Beautiful Sound, excellent base for size, and definatly nice looking

Grill cannot be removed

I'm running these speakers thru a Kenwood KR-5030 and all i can say is wow. I got these speakers for Christmas and i'm in love with them already. Now, i'm not a big audio authority, but these speakers are amazing. The highs, lows, and mids are very defined. There's no mudding of the sound whatsoever. Listening to my Steve Morse CD i noticed that the extremely powerful baseline was very define and the high treble section of the guitar as well. Neither of the two drowned each other out. Compared to the Vegas it totally beats them. The Vegas were upwards of $1200 CDN compared to the $470 CDN for the Phantoms. And surprisingly the sound beats it right out of the water. Even turning it up very very loud didn't effect the sound, was still clear and concise. A very well balenced sound. These speakers are built very solidly as well. You can choose between two cherry models and an ash model. I have the Black Ash model. They are extremely visual appealing with a look of power combined with elegance. The only thing is that the grill cannot be removed, which is not a big deal at all. Hell, it's not even a small deal. In conclusion, for under $500 bucks, even for under $1000 bucks, these are some DAMN fine speakers and well worth the miniscule investment. I hope my review was helpful.

Similar Products Used:

Large Cerwin Vegas (Uncertain of model)

very best buy for home therter system under 1200 $

can not open grill & not send full range sound

This is a very good speaker system for home theater under 1200 $ . You can not find speaker set that the sound like this. I test with Yamaha A1 front left & right : phantom ,center : cc 350 & rear left & right : phantom too ,sub woofer : ps 1200 interconnector cable : monster M550i ,speaker cable : audioquest indigo ,dvd player : pioneer dvd S9. I listen the sound from eagle : hell freezes over it clear and I hear the balance of the singer from them. If you set this speaker to the right way you don't dream about the bad sound from them.The movie :saving private ryan(dolby digital & dts, bug life (spectial edition),matrix,the mummy they will give a sound that you appreciate. If you listen with 2 stereo you must set your front speaker closer than use from home theater so you will get the accurate sound at the reasonable price.

Surprisingly deep bass performance for an 8-inch woofer, neutral midrange and treble, excellent horizontal dispersion

Spring clips for speaker wire

I've actually owned my Paradigm Phantoms for over eight years now. These Canadian-made loudspeaker systems are perhaps one of the most best-sounding, best-valued, and most underrated ones on the market.

Initially, they were hooked up to mid-fi brand receivers. It wasn't until my Phantoms were connected to an Onkyo 919 THX receiver, with its better quality high-current amplifiers, that I began to hear their quality attributes--e.g., the smooth midrange, excellent deep bass. (It was at this time that I began realizing an amp is just not an amp, and that amplifiers contribute significantly to the sound of audio system.)

The sound from my Phantoms was improved even more when I added spikes to the stands; even though the bass became slightly attenuated, I lost the bass "wooliness" characteristic and gained tighter bass and improved imaging.

Several months ago, I was helping a relative find a new loudspeaker systems. We listened to several different brands, but none shared the all of the same qualitites as the Phantoms--even the ones that costed hundreds of dollars more!

For what they cost, the Paradigm Phantoms offer outstanding overall performance and value. Highly recommended.

Great value for the price. Mids and highs are there.

Bass is only a touch lacking....but for this price...<:O)

These are perfect for rear surround or effect speakers. If used for mains...hook up a sub; no problem there with the 704's for mains. Overall a great buy for the money.

Similar Products Used:

Mission 704's, 703's, Energy

Great for music

Not as powerful as I would like

I went down to the audio shop to audition the speaker and I wasn't completely sold. I brought them home and threw on a CD, and I loved them. It's a great speaker for music, but if you need these speakers for movies, then just make sure you have a subwoofer, because these speakers don't move a lot of air. For the price you pay, it's an excellent speaker.

excellent value, wide frequency response

Kind of big for a bookshelf speaker, springclips, rear bass port can impose limitations on speaker placement

This review is for the original 'bookshelf' version. I've had these for about 6 years now and I'll probably still have them 6 years from now. I chose the Phantom over the Titan because I knew I wouldn't be getting a sub anytime soon and because I got a great deal on the Phantoms. Probably the best $200 I ever spent.

While I've been very happy with the Phantoms, they did have a couple of weaknesses, notably a a bit muddy in the lowest frequencies and a bit of a subdued mid-range.

I just replaced my 10 yr old Onkyo receiver with a Nakamichi AV10 and it's like I have whole new speakers also! My good speakers have become great speakers with a decent amp driving them. Now the low end extends noticeably deeper, but is much tighter. I hear greater detail throughout, imaging is much more precise, and the soundstage has expanded!
Do these speakers justice! Drive them with a decent receiver and you won't be disappointed. Great value, especially if you will be doing without a sub for a while. If you do have a sub, I would recommend saving some money and going with the Titans.

Similar Products Used:

Atom, Titan, The usual suspects, etc

inexpensive, pretty neutral and detailed for the $$

perma-grille, cloth-dome tweeter, lack of real low bass

i bought these older bookshelf-style models in summer '98, with plans to upgrade to a pair of monitor 7s or 9s within the year. some 22 months later, they're still sitting in the living room. my old 290s have an extremely similar transparency and detail (i use them as my studio monitors now, with great results on my mixes). overall, the phantom's bigger box results in better bass extension, and the paradigm has a little more character and "life" than the mirage-- without venturing too far into the realm of "coloration." in the context of my room, these things can speak with sufficient authority down to about 40hz, which is enough for me 95% of the time-- the only time i might want more is when auditioning my *own* music, for reference purposes. they seem to be extremely popular with music enthusiasts round here; i've spotted them as the primary air studio monitors at an area NPR station and in several acquaintances' living rooms, whose tastes in music usually outclass their budget. (typical college town.) they've sounded good in all those contexts as well. now i'm considering a planar design for the living room, but i really do like--and am quite used to-- the versatility and honest sound of these little speakers. the phantoms have done the trick very nicely, for everything from berg and boulez to "b*tches' brew" and the boredoms. definitely a good alternative to the circuit city school of speaker thought. note: i haven't heard the new phantoms, but i have my qualms about putting this design into a floor-standing box...

Similar Products Used:

Mirage M290

very nice sound

i bought these speakers for my main coupled with the onkyo575 receiver and the sound is really amazing. I listened to a pair of titans and picked up the phantoms because they sound more neutral to me. i also auditioned some floor standing speakers at this price range including some model of AR and the phantom is clearly the best. i can recommend these speakers to anyone with a limited budget but want great sounds.

nice looking, good midrange response, bass is clear, treble is clean at moderate volume levels, removable back

no removable front grille, bass always stays clean, but falls off quickly,

These speakers sounded good on the show room floow. Brought them home, and one had a problem with it. A speaker or cross-over was bad causing the audio to cut-out. Took it back and got a new one. For the most part they have been good speakers, far better sounding than anything I could have built at the time. That was my reason for buying them. But they just can't seem to take the wattage they are rated at. I had to replace a failed tweeter (under warranty) due to a break in the voice coil wire. Good sounding speakers as long as you don't push them to hard for too long.

Similar Products Used:

titans, phantom book shelve models

very good treble and mid bass

not alot of low bass

I listened to these speakers twice in the store before i bought them. I was rather impressed by the sound for the money. the treble is much more smooth and clear then any other speaker in this price range. The mid bass sounds just how it should but the very low bass leavessomething to be desired. This is a speaker to be paired with a sub.

Similar Products Used:

Various JBL's and acoustic research of comparible cost.