w/ sound. Both were bright but not overly bright. The AR9 was easily superior in sound quality over the Polks, especially in the bass.

Second, we compared the AR9 to the Vandy. The Vandys were on the inside and the AR9 on the outside. The AR9 filled the room with sound a little better but the Vandy was much more realistic. The amount of coloring that the AR9 places on the music became apparent w/ this comparison. We then switched the Vandy to the outside and the AR9 to the inside. The AR9 definitely are speakers that should not be confined as they need space to let the side firing woofers roam. The Vandy was more tonally accurate, especially through the midrange and treble.

The final dance pitted the Vandy against the Monitor 9. These 2 were very close and both were tonally accurate w/ very little coloring (at least to my somewhat refined ear). This was the hardest decision to make. The Monitor 9 was a little smoother and richer because it reproduced the bass better, (not to say that it was more tonally accurate on the low end, but suited my listening taste better). Both were stellar in the midrange, warm and full. Neither was bright but both were clear. We both chose the Monitor 9 because it seemed to be a little richer and fuller. I could be happy w/ either. I highly recommend either.

The dealer knocked off $40 and let me keep the floor model. My original budget was about $1,200 for a speaker and some extra accessories. I now have enough cash left over to get good quality speaker cable (will biwire), a Panamax 1000+ line conditioner (dealer to sell me floor model for $230), and some high quality interconnects to go from my preamp to sub and sub to amp), probably Audioquest Ruby or Apeture BL-4. These upgrades should do almost as much as the speakers to improve sound quality.

As a side note, I was worried that the Vandy would win because my wife found it very unappealing and her 1st response was “There is no way that thing is going to sit in the living room”. I can’t say that I felt much different, but I know some people like the look. I can’t say for sure that the looks of the Vandy did not subconsciously sway my opinion. Whatever you do, make sure you test your speakers at home. Any reputable dealer will let you take the speakers home for a test drive. I may have picked the Polks if I had not compared each of them side by side, which is the best way to bring out the brightness and coloring of each speaker.

Hope this helps. Ken

These bass of these speakers is far too boomy for a lot of music. In fact, I ended up choosing the Monitor 7's over them. When I get more money, I'll get cleaner sounding speakers. However, for the price they are OK. If I were to get the speakers again for a similar price though, I'd get the Monitor 5's with a small forward-radiating sub.

Nothing spectacular about these speakers. These speakers were extremely boomy. Build quality was substandard, the speakers that I brought home made rattling noise at low frequencies that goes away when the face screen is removed. However, paradigm strongly recommends leaving the screen on. Putting a piece of foam between the screen and speaker cabinet helped reduce it. Ended up replacing these with B&W DM603 S2

How can you only give these speakers two stars? Price/Performance wise, these are at least 4 stars. I do not own these, but auditioned them for over 2 months and almost bought them till I compared them to the Energy C-6's. For music they are identical. For HT, the Energy's are barely better, but not significantly. The reason I chose the Energy is because of the great deals that could be made on the Energy's. (Also, the Energy Surrounds fit my living space much easier.) But I would never hesitate to recommend the Paradigms. I also compared the Monitor 7s and thought the 9s were much fuller sounding. Neither speaker is the least boomy (unless they are setup incorrectly). You won't go wrong with any Paradigm Speakers.

I have had the Monitor 9s for four months now. They did take several hours to break in (for a while I was nervous that I screwed up getting these) but they are now a fine sounding set of speakers. I matched them with a Paradigm 350 center and a pair of AR 308's (my former fronts) as rears. These speakers handle much more than my Denon 3200 receiver (or my wife) can handle. There are a number of speakers in the same price range from PSB, NHT, etc. which favorably compare to these. In the end, the Monitor 9s seemed to offer the best balance of sound and price. Can't go wrong with these unless you have the budget for a real step up, like the Vienna Acoustic Beethovens, for example. Five stars for sound and value.

Clarity, Bass Handling, Low Price.

None so far.

Great speakers! Handle anything you want to play. I like different kinds of music and was looking for a well-rounded speaker. Well I found it! Clear and crisp sound with nice bass. I run them with Marantz SR5000, receiver and the sound is simply amazing. I compared lots of models - Infinity, Polk Audio, KEF, Mission, JBL, Cervin Vega and found that Paradigms offer better sound quality. And they cost less! (In Canada at least)

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price

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My wife the greatest supported me though many changes in home audio so it inpressed me when she said these speakers sound good. What a relief,I bought these M9,CC350,ADP350,valodyne 1012, already had the sub.These things sound very real whatever is playing dts ac3 cd you name it plays it.The rest of my system consist 9000es,rotel985thx,7700dvd,panamax 500 350 dvd movies. I use mostly for home theater. Sounds great!!! thanks paradigm for a great set of speakers.

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infinty,harmon karmon thirtys,polk fx/rx

Great speaker for the money, nothing comes close

matching surrounds are expensive(ADP-350)

Well I'd heard the monitor 9's were the best speaker for the money at any price so I was interested. I listened to many diff speakers and only B&W 604s2 sounded better to me and they were double the price, the polks and bostons are such junk. I got a great deal from AVI electronics in new jersey. They were great to deal with and anyone in the new york jersey area should give them a try. I have the mon 9's hooked up to a 555es sony and they sound really great. Very realistic on movies and music is good also. I will get the cc350 soon and havent decided on whether to get the 170 surround or the 350 surrounds b/c the price diff is like 200 bucks so anyone with any insight on this should email me. Overall the speakers are really great for the money, they appear to be put together really well and were very reasonable.

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Klipsch, JBL, Energy,polk,boston