I bought the PDR-8 because I was concerened with size in the room where I have placed it, I was originally going to get the PDR-10. Let me say that it sounds great with all types of music. I have also purchased new Paradigm Mini-Monitors with it and this Sub fills in the bottom for them extremely well. Even with the crossover & output set to their highest settings, the sub perfomed well in the room, also centrally locating it along an adjacent wall seems to be the best placement.

Can't remove grill. (wonder why?)

It matches up with my B&W LM-1 quite nicely. Giving my systme far better image and range than before. This may be the fact that the LM-1 does not have any bass. (athough they do sound good) About the hum others are talking about, I personally don't think it's a big deal. I can only hear mine(barely) when there's no audio at all from any other sources. Once the music or movie is on, I doubt any could hear the hum even if they want to. IMO, this is a great sub for the money, if you can get it under $250.

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Cambridage SoundWroks 8"

Great Sound not to bassy

The sub did not match my Paradigm mini monitor speakers the color and grain is not a great combiniation but liveable.When I rated the Value Rating I thought the price is a little pricey that is why I gave it a low score.

I bought this sub for a match for my home system witch consist of a paradigm mini monitor speakers and a nad amp. we wanted a more realistic sound for our home movies that we watch and the bass in the mini monitors could not get the bass we where looking for, the sub fit the bill perfectly and was a great match

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Just the sub in my car no comparison.

Big, yet solid, clean bass.

Lack of auto off/on, non removable speaker grill.

I listen to alot of vocal work. In particular I listen to bass vocalists such as former back up singer to Elvis Presley, J.D. Sumner. He is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's lowest bass singer hitting a double low C (that's almost off the piano). At that note it equates to 32 Hz. My PDR-8 worked great all the way down the scale. Listening to bands etc. it reproduces all the bass you would need in a small to medium sized room.

Small, cheap, bass sounds fine

No auto-on, clearly audible transformer hum in quiet room.

I tried two of these. They both "hummed". It wasn't terrible, but hey, this is HiFi. If I'm sitting in the room and during very quiet passsages (or when the stereo is off but the sub is still powered on) there is this little buzzy hum from over in the corner.... that's not good. Anyhow, the tech where I purchased the unit concurred that the Paradigm does hum a bit, but he said most folks are not bothered by it. I was, so I returned it and bought an Energy XL-S8. The Energy XL-S8 is dead quiet except when amplifying music. It sounds fine. It also has auto on, and has sub and xover coax inputs. (The Paradigm has an off/on switch and only one kind of coax input). Oh, the Energy was also $35 cheaper.

Based on features, lack of "hum", and price, obviously I would recommend the Energy XL-S8 over the Paradigm.

The other speakers in my setup are all Paradigms (4 Atoms and a CC-170 center channel). They are all fine and I like them a lot. I just wasn't too happy with the subwoofer.

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Energy XL-S8

size, cost, locally made, sound quality

output-being only an 8in driver this sub can only do so much. and when its over worked you know it! Nothing sounds worse than a bottoming out voice-coil!!

My system consists of Energy Pro 4.5(fronts), Energy Exl:c(center), HECO singlemate 200(rear)and one of these PDR-8 subs. I purchased this sub for a few reasons: 1. Candaian made(this equals value and a local comapany) 2. Sound quality at this price($300CND or $200US) is exceptional, and 3. the size makes it very versitile in placement. Having just one of these subs brings outs the usual weeknesses in an 8in driver based sub- limited output and not as much OOMPTH as larger subs. To work around these issues i plan on purchasing a second PDR-8 in the new-year, seeing as my theater room( living room/ dinning room) is the perfect size for a mid-fi(aka i dont pay $5000 for two speakers) home theater adding a second sub would greately enhance already great low-end. I feel confident suggesting any of the PDR line of subs to anyone who is looking for GREAT value in a subwoofer. As for a 5 star rating, thats a little too much for a 8in sub, sorry! 4/5 it is.

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Sherwood 8in(yuck what was i thinking??)

Originally I had the PS-1000. Don't get me wrong, this sub rocked! However, because of my room limitations, the bass was missing in some areas. I could just tell where the bass source was comming from and it really bothered me. So,I bought two PDR-8's, running them off of a Pioneer Elite 07 receiver.
They sit right next to my Mon 3 fronts. I also have Paradigm's cc-350 center and adp-170 rears.
These subs blend in so perfectly with the Mon3's, that it sounds as if the bass is comming right out of the Mon3's.
Going with two smaller subs definately sounds better and obviously has better balance than with one large sub. The only thing missing from these subs is the auto on/off/standy feature. This was quickly solved by going to RadioShack and getting a remote controlled Outlet.
I would definately recommend two smaller subs, besides, whats a few hertz less difference really gonna do?

size, price

none yet

I like the size of the PDR-8. The sound is excellent in my living room, however, I have to turn the volume way up to get good base. On some CD's the base is so good, that I have to lower the volume significantly, but with older CD's the base is not as good (this may be due to the receiver I have as well, Kenwood VR 309, and the quality of recording on the CD). The sound in my living room is more than adequate, however, in a larger living room the PDR-8 may not be adequate.

I bought this as part of a package which I put together at the dealer (pair of mini monitors, PDR-8 subwoofer, and 30" metal stands). I paid a total of $481.25 (US). After breaking down the price, the cost of the PDR-8 subwoofer was $200. The mini monitors ($240) and the 30" metal stands ($41.25). Overall, I am very satisfied and happy customer. Will buy a Paradigm again!!

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none

Tight Bass, Price

Manual On/Off in rear

I must admit that for the price this is a great little sub. My system consists of a mid-range sony reciever, Polk RT25i's and Polk CS245 center channel. I don't consider myself an expert by any means but I researched things quite a bit before deciding on the PDR-8. I have quite a large living room with vaulted ceilings and this little puppy has no problem filling the room with plenty of bass. I will admit that it needs to be tweeked between playing CD's and watching movies, but for an 8" driver, it is very impressive and worth consideration.