Ok Here We Go:Definitve technology Bp7002, Mirage OM-7, or Paradigm studio 100 v3

[meephis]

I am having a little dilema with speaker purchasing here. I'm not sure what to do. All three of these are excellent but in the end there must be only one, or two.......no only one pair! By the three choices I'm sure you can tell my tastes in a speaker, anyways I value your input so lay it on me!

[midfiguy]

I've gotta say, actually, from your post, it's quite hard to tell your taste... ...seeing as how the Definitve and the Paradigm sound SO different. The paradigm is so much more in your face while the definitive with it's bipolar sound quite different!

Anyways, all I can suggest if you're going to buy speakers of this price, audition them ALL in your home if you have to. Find a way, because they could all end up sounding very different at home vs. in the store.

[kexodusc]

Not sure what you're hoping for here...Asking what's the best speaker is like asking what's the best ice cream flavour (which everyone knows is vanilla).
You'll get a large variety of answers I'm sure...but if you can't listen to all 3 of these and pick one that really pleases you for the money, then you haven't found the speaker that's right for you.

I'm not a big fan of any of those for the money they sell for, but I think I'd lean towards the OM-7's (and I own other Paradigm Studio speakers). Now that you know my answer, is your decision any easier?

[N. Abstentia]

Choosing from those three, my choice would be Paradigm. But that's just MY choice.

And the best ice cream flavor is Blue Moon

[Wireworm5]

I agree after you've sampled all the different flavors of ice cream vanilla is still the best, you can add your own toppings and use it for making milkshakes.
You haven't given us enough details to help make your decision. What size room, prefered music etc.
Myself I like the Paradigm Studio 100 v2 which from what I here is better than their new version. But I would still consider this speaker along with a good power amp if you like hard hitting clean bass. You won't need a sub with these as they go pretty low and will be better than any cheap sub. This is a dominent speaker properly powered and it easily outclasses my other Paradigm Monitor speakers. They are tonely very accurate and good for all types of music but exceptional for rock. Audiophiles say that one of the hardest instruments to reproduce accurately is the piano. Hook a good source up to this speaker and you will get a very pleasing piano sound. Be sure though to listen for yourself as others have suggested already. I'm just pointing out the strengths of this speaker when others on this forum will tell you it's too expensive and you can find better for less.

[Woochifer]

Myself I like the Paradigm Studio 100 v2 which from what I here is better than their new version. But I would still consider this speaker along with a good power amp if you like hard hitting clean bass. You won't need a sub with these as they go pretty low and will be better than any cheap sub. This is a dominent speaker properly powered and it easily outclasses my other Paradigm Monitor speakers. They are tonely very accurate and good for all types of music but exceptional for rock. Audiophiles say that one of the hardest instruments to reproduce accurately is the piano. Hook a good source up to this speaker and you will get a very pleasing piano sound. Be sure though to listen for yourself as others have suggested already. I'm just pointing out the strengths of this speaker when others on this forum will tell you it's too expensive and you can find better for less.

Whether theStudio 100 v.2 is better than the 100 v.3 would depend on who you're hearing this from. From my listenings with the Studio 20 and 40 (I own the v.2 versions), the newer v.3 versions improved upon the v.2 models in just about every aspect, except for the bass extension and the higher prices. The highs and midrange are a little more refined than before, but the biggest improvement is with the imaging, which was already excellent with the previous models but is now about as good as I've heard in this price class from a conventional box speaker. And with the bass, the differentiation with the low notes is a notable improvement, so you are actually to some degree trading quantity for quality.

With the 100s, I do read occasional grumblings about how the bass is not as deep as before, but most of the posts on this and other boards that I've read about 100 v.3 indicate that overall it did improve upon the v.2 model as well, and in the same ways that I observed with the 20 and 40. If the change in the bass with the 100 is anything like what I observed with the other Studio series models, then you're trading some extension for an improvement in the differentiation and the coherency of the low notes. The v.2 Studio series speakers were voiced with a slight bump up in the midbass and slightly lower extension, and with the v.3 series, the frequency response in the bass range is more linear.

As for the original post, Def Tech, Mirage, and Paradigm are pretty different in what they're trying to accomplish and their approaches. I'm not a fan of omnipolar or bipolar speakers in general, and I own a set of Paradigm Studios, so you don't need me to tell you what my preferences are.

I actually think that your choices have some pretty marked contrasts. Go with whatever speaker best speaks to what you're looking for. If you plan to eventually expand your set into a 5.1 setup, the other thing to look out for is how well the ancillary center and surround speakers match the mains, and how well they sound as a unit. Sometimes, the quality of a company's center and surround speakers dropoff a lot rom their main speakers.

[meephis]

markw,
we're talking about speakers here not wire, and that comment "the difference was night and day" was when comparing a $20 and a $200 pair of cables and their WAS a clear audible difference and you've got no room to talk considering you weren't there! If I participated in a test and I didn't hear a freakin' difference I would have said so, and I have no problem with you saying you don't, I would take your word for it and not insult your intelligence by calling you a liar. Different people hear different things, plain and simple and this thread is not some sort of vote I was trying to get user feedback, to see if anyone had any problems with them and compare them a little more accurately.

[Pat D]

I am having a little dilema with speaker purchasing here. I'm not sure what to do. All three of these are excellent but in the end there must be only one, or two.......no only one pair! By the three choices I'm sure you can tell my tastes in a speaker, anyways I value your input so lay it on me!

I am not familiar with the DefTech, but I have heard the other two. The Paradigm Reference Studio 100, v. 3, is a wide dispersion forward radiating speaker while the Mirage OM-7 is a bipolar speaker, not quite omnidirectional in the horizontal plane. The DefTech is also bipolar as I see from its specs and it should have very deep response because it contains a powered subwoofer. DefTech has a pretty good reputation, too, but I haven't heard any for a long time.

The Mirage OM-7 is quite a nice speaker with a somewhat laid back upper midrange but with the highs back up to level. My impression is that it would do best in a large room. We did have a pair in for a home trial and are a pleasant speaker, forgiving of some bright program material, but I thought they lacked some of the attack on piano and were too laid back on the upper strings. As I recall, they were very good on male and female vocals and had good bass response--though the deep bass response really isn't a factor for me since I have a subwoofer.

I didn't spend nearly as much time with the Paradigm Studio 100, v. 3, as I was primarily wanting to hear the Signature 8. The Studio 100 throws quite a broad stereo image well maintained off center due to its wide dispersion. I found them to be rather more colored than the Signature 8.

PSB Stratus speakers are somewhat more difficult to drive, I think, but you could look at the Stratus Silver which is in your price range. I have always found the PSB Stratus Series speakers to be quite neutral and uncoloured, and they have excellent dispersion. I myself own the Stratus Minis. That means I personally preferred the PSB Stratus line to either the Paradigm Reference Version 3 and the Mirage OM lines, but those are good speakers and I know people who own and are pleased with both lines. As I say, the DefTech speakers seem to be very good, too.

Whether you prefer forward radiating or bipole speakers probably will depend a great deal on your listening room and placement. There are quite a number of good speakers available besides Paradigm Reference, Mirage OM, DefTech BP, and PSB Stratus, so I would suggest you listen to a number of them and try the main contenders out at home.

[meephis]

Don't get me wrong, I wasn't trying to ask you guys to tell me whats better (I know thats impossible), I just want to know if any of you had any experience with them and what your impressions are.

[markw]

As for those speakers, my personap preference of the afornemtioned three is "none of the above".

For one who can hear "night and day" differences in cables I would think choosing between three distinctly different speakers would be a cinch. ..or is this decision being done by a vote?

FWIW, each is a solid performers in their own right, cach is put out by reputable companies and each have their fans and detractors. Which flavor do YOU like?

Ya pays yer money and ya takes yer choice.

[RGA]

Well I have not heard the DefTechs but between the other two - I would personally start a new list. The Paradigm V2 is better IMO and the Mirage looks better on paper and nifty design than it actually sounds in real life. Then again, you are not me because you obviously liked them enough to put them on your finalists list.

Really, you don't need any of us telling you squat about which sounds best to you - all we can do is talk about our subjective experience with them and what we would do. For the Price of the Paradigm 100V3 you could buy the Energy C9 and (have close a near Cdn clone) $1500.00 left - you'd have the speaker's equal (give or take a smidge) and could donate the rest to charity or buy a really good turntable, more cd's a big screen TV, a laptop etc.

Or you could check out Dynaudio's Auience 82 Or PMC's transmission line speakers. With PMC's TB2 you could also probably swing the matching Bryston Power pack built in amp. The new TB2 has upgraded to a soft dome tweeter from the metal one they were using (which was just about the only annoying thing about the old version was the edgy top end).

[kexodusc]

Well I have not heard the DefTechs but between the other two - I would personally start a new list. The Paradigm V2 is better IMO and the Mirage looks better on paper and nifty design than it actually sounds in real life. Then again, you are not me because you obviously liked them enough to put them on your finalists list.

Really, you don't need any of us telling you squat about which sounds best to you - all we can do is talk about our subjective experience with them and what we would do. For the Price of the Paradigm 100V3 you could buy the Energy C9 and (have close a near Cdn clone) $1500.00 left - you'd have the speaker's equal (give or take a smidge) and could donate the rest to charity or buy a really good turntable, more cd's a big screen TV, a laptop etc.

Or you could check out Dynaudio's Auience 82 Or PMC's transmission line speakers. With PMC's TB2 you could also probably swing the matching Bryston Power pack built in amp. The new TB2 has upgraded to a soft dome tweeter from the metal one they were using (which was just about the only annoying thing about the old version was the edgy top end).

Bad advice on the C-9's...they sound worse than the Monitor 9's IMO, and look a bit goofier too. Though the new plastic plate on the front of the v4 Monitor 9's leaves something to be desired...

Great advice on the PMC TB2's...those would wipe the floor with the Studio 100's, IMO. I'll second that one!!!

[RGA]

Kex

Agreed that the C9's build quality is not nearly as good as the paradigms nor does it look as good - but the 100V3 sonically is to me pretty terrible for a speaker that in Canada after taxes will run $3,000.00+ I'm sorry but a hollow sounding nasal dynamically inept speaker with laid back top end that sounds out of place with the woofers can be had for a lot less money. Or for significanlty less money you can buy the better sounding quality and quantity - and what looks to be better build 100V2 for a heckuva lot less money than this overpriced model. The monitor series while i'm not a big fan of either - has a counterpart in the 9 and 11 that for about 1/3 the price would have me taking a step back. The studio series is not better enough IMO to justify paying double and a half the price for. Simply because if i'm going to pay double and half the monitor series then I would want good speakers - the Studio 100V3 is not IMO a good speaker for $2700+tax - it would be a good speaker for about $300.00Cdn more than the Monitor series).