Sometimes I wonder if RGA just makes this up...
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Originally Posted by RGA
I give credit whereit is due -- heaven it's just an opinion based off of listening tests.
While I would not BUY the Energy C9, for $1098.00 CDn aside from it's slightly weaker build quality I don't see spending nearly 3 times that for the Paradigm Studio 100V3 -- I sure as hell don't HEAR why I should. The Totem Arro in my A/B session with the C5 got royally waxed in the midrange had more bass depth could play louder had a more open presentation and didn;t lose ground in the upper frequencies. Considering the Arro is about double the price -- it seems people really want to spend a lot of cash on a nice wood finish. I think i like Energy more because the "like" competition has the same "kinda" sound for way more money and for way more money you better not be getting the same "kinda" sound!!
The C-5 is $750 USD and the Arro is sold at my local dealer for $850 cdn. Hardly double the price. When I a/b these speakers, (and the C-7) it was clear the Energy's had a relatively thin midrange, while not bad, it was completely outclassed by the Arro. The Energy's had much more bass, but it was boomy, and there was a really noticeable graininess and sibilance at the top end, like it's trying to fake being detailed. The Arro is just a superior sounding speaker. It's really not even close. You keep going on about the cost of looks etc, for the Arro, the cost of the veneer wouldn't be much more than the cost of cheap vinyl and spray paint. Vacuum presses make speaker veneering pretty quick and painless.
My local dealer has been quite successful at luring people away from Home Theater lines like the Energy and Paradigm build when people are looking for good musical speakers, Totem, PMC, and Genelec are usually what they sell.. They've keep Energy around for 2 reasons: 1) customers like the spacey look the silver gives because it matches their DLP or Plasma TV's
2) It gives another alternative to the Paradigm Monitor line they carry. Their rooms are setup with Energy and Paradigm together, and they sell about 3 to 1 in favor of the Monitor line (which is kind of surprising since I find them incredibly equal sounding). If it wasn't for the excellent Veritas and the smaller HTIB things (API pretty much makes the best HTIB's IMO) they have they'd drop them because they just aren't competitive enough...their words, not mine.
You're trying to make things too simple here...
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Originally Posted by oddeoowphil38
Hey Kex do you know if the Conniseur Reference Line is new?
Yes, as I recall, it's the new Connoisseur line made in China...I think the original Connoisseur's are being discontinued soon...Throwing "reference" at the end of the name makes them sound better I guess. I don't know much else about them, never heard them.
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Originally Posted by oddeoowphil38
Not sure where the Conniseur Reference Line will come in price wise either but I hope it is competative. If the original Conniseur Line is on par with the Paradigm Monitor line then I suppose the Conniseur Reference line is more on par with the Studio line as well.
Therefore, I guess the Veritas line is on par with the Paradigm Signature line
You can't really do that. Most companies don't make speakers to compete with other companies' product lines. The Veritas line has some models worse than the some Studio line models, some better than the Signatures...They can get to be quite costly though.
You can't shop for speakers by looking at prices and reading reviews though or you'll never know for sure if you made the right purchase. Everybody thinks their speakers are better than brand X, and one person could like the Studio's more than the Veritas while the next guy thought the opposite.
Look at the difference in opinions betweeen RGA and me in the Arro vs. C-5 comparison. I'd be willing to bet my house that the majority of people would prefer the Arro because that's what I hear, I'm sure RGA feels the same about the C-5, and to his ears that's probably the right decision.