Paradigm monitor 7 v1

[harley .guy07]

A friend of mine is looking at a pair of monitor 7 version 1 used and he is trying to see if they will match with is other speakers in his system. He asked me what the sensitivity was for the version 1's and I for the life of me can't remember. I think its somewhere around 92 db but I could be wrong. If anyone knows it would be a great help:18:

[harley .guy07]

another reason I am asking is that one of the tweeters are bad and a replacement from Paradigm is 100 bucks. Looked around the web and found other models of paradigm tweets but every model they made had different sensitivity of tweeters and they won't work. I am looking at getting a tweeter from parts express or other driver vendor and need to know the sensitivity of these speakers so I can replace both tweeters with something in that sensitivity range.

[MikeyBC]

There are more factors involved than sensitivity...Just save and spring the extra 50 bucks or so to get the proper tweeter that the crossover was designed for or you'll have significant frequency response issues.

[harley .guy07]

There are more factors involved than sensitivity...Just save and spring the extra 50 bucks or so to get the proper tweeter that the crossover was designed for or you'll have significant frequency response issues.

I know there are more than that to factor in but I think that the factory tweeter being over 100 dollars a piece is a little much to spend. I know there are aftermarket tweets out there that are of the same or better quality at a better price. I have worked in the audio industry and used to repair and modify speakers all the time, even ones that are older and direct replacements were not available. If you take the time to study the crossover design and compare the sensitivity of the drivers with said crossover you can get good results. I just could not remember the sensitivity rating of the first version of the monitor 7 and was wondering if anyone knew.

[ForeverAutumn]

You can call Paradigm's customer service dept. at Phone: (905) 696-2845. Unfortunately, they don't appear to have a toll-free number.

Or, you can email their technical support dept. directly from their web site at http://www.paradigm.com/en/paradigm/contact_us/tech_support.php.

I'm sure that they'll be able to assist you.

[harley .guy07]

You can call Paradigm's customer service dept. at Phone: (905) 696-2845. Unfortunately, they don't appear to have a toll-free number.

Or, you can email their technical support dept. directly from their web site at http://www.paradigm.com/en/paradigm/contact_us/tech_support.php.

I'm sure that they'll be able to assist you.

Thanks you for the shortcut to there tech support. I did not think of doing that and was trying to find this info off of old reviews and test reports. Sometimes it takes someone elso to kickstart the old brain into thinking of the best way of doing something. Like I said thanks for the assistance.

[ForeverAutumn]

No problem. I hope that you find what you're looking for. I always find it best to go straight to the source for stuff like this.

[3LB]

While its essential that any replacement tweeter be a match for the existing crossover, its a lot easier to get a decent replacement these days. If you know the impedence of the bad tweeter, you should be able to get close. It would be even better if you had a response graph as well. Depends on how complex the tweeter crossover is too; some incorprate attenuation circuits, impedence matching, etc. If you know a bit about crossovers, it should be easy to tell what you can and can't get away with. Parts Express, MCM electronics, Madisound all have websites and usually a sale or two and yes, they're much cheaper than factory replacements.

[harley .guy07]

Well after studying the specs of the speaker drivers and crossover design I decided to go with the Dayton 1 1/8" soft dome tweeter to replace the stock titanium dome unit that Paradigm originally put in it. The Dayton tweeter has a very smooth overall responce and is especially good for the 1.8 k crossover point of the Paradigm crossover. The dayton tweeter has a resonant chamber behind the pole piece mounted on the magnet that allows it to have a lower crossover frequency and to smooth out the midrange in that region. After installing it I tested them after playing them for a while to break in the tweeter and I have never heard the Monitor 7 sound better. the midrange is much more accurate and the treble is very controlled and smooth. And the Dayton tweeter does not cause the listeners fatigue that is apparent with many metal dome designs. I am not saying that there are not some great metal dome tweeters out there because I have heard them myself but in my opinion the main problem with the earlier monitor series speakers were there overly bright tweeter. The Dayton tweeter is a vast improvement and at a very good price point in comparison to ordering the stock unit from Paradigm.

I will add that I liked the upgrade so much that I did the same upgrade on my monitor 7 v2's and they sound sweet. I have no fatigue and the midrange is much more detailed. The imaging and soundstaging seem to be a bit better that the speakers in stock form as well. I was not sure at first how a soft dome tweeter would sound with these speakers but I am certainly impressed with my choice.

[bru87tr]

Harley: Can you post a direct link to the Dayton tweeter you used ? I have a blown one and want to try these.

[harley .guy07]

Harley: Can you post a direct link to the Dayton tweeter you used ? I have a blown one and want to try these.

If you go to parts express website and on their home page they have a speaker driver window that you can choose tweeters at and the tweeter I used was the Dayton DC28FT. This is a truncated designed mounting plate. They also make a round mounting plate version of the same tweeter and both use the same driver in them. They are very affordable for how good they sound. To me they have all the detail there but do not have the fatigue over long listening sessions that the stock Paradigm tweeter gave me.

[bru87tr]

ya, I never cared for the tweeters in the Monitors.

These work as well with V.3 ?

do I have to take apart the new tweeter from the plate ? or is it screwd on ?

[harley .guy07]

ya, I never cared for the tweeters in the Monitors.

These work as well with V.3 ?

do I have to take apart the new tweeter from the plate ? or is it screwd on ?

I think it will work but I would compare the sensitivity specs with the v 3 compared with the v 2 to make sure that there is not a sensitivity difference that would make this tweeter harder to incorporate with the speakers. I do know that Paradigm has always been a fan of lower crossover points between their woofers and tweeter(1800 hertz on the v2) and this is where the Dayton tweeter really shines because of the way it is built.

Because of the fact that the monitor 7's tweeter is in a faceplate that is very odd shaped I actually made a tweeter pod out of MDF and had put it on top of the cabinets so I would not have to custom make a faceplate for the new tweet. Paradgim has a habit of using odd shaped faceplates for their tweeter designs and such does not help when a person tries modifying them. I did make a blank plate out of MDF and cut it out using the old tweeter as a template so there would not be an unused driver in the cabinet(would not hurt anything sonically but it just looked weird). You would be hard pressed to make a tweeter plate that would work in the stock location especially since the Dayton tweeter and many others use aluminum faceplates that would be hard to cut to fit.

[harley .guy07]

A few more things I will add. Is your Paradigm speaker a monitor 7 as well as mine or is it another model. I do know that every Monitor model has different sensitivity ratings and this tweeter will have to be attenuated in a less or more efficient model. My 7 v2 has a sensitivity rating of 88 db anechoic and this tweeter is rated at 89 so it matched well seeing that the crossover of the monitors actually lowered the sensitivity of the overall design by at least 1 db or so so this tweeter matched great with mine. Fixed attenuator circuits are not that hard to add to a crossover network if you have the knowledge working with circuits and get the proper specified values of the components needed to make such a circuit. Parts Express tech people are speaker builders and designers themselves so they have an extensive knowledge of these things and could probably help you out if can tell them the specs of your speakers themselves. This tweeter made my speakers really come to life with a more natural tone and a more realistic treble response that made the stock titanium domes sound overly bright and fatiguing. You may or may not like the sound yourself but everyone who has heard my system before and after really like the new modification.