Paradigm mini monitors, monitor 3 and monitor 5 [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

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Lafferman
07-17-2004, 07:11 AM
which one of these speakers would you say has the cleanest mids and highs i'm not lookin for bass out of them. my paradigm dealer is having a big sale so i'm going to pick up the cc-370 today since he'll give it to me for the price of the cc-270. thanks for the advice of these three speakers.

cam
07-17-2004, 07:54 AM
which one of these speakers would you say has the cleanest mids and highs i'm not lookin for bass out of them. my paradigm dealer is having a big sale so i'm going to pick up the cc-370 today since he'll give it to me for the price of the cc-270. thanks for the advice of these three speakers.
It is really a toss up. All monitor speakers sound the same in the mids and highs. Where the difference is, is in the lows upto the mids. And oh ya the price. To me looks wise the monitor 3's look to bulky on stands, the mini's and 5's look sleek. If you go with the 5's remember you will require shorter stands then if you were getting the mini's or 3's. You could save some money, buy the mini's, and see if you could trade your ps-1000 in on another sub. Just a suggestion.

RGA
07-17-2004, 11:45 AM
Lots of dealers have sales - get a spaker you like.

kexodusc
07-17-2004, 12:40 PM
The mids and highs of the Monitor 5 and Mini Monitor are NOT identical. Especially in the newer version of the Monitor 5. Personally, I'd pick the Mini Monitor and use a sub for bass, I'm not a big fan of the Monitor 5's. Especially the newer model with the extra driver.
And like RGA alluded to, I hope you've already done some testing and aren't going with Paradigm because of the sale.

Lafferman
07-17-2004, 05:44 PM
no i've done lots of listening and i really like the paradigm speakers the sale is just letting me get the monitor series instead of the performance series. thanks for looking out for me though. i listened to the monitor 5's and didn't think that the extra woofer was doing anything but make me spend more money. i have a sub that i'm happy with (sorry cam i won't trade it in :) yet) so i was trying to decided between the mini's and the monitor 3's. i am extremely happy with the cc-370 i know it's not the best but it's the best i can afford. these will be the last part of the system. thanks for all your speedy replies and advice.

cam
07-17-2004, 07:57 PM
no i've done lots of listening and i really like the paradigm speakers the sale is just letting me get the monitor series instead of the performance series. thanks for looking out for me though. i listened to the monitor 5's and didn't think that the extra woofer was doing anything but make me spend more money. i have a sub that i'm happy with (sorry cam i won't trade it in :) yet) so i was trying to decided between the mini's and the monitor 3's. i am extremely happy with the cc-370 i know it's not the best but it's the best i can afford. these will be the last part of the system. thanks for all your speedy replies and advice.
Your right about the 5's, if I was considering the 5's I would be more leaning towards the 7's. In fact that is what I did get when I was sampling. But anyways, if it is the mini's or the 3's remember the 3's will go ever so slightly louder but not much, and they will also handle more power which may come into play if an amp upgrade is ever in your future. Some people will tell you to get the mini's because they have the same size woofer as the cc 370 but in reality the 3's with the 8 inch woofer will not matter at all. Looks wise the mini's look better on stands then the 3's but that is just my opinion. If you buy the mini's you should be looking at stands at about 26 inches. 24 inches will also do. If you get the 3's then you will want 24 inch stands and I recommend no taller. Also, whatever deal you work out for the mini's dollar wise, the 3's should not be more then $50 more max. If the sales guy tells you the 3's will be upwards of $100 or more , he is full of it. The 3's should be $50 or possibly less then the mini's. Good luck and let us know.

kexodusc
07-18-2004, 04:20 AM
My take on the Monitor 3's was less favourable than the Monitor 5's...I'm not a fan of the larger woofer. The bass is an improvement over the Mini's of course, but at the expense of accuracy in the mid-range. An 8 inch woofer is just too big at this price range.
The Mini-Monitors are a very good speaker for the money, and is where I believe Paradigm has really outdone itself. I've listened to many $350-$450 speakers, and I haven't heard many that I'd say are better than the Mini's. I bought Axiom M3Ti's hoping to find just that, didn't even come close.
The Monitor 7's are okay, but at that price level some might be tempted to buy the Studio 20's or another stand-mount sized speaker in the price range. I'd rank the Monitor 5's second best value in that model line-up behind the Mini's. They don't seem to have the cabinet resonance problems the Monitor 7's (and many other floorstander below $1000) have, and if you don't have a sub, that's the way to go in that line of speakers. Decent value. But there's better speakers available for the money. That's why I'm not a huge fan of them.
The Monitor 3's appeal to people looking for bass extension, but I've always been an advocate of bass accuracy and purity, so I just don't like that model. Again just my opinion.

Best value in this line is easily the Mini Monitor, though. They're all decent speakers, but the Mini is the only one of the Monitor line-up I'd recommend to a friend across the various price-ranges. The CC-370 is a super center channel too. It's certainly not shy on detail.

RGA
07-18-2004, 10:28 AM
Actually I have not heard the Monitor 3 - it actually hold the most interest because it uses a bigger woofer - it may actually offer credible dynamics unlike the monoitor 5 and or 7. I am going to give another try to the entire monitor line as I'm looking for a revamped home theater system.

cam
07-18-2004, 10:50 AM
Actually I have not heard the Monitor 3 - it actually hold the most interest because it uses a bigger woofer - it may actually offer credible dynamics unlike the monoitor 5 and or 7. I am going to give another try to the entire monitor line as I'm looking for a revamped home theater system.
Your experiences with the monitor line has been less than favourable, why would you be considering another try out. Have all your less than good opinions expressed been on the v2's maybe or were they on the v3's. What has changed, remember the tweeter is still made out of titanium.

RGA
07-18-2004, 11:37 AM
I enjoyed the Studio 40V2 given the price and the Studio 100V2. They are not good enough for me however for music listening. I will reconsider the Monitor line again simply because for my home theater rig in the living room I would like something relatively inexpensive - I don't listen to music in that rig anyway. I'm more interested in acquiring a rear speaker and a center speaker to match up reasonably well with the Wharfedales. The Wharfedales use a rather good Fostex ring horn tweeter(or OEM version) but the company doesn't make a matching center channel. While i don't like the Atom, Titan at all and I'm not a fan of the 5 and 7 - there are other lines where I don't like a given model but have enjoyed others in a line. For instance the B&W 602.5 I dislike but the two models around it are very nice.

I may also build my own speakers to place at the rear and center. The monitor 3 as a rear speaker for sound effects might be more than capable if it is also relatively cheap. Paradigm subs have always been impressive for home theater given the price.

I don't have the money to build a home theater system I would be happy with - so I'm looking for a cheap competant set-up until I get money, time and space rewquired to do it properly. Paradigm in Canada is pretty cheap. Giving them another try doesn't mean they'll win - I want to check out PSB and Klipsch(though their horn approach is totally different). Home theater demands superior dynamics and grunt - which is why the Paradigms may not do it for me - but we'll see when i compare them to the rest of what's available for similar money. They may be the best of what I am willing to pay. I kind of wish B&W didn't switch from the 302 to the 303. That was a mistake IMO.

Woochifer
07-18-2004, 11:36 PM
Up to you. In my previous listenings, I thought the Monitor 5 was the best overall model in the Monitor series, a lot of punch in the midbass with better extension than the Mini Monitors, and pretty good linearity in the midrange. With a subwoofer, I would listen carefully to the midrange between the Minis and the Monitor 5s. I always remembered that the Monitor 5s had better coherency in the mids, but I've never directly compared the Minis and the 5s. You should probably do a A/B comparison between the two models with the bass management set to "small" so you can hone in on the midrange without letting the Monitor 5's deeper bass extension drive your decision.