clarity and value

reveals limits of your recordings

When I bought my stereo setup back in '92 I was impressed with the sound coming out of my Infinity Reference speakers. After I got a new car with a Bose sound system, I wasn't so happy with the home stereo anymore. I had a couple constraints, though -- a two year old (read: bookshelves) and I didn't want to spend a lot. So after reading the presious reviews, I was impressed by the reviews for the Paradigms (esp. the Atoms and Titans). Living in Canada, hearing the Paradigms was easy. I brought my CDs down to the local dealer. I got a baseline by listening in the car on the way. Then I listened to the Titans for half an hour in the showroom. Then the Atoms (I could only take 5 minutes, though -- no comparison -- much greater definition and bass). So I ordered them on the spot (in light cherry).

I took the floor models home for the week. At home they sounded even better than at the showroom (which impressed me because my listening room is open to the kitchen, etc.). They sounded 237.2% better than my Infinitys (I even set the tone control to flat for the first time since 1992). Even the wife could tell difference instantly.

When mine arrived I only noticed a little more harshness than the loaners (prior to burn it. Discussion here led me to expect much worse.) But they've settled down completely and just sound great.

Although I was impressed by the clarity I wondered whether they would produce enough bass (compared to the bass-boosted Bose system in my car). Then I began to notice that with older recordings the bass was just a muddy boom. But with newer (digital) recordings the speakers had plenty of bass. Also, with newer recordings I could hear the snap of the bass strings themselves (and tell whether the bass was recorded diretly or through an amp). A similar phenemenon occurs with bass drums. I sat down with the wife a couple nights ago and after describing what to listen for she could tell the digital from non digital recordings, too. The bottom line is that there IS enough bass for my taste -- even driven flat -- but only if it's there's in the source material (my new jazz recording sound fine, but my old Sinatra recordings and folk rock from the '70s, even if remastered, seems to consist of muddy atonal 100 HZ thumps).

All in all, I'm tremendously impressed with the Titans. Happily, my home stereo now sounds a LOT better than my car. Even running a Sony amp, these speakers reveal more about the limits of my source material than I thought possible. Further, for my money, if you're running $200 speakers from a few years ago, my hunch is that an upgrade to a $200 pair of new Titans will make a much bigger bang for your buck than a Carver amp. (I won't guarantee you won't find other things to upgrade, though -- I just had to order new Sennheiser headphones 'cause I couldn't bear to listen to my old cans after adjusting to the Titans).

BTW, it you're thinking "Titans" it might be worth listening to the Mini-Monitors, too. I sort of wish I had. But I'm not too worried, because if I can get an even BETTER pair of speakers for my stereo for $300, I might be willing to sit in the front of the TV and listen to 5 of these babies! (Especially if each one of them is isolating one of the DTS version of Eagles from the Hell Freezes Over DVD. Being able to listen to the music from the 1970s with digital recording techniques might even make me a 5.1 head!

Similar Products Used:

Infinity Reference

performance vs. price

for its price - none

I love these speakers!! For $180, you can't beat it, especially when you're on a tight budget .

Excellent High end character, Midrange is sufficient but nothing extraordinary

Low end character is muddy at times, Muted sound on low volume, needs sufficient power supplied by reciever to get true sound.

These are fantastic speakers if you have a fairly small room and you are not too indulged in having tremendous sound quality. If you are an audiophile and have a keen ear i would recommend using these titans as your surrounds but would truly recomment using the mini monitors. The titans produce very clean and crisp high end detail which will fill a SMALL room very nicely. The midrange supply is adequate for a speaker of the titans size and it matches up very nicely to its competitors. The one thing i truly do not like about the titans is that the low end bass is just that.....BASS Its loud, boomy bass....with a high end speaker you should not be able to pin point where the bass is coming from and it should not stand out...well....IT STANDS OUT PRETTY DRAMATICALLY with the titans. If you listen to hard rock i wouldn't recomment these speakers. As of this moment i am using the titans as my surround speakers and they perform very nicely. I would recomment the monitor 9's for your main speakers (WOW!!!!)

If you are turning towards having your titans as your main speakers, get a small sub, possibly an 8" or 10" nothing too dramatic and make sure the titans are hooked up through it. Doing this will take the bass right out of the titans and the sub will handle it nicely. HUGE DIFFERENCE!!!

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm Monitor 9's, Titans, CC-350, PW2200, Yamaha 2090, Yamaha Cd Player and DVD

Cheap, small speakers

Muddy bass, 'small' sound.

I baught these speakers because they got god reviews (on the net in magazines etc). But now, I am looking for bigger speakers. These speakers simply cant fill the room with sound. I also think that the bass is muddy and slow reacting :-(
I guess I got what I payed for, after all they are cheap compared to other HIFI speakers.

Similar Products Used:

B&W 602

Terrific balance...Good high range, solid base, not too much mid-range

Non-removeable grills, but you get over it fast

First off, let's look at the facts. Not too many products on this web site have over 100 reviews...Factor in the few idiots who sandblast these speakers by giving them a rating less than 3, without being fair, and you have a phenomenally high rating for these intro-level speakers. They are a very versatile set,good for any type of music, and great for Home Theater. There's an aweful lot of bass stuffed into these little guys, and backed up by a 5 year warranty...I've paid more for speakers (see above) that are suppose to be in a higher class, but couldn't keep up. Save your money, cause you just can't get any better in this price range and you'd be hard to find any better for almost double the money. Put your extra bucks towards a better Receiver, and better cables.

Similar Products Used:

Bose 301, JBL, PSB's, Acoustic Research, Sound Dynamics

I recently purchased a Bose HT System (AM 7) and wanted to hybrid it into a passable audio system. The problem with any HT system using cube technology is that though the highs and lows are well covered, the midrange is sacrificed. So i bought a pair of infinity RS1s for rear speakers to help balance the environment. It didn't work the RS1s also lack midrange. I did the research and found the Titans to be the most well liked bookshelf speaker currently available (read the reviews on Paradigm's web site). I bought a pair and was blown away! The system sounds unbelievable. The clarity and precision of the Paradigm's is something you rarely find in speakers in this price range. The music really does come alive! I can't believe the difference! What a wonderful bargain these speakers are!

The TITANs are just "OK" speakers for the price (three stars rating)...but just a little more $$ can take you to a much higher league: meet NHT SUPER ONE! You won´t be disappointed.
TITANs: three stars
NHT SUPER ONE (for music): five stars
NHT SUPER ONE + SUBWOOFER (for home theater): five stars

Good speaker for the money. Extended bass goes down to 55 Hz and the highs are ok. The midrange is just excellent. I recommend these speakers to anybody thatcan appreciate high quality sound.

I'm the kind of guy who thinks "The more money for the speaker the better the speaker has to be" that was obvious with the purchase of my $2500 infinity overture 3's as my mains and overture 1's as my surrounds along with the cc-3 as my center channel. I bought the paradigms for my second system. Im not going to lie to you and tell you these speakers sound as good as my infinitys, because they dont. However these speakers are unbelievable for the price. The clarity, imaging , and timbre are excellent, and bass response was good. The price/performance ratio is better than anything i've ever heard (including my infinity's). You can use these speakers as good mains with a sub or as surrounds where they will excel for you. Either way paradigm has definately found something here and their sound will surprise considering their price and size. If your looking for an inexpensive b-shelf speakers this speaker is definately the way to go reguardless of price!! Paradigm sure as hell changed my philosophy on speakers!

I have had my Paradigm Titans for about two years and I think they just sound great. The midrange is pretty clear and the lower bass is more than adequate for a bookshelf speaker. They work pretty well for my main speakers in my HT system. I think a speaker should be listened and enjoyed, not cooked.