Auditioned B&W 703's today.....

[newbsterv2]

.....and I was really not impressed. They did seem to image very well and were not at all grainy but the midrange seemed a bit too projected for my tastes. Maybe the midrange was "flatter" than I like I just am really not sure. Also the bass seemed really lightweight. Not that I like flabby and boomy bass but I like the bass to have some weight. I'll be heading back to hear the Paradigm Studio series again. It was funny listening to the salesman though. I swear these people think that everyone who walks into their place of business is a rockhead. He went on and on and on about how "radically" different source components, especially amplifiers, can have a "profound" effect on the sound. Another interesting thing was that this dealer carried the 703 and 705 but not the 704. He had the nerve to ask me "do you REALLY think you'll hear a difference between the 704 and 703?" What kind of dumb question was that? It's a speaker for God's sake if you change the driver arrangement, enclosure volume, etc. of course it'll sound different! It was obvious to me he was just trying to unload the 703's. Anyways if there's anyone who likes the 703's this particular dealer in Orland Park, IL is getting rid of the floor models for $2,000/pair if anyone's interested.

[RGA]

Personaly I'd save your money and pass by both these brands. Both are similar in design - and you can't get an accurate read on them unless you listen side by side with the same gear same room. $2000.00US is a lot of money for a revamped CDM line - hell that is what my speakers go for and I'd take em over the the N801 in a heartbeat.

[Pat D]

Personaly I'd save your money and pass by both these brands. Both are similar in design - and you can't get an accurate read on them unless you listen side by side with the same gear same room. $2000.00US is a lot of money for a revamped CDM line - hell that is what my speakers go for and I'd take em over the the N801 in a heartbeat.

I can't say about the N801, but I would take the B & W 705 over the N802 in a heartbeat--not to mention numerous other speakers, including the Paradigm Studio 100, v. 2, which I was able to A-B with the N802. So what? Preferring something over the Nautilus line is no particular guarantee of super quality.

[RGA]

Well I heard a nice little $900.00Cdn Polk I would take over the Studio 100 in a heartbeat - and I have heard the N801 versus the Studio 100V2 - N801 is miles better - The 100 V2 is a quaint little speaker - dull, lifeless and musically totally unsatisfying to me.

And the N802 is better than the N801 in many a area - many people actually prefer the N802 - I'm mixed - either to me are vastly superior to any Paradigm or PSB or Energy with the exception of the Energy V2.4 that I can recall. I say I prefered a speaker to the N801 - which also means I prefer it to the others that the N801 beat - which is most speakers under 10KUS I have heard over the last 15 years. Sadly the Matrix line was even better - but speaker companies today need to sell fashion over sound.

[Wireworm5]

RGA I take offence to that! (The 100 V2 is a quaint little speaker - dull, lifeless and musically totally unsatisfying to me.) I respect your knowledge and experience but I have to question your hearing. I haven't heard the speakers you talk about but I find it very hard to give you credibility when you say this about the 100's.
When I fire up my Paradigms 9 & 7 and B&W 601 with my Yamaha its sounds good. Then I add the 100's powered with my Bryston. Let me tell you this speaker dominates the others and is obviously a cut above.
If your ever in the Saskatoon area, please let me know, I'll tune you in.

[Pat D]

RGA I take offence to that! (The 100 V2 is a quaint little speaker - dull, lifeless and musically totally unsatisfying to me.) I respect your knowledge and experience but I have to question your hearing. I haven't heard the speakers you talk about but I find it very hard to give you credibility when you say this about the 100's.
When I fire up my Paradigms 9 & 7 and B&W 601 with my Yamaha its sounds good. Then I add the 100's powered with my Bryston. Let me tell you this speaker dominates the others and is obviously a cut above.
If your ever in the Saskatoon area, please let me know, I'll tune you in.

Well, I think the Studio 100, v. 2, is probably better than the v. 3. I haven't A-B'd them, as the v. 2 is no longer carried where I live. But I did notice some colorations with the v. 3 I don't remember having noticed with the v. 2--but I'm depending on really long term memory. The v. 2 has a more even frequency response where it counts most IMHO, though the measuring systems are not the same at Stereophile (for the v. 2) and Soundstage (for the v. 3), which uses the NRC facilities.

http://www.stereophile.com/loudspeak...52/index6.html

http://www.soundstagemagazine.com/me..._studio100_v3/

The v. 3 measurements are still quite good, though, don't get me wrong.

Rest assured, the Paradigm Studio 100, v. 2, is a really fine speaker. I wonder whether RGA heard it set up properly.

[N. Abstentia]

RGA I take offence to that! (The 100 V2 is a quaint little speaker - dull, lifeless and musically totally unsatisfying to me.) I respect your knowledge and experience but I have to question your hearing. I haven't heard the speakers you talk about but I find it very hard to give you credibility when you say this about the 100's.
When I fire up my Paradigms 9 & 7 and B&W 601 with my Yamaha its sounds good. Then I add the 100's powered with my Bryston. Let me tell you this speaker dominates the others and is obviously a cut above.
If your ever in the Saskatoon area, please let me know, I'll tune you in.

Yeah I was thinking the same thing. I'm wondering if RGA might be getting Paradigm mixed up with something else. 'Quaint, little, dull, and lifeless are the LAST words I would use to describe Paradigm Studio's. In fact to me, the Studio 40 was right there with the B&W 801 which is why I finally ended up taking the Paradigms home. That was 4 years ago, and I still haven't found anything that sounds as good for anywhere near the price. I didn't even think the Wilson Cub's sounded anywhere near $9000 better!

[Pat D]

Well I heard a nice little $900.00Cdn Polk I would take over the Studio 100 in a heartbeat - and I have heard the N801 versus the Studio 100V2 - N801 is miles better - The 100 V2 is a quaint little speaker - dull, lifeless and musically totally unsatisfying to me.

And the N802 is better than the N801 in many a area - many people actually prefer the N802 - I'm mixed - either to me are vastly superior to any Paradigm or PSB or Energy with the exception of the Energy V2.4 that I can recall. I say I prefered a speaker to the N801 - which also means I prefer it to the others that the N801 beat - which is most speakers under 10KUS I have heard over the last 15 years. Sadly the Matrix line was even better - but speaker companies today need to sell fashion over sound.

So the N802 beats the N801? Well, I did A-B the N802 and the Studio 100, v.2, and it was no contest for me. The Studio 100 wiped the floor with the N802. So you prefer something else? So what?

I have heard the B & W 801 Matrix Series II fairly recently and it wouldn't do for me. Even its owner, who was selling it, told me that it needed to be played loudly to get the kind of detail he wanted and it no longer gave him what he wanted. He now has the Totem Mani-2 Signature which does give him what he wants and at lower levels--I heard his speakers and they are indeed very nice.

But as you often do, you miss the point. Your preferences are no guarantee of quality and no guarantee that someone else won't like something else better.

[RGA]

I have heard both the 100 and V2 - and very briefly the V3 - but the V3 was in a home theater set-up with rather expensive Anthem set-up - and wasn't impressed - but they had the sub cranked (impressive sub in the make you deaf and sick department - someone puts a glass on a table and the room shakes - I suppose some think this is real good sound - no doubt why stores set-it up like that.

Wireworm Please don't take those comments as being negative. I have good things to say about the 100V2 comparing them to the better but overpriced CDM 9NT.
The V2 I've heard now in three different places. My comments on the 100V2 were in relation to huigh end speakers - for $2000.00Cdn or $1400.00US I gave the speakers a very good 8/10 and would recommend them to most people especially for rock or as a front to a home theater set-up. When I auditioned the CDM 9NT was double the money and not double as good - the 9 had more life in the treble region better bass definition but I put it down as a worse value than the 100V2.

The B&W N801 the first time I heard it was not impressed. It sounded overly polite and slow. Certainly not a good low volume producer - neither was the N802. However I heard the N801 speakers and the Studio 100V2 at Soundhounds and The N801 they had powered by Musical Fidelities NuVista tube amp line - this was an 11 watt tube integrated which yes is underpowered but at low volume the N801 dissapeared - an impressive feat for a speaker that large and a completely different sound than I had heard previously. The speaker was a good 8 feet from side walls and 6 feet into the room - perhaps one of the 1200 watt VTL tube amps might be a good match as well - and there won't be concerns over power. The N802 I have less listening time on, but one dealer suggested they are best 6 feet apart which made me think they may be best suited for nearfield listening - the exact opposite of the N801.

I would not really want the N802 or the N801 simply because they're overly picky about placement and room size.

The 100V2 was good enough for me to by my current amp - which was the speaker I was using alternating through a couple of amps to see which would be best. This said the speaker sounds unrefined and etchy their is a laid back quality in the upper mids - lack of driver integration(cohesion) and in the end it sounds lifeless when you compare it to better speakers = the N802 and N801 also has a driver integration problem and lack of cohesion but it's less noticeable - basically a BBC dip - and perhaps why I liked the tubes is that some tubes have added strength in that very same BBC dip area - as does my Sugden likely because it faired the best with 100 despite half the watts of the MF A300.

I try not to judge any speaker off of one audition or in one store or with one set of ancillary gear - unlike some - Amplifiers and source, my mood, the recordings brought that day, the room, etc have an impact on the perception of sound. Even when I bought both my recent speakers I listened with tubes, SS, LP, CD and in three different room sizes in treated and less treated and open untreated environments - and at home in two different rooms. These are professionally set-up - even places like the big box chain Audio Video Unlimited who is the main seller of Paradigm in BC are well set-up - in normal living room environments for home theater. (Depends on the outlet some are not so well set-up). The 100V2 simply doesn't stand out to me any better than any other reasonably good $2000.00Cdn floorstanding speakers from the likes of Energy(The C9 is actually $500.00 less here an I think it's a better speaker or at least no worse), the Polk LSi line, PSB Stratus Silver, and I would not mind hearing the Bronze again, B&W 604S3, Totem has a floorstander at $1900.00Cdn (Staff?) that I would like to check on again. But a lot of these sound similar to the 100 - a bit narrow and conjested with a treble that keeps all of these from greatness IMO.

The 100V2 IMO is good for $2000.00Cdn(~1450-1500.00US) and should be on an audition list. In fact it is so good that my dealer who brought in the S8 basically said the S8 if it is better is so marginally better that it was not worth their time carrying them just for basically the same thing in a nicer cabinet. They had them in for 2 weeks and they 1) were outclassed by their other high end speakers that for the ~9k they sell for basiclaly for a nicely finished 100V2 - 2) couldn't sell any as a result of being a good mid fi speaker like the 100 but selling at the level where ML, AN are selling at and being badly embarrassed. And I also think they agree with Patd about the V3 series - as to their negative comments about moving away from the V2. This is the biggest high end dealer here and have been looking at Dynaudio among others so they may be very unhappy with the V3 series or they may be replacing either Totem(they only sold 6 the entire year - and have apparently lost their outsourced Dynaudio drivers) or possibly dropping the MLs.

BTW I also like the Studio 40 for its price. - The Studio 80 was garbage IMO and I see Paradigm realized that and dropped it from the V3 line-up. I said the 80 was no good 3 years ago - so this isn't an after the fact comment of hindsight. The 20 was better than my previous harsh words about it - I'm not a fan of thin and punchy sound...if you are it's probably for you.