Speakers

[cain]

I went to a few local shops and i have narrowed my choices down to 3. The B&W DM603 S3 ,Paradigm Monitor 9 and the Paradigm studio 20. They are all about $1000 a pair . Let me know what you think of these speakers. maybe you have other speakers to recommend in this price range. And thanks for all the help guys.

[jrhymeammo]

Hi Cain, what kind of power will you be driving them with? If you are just going to drive them with a regular receiver, I'll say forget about the Monitor 9s. I feel like you'll benenfit more with the Studio20 if you can only offer less than 100watts.

If you own a warm sounding receiver, you may want to consider Triangle speakers. I have been extremly pleased. Got my Comete ES for $849 shipped from AudioWave in Cali. Just somem to consider if you are interested

-JRA

[jrhymeammo]

Also, you do know that Paradigm dealers was allowed to offer you discount, right? I think the highest I ever received was like 15% off.


Alot of folks here love Von Schweikert VR 1. I would want a subwoofer to go with that though.

[drseid]

I liked the Studio 20s the best out of the three you mention. Others I recommend (and prefer) in your price range are the Opera Audio Consonance Eric-1s, the Linn Katans (but very low-bass shy), the Spendor 3/5s and the Tyler Acoustics Freedom F-2s.

---Dave

[Wireworm5]

I went to a few local shops and i have narrowed my choices down to 3. The B&W DM603 S3 ,Paradigm Monitor 9 and the Paradigm studio 20. They are all about $1000 a pair . Let me know what you think of these speakers. maybe you have other speakers to recommend in this price range. And thanks for all the help guys.

I have the Monitor 9 v2, the bass is hard hitting but not slam bass. This speaker as well as other Paradigms throw out a wide beam of sound compared with the DM 601's (the 603's should be similar) which I have also. This wide beam makes the speaker noticably superior to the 601. The drawback on the monitor 9 v2 is that I find the treble to be smoothed over slightly, which for me takes off a sharpness in guitar rock music that I like.
The B&W 601 has a slightly better tweeter than the Studio 20, revealing a little more detail in the highs. But when I hooked my 20's up to my better amp, Bryston 3B-sst and the 601's to my 3b-st I can't tell a difference between tweeters. But hooked to same receiver/amp the 601's tweeter is slightly better.
Both the 601 and Studio 20's have the sharpness in the highs that I like for guitar rock. As for overall sound in my opinion the B&W and Paradigms are very similar. The wider beam of sound from the Paradigm's is the main difference, see if you notice this as well when auditioning.

[topspeed]

Of the three you mentioned, I prefer the Studio 20 v3 (is there a v4?). It imaged like crazy, presented a stable soundstage, and had good definition and control. The 603's were a little bit ballsier, but at the expense of transparency. I just didn't think they were as accurate as the Studio's. The Monitors are a bit too hot in the treble for my taste (which goes to show how we all hear differently, eh Wireworm?)

The VR1's mentioned are what I ultimately purchased after auditioning a plethora of standmounts, including the one's you've mentioned. From B&W 705's to DefTech Powermonitors to JM Lab 705S, I tried to hear everything I could find up to $2K. IMO, the VR1's were simply the most fun! These are "toe-tappers," meaning they draw you into the music instead of just playing it. Their dynamic envelope flat trounced all comers sporting a range to a real 40hz, which meant I didn't need a sub for my 15'x18' bedroom. Perhaps their greatest strength however, is their ability to simply blanket your room in sound. The off-axis response of these things is jaw dropping. You can literally get up and walk around and still experience beautiful music. No driver integration problems, no loss of continuity. Highly recommended for audition.

Hope this helps.