Paradigm Reference Studio 100 Floorstanding Speakers
Paradigm Reference Studio 100 Floorstanding Speakers
[Feb 25, 2000]
Rich G
Audiophile
Strength:
Price, Imaging, Bass
Weakness:
Grill is not the best I have been the happy owner of these speakers for over 8 months and I have truly fallen in love with them. They really make my system shine compared to my old Deftec setup. They sure do require a long break in period to show their stuff though mine took about three weeks to sound just right. I have them matted to my Denon 5700 and it sure sounds wonderful full and detailed. Other items are Studio CC Center and Studio 20’s in the rear and a Servo 15 sub. This setup ROCKS on Starship Troopers and Heat! And that guy that said other reviews must not have heard many speakers-I have owned JBL, Infinity, Definitive Tech, and now Paradigm and these are easily the best as to date. As per the bass- you could almost get away without using any sub with these speakers. If I turn off the sub while watching the beginning of Tomorrow Never Dies I can feel the shaking in the seat of my pants and the screen on my RPTV shakes. Bass is definitely not one of these speakers’ weak points. Similar Products Used: Definitive Tech. BP-8's |
[May 31, 2001]
Bobby
Audiophile
Strength:
Clarity, Detail, Imaging and Bass power
Weakness:
Absolutely nothing This is a follow-up to my earlier review that I posted in January after these have been broken in substantially. I have found the Paradigms to open up a bit as they breakin. These are an absolutely amazing speaker in every right and should only be paired with high quality electronics and a powerful amplifer. I recently attained a Citation 5.0 pre-amp and the difference with this speaker was staggering. As I noted earlier, the value rating of these speakers when compared to higher prices speakers should be around an 8. |
[May 23, 2001]
Kenneth
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Sound stage, clarity, bass
Weakness:
None for the money I don't know how you could find a better speaker for the money. I auditioned several so called "high-end" speakers that were much more expensive than the Paradigm's. I always came back to the Studio 100's. Bass is very strong and clean, mid-range is superb. I have now put over 100 hours on these speakers and they've only gotten better with use. They do require a long break-in period. At least 100 hours, but they're worth it. I could have purchased much more expensive speakers, but why? These deliver like their much more expensive counterparts,and in many cases better, but for much less. This is the best speaker value I have seen, or heard, in years of listening. If you haven't listened to a set of these, broken in of course, you don't know what your missing. You could save yourself alot of money by auditioning these. You also have to have sufficient power to drive them and they are very revealing of the source material. A bad recording will sound bad, but a good one sounds oh so gooooooood! Similar Products Used: Martin Logan Aerials, B&W's, Mirage |
[Apr 13, 2001]
wayne picard
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
air,sound stage,bass definition
Weakness:
binding posts could be improved (this is a non issue unless you change speakers often) Some five months ago I posted a review,with a 5 star value rating & a 4 star overall rating. I have improved the front end of my system and have to upgrade my review. The overall rating must also be a 5. I was originaly reluctant to give them a 5 & 5, as nothing is perfect. I stand corrected. I have used these speakers daily for approaching 2 years and I remain impressed with all aspects of thier performance. At this price they are perfect. |
[Mar 26, 2001]
William K
Audiophile
Strength:
prominent in bass(excellent under 8000) with solid, tight proper weight & extension, rich mid, overall appearence.
Weakness:
build quality (real wood veneer model) careless gluing The paradigm reference studio 100v2 from sterophile achieves mentioned that it was a very nice speaker in it’s price range, particularly it's bass performance that was close to 8000 range, so I made some audition on every grade of speakers to compare with it, like B&W, Nautius 803, 804, Castle Harlech, Mission 783 Soliloquy 5.3 Proac Tablette 2000 sig. and others. After a serious audition, in last December, I took a pair of 100v2 home. I currently have three systems in my home, the top associated with Wadia wt3200 transport, Mark Levinson 360s digital processor Accuphase c270 and p800 (400wpc, dynaudio compound four. the second are Denon 3500rg CD player, Wadia x64.4 Dac Classe audio dr4 and dr25(175wpc), the third are Pioneer 1580 CD player, Arcam apha10(100wpc) magnet sigma 1000. when 100v2 placed in the top system, it sounded the best. It exhibited an airy, natural and detailed high frequency, but not quite smooth and extended as Dynaudio did, which was at least 2 grades higher than 100v2 (since dyna cost four times more), the bass was more prominent (close to 8000 grade as stereophile mentioned). It went to a very low frequency with extension down to 20 Hz, the mid bass was full of dynamic, a rock solid feel with proper weight and power; the upper bass was tight, fast and punchy, it distincted all inner details of every bass note. The midrange was smooth, with body, while the mid high was sweet and round, the sound stage was deep and wide with a little bit forward in mid. it did everywhere nice unless A/B comparison with dynaudio, show overall better than 100v2 except bass. In term of whole performance, it was tonal neutral, balanced, natural, dynamical, transient articulation, excellent bass definition and it can be played very loud without any heard distortion, more important, the ambience is more lifelike, it beat Sonus Faber pava and magnet sigma 1000 easily, they could not match any part of 100v2 or even close to bass. It can be more beneficial if you can bi-wire it with good quality cable. 100v2 also easy to partner with my other two systems. Although it show less good than the top system, it exhibited great parts of it's own. A sub-woofer is brought to a waste when put together with 100v2 as it rolloff from 20hz, it is fine to play all kinds of music. It is especially good in great orchestral work and soundtrack, I would have no doubts to recommend 100v2 to anyone who are a bass lover, regarding price/value, it is 200% value over price, so I rated it 5 stars both in value and overall rating. Similar Products Used: Dynaudio compound four, Magnet sigm 1000, Sonus Faber pava, Jensen 24 |
[Mar 13, 2001]
Partner69 -
Audiophile
Strength:
Simply Incredible, aw-inspiring, shiver making! Brings tears to your eyes!
Weakness:
Everyone should own a pair! I don't think people can comprehend what emmits from these speakers. I just got them, they havn't even broken in yet, and i love them! I test drove mostly B&W before i bought these, simply because i was under the impression that B&W was the best. Money was no object really for me, well, aslong as it was under 5000 bucks. I never thought i could buy a set of speakers for around 2000, that would blow even 8,000 dollar speakers away. Similar Products Used: B&W, Monitor 9's, Vivid, Klipsch |
[Mar 03, 2001]
ron felthoven
Audiophile
I screwed up in my previous post, giving only a 4 rating on value. As for an update, I've broken them in over the last week and they just get better. I also purchased some 96/24 DVD Audio discs and things sound so real. I've turned off my sub since these speakers are so flat over the whole frequency range. I'm not even interested in watching the tube any more -- I just want to listen to music. |
[Mar 01, 2001]
Mark
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
None that haven't already been mentioned before: Build quality, price, and oh so sweet sound!
Weakness:
Absolutely none. I have had these now for over 2 months and I am absolutely delighted. The sound gets better and better. In terms of value for money, they are without peer. I auditioned many other speakers in this and other higher price categories and didn't find anything that came close to sound quality. In layman's terms, the bass is tight, fast and rock solid. The mids and highs are neutral and sweet. Soundstage is both wide and deep. Overall, they put a smile on my face any were easy on my wallet! In my opinion, if you're looking for great sound at a reasonable price, Paradigm cannot be beat. Great for both HT and music. Similar Products Used: Paradigm 7seMkIII |
[Mar 02, 2001]
Mad Mallard
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Build quality, sound stage
Weakness:
none Absolutely amazing. The soundstage depth and clarity are awesome. I have heard new things on just about every CD I have played since getting these behemoths (and let me tell you - they are big!) Bi-wired them with 2 runs of generic speaker wire - sounds even better. Going to get some mid-range speaker wire to upgrade the bi-wire setup. Similar Products Used: Reviewed PSB, Polk Audio, JBL, Jamo, Def Tech, Velodyne |
[Jan 17, 2001]
Erik
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Mids, highs, lows.. Good lucks and an excellent bargain too.
Weakness:
None!! After a break in period of 100 or so hours this speaker really comes into its own. Crisp clear and loud.. Awesome for both music and home theater. This babies can handle the juice, serious power is recommended. I chose the Denon 5800 and it is a match made in heaven. No regrets here whatsoever. Similar Products Used: B&W, Paradigm monitor series |