Paradigm Atoms?

Has anyone used these bookshelf speakers? I am just curious as to what people think of them and their performance vs. price.

-Jace

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Originally Posted by Jace

Has anyone used these bookshelf speakers? I am just curious as to what people think of them and their performance vs. price.

-Jace

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...but a friend does. Yeah, I think they're worth the $189. They are detailed and clean, but you will probably want some more bass.

A sonically "better" speaker would the the Dayton BR1 kit... these could stave off the need for a sub. $50 cheaper, also.

The sell for about a $139.00Cdn - $180.00Cdn - (less 20% for conversion). For this price I've found them to be very good speakers and hard not to be impressed. Excellent bang for the dollar. The Previous version though irritated me so be careful you're getting the Version 3. Oddly with the studio line i preferred the version 2 -- go figure.

I reviewed em http://forums.audioreview.com/speakers/rga-reviews-%242000-00-page-2-epos-audio-note-paradigm-b-w-etc-6696.html

Another one to try is Athena - I was impressed with the FS1 floorstander and perhaps the standmounts will also be impressive - they're fairly inexpensive as well.

I have a pair of V.3's I bought back in May for my old office...For the money they're pretty good, to me they were a good step up on the Athena AS-B1's and B2's, though they lacked the bass.
You might like the sound the Athenas have better.
I agree with the earlier comment that the BR-1 Kit from Parts Express is darn near impossible to beat and will destroy my Atoms. I'd easily put the BR-1 kit beside the Mini Monitors, though it's a bit more power hungry.

ok. thank you for your responses. i actually have a set of the V.3 Atoms already, but dont have a suitable place to set them up properly at the moment so i still havnt been able to really test their sound quality out. i did notice that they are a little short on the bass extension, but i also have a PDR-10 sub as well to take care of that end. still, i almost wish i had known about the BR-1 kit. ah well. thank you for your insight about these speakers. hopefully i will finally be able to test them properly over the christmas holidays.

-Jace

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Originally Posted by Jimmy C

...but a friend does. Yeah, I think they're worth the $189. They are detailed and clean, but you will probably want some more bass.

A sonically "better" speaker would the the Dayton BR1 kit... these could stave off the need for a sub. $50 cheaper, also.

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This is a little off-topic, but if the original poster is in the same situation as I am, he might have the same questions:

I've never put a speaker together myself, so I thought I would try these. If I screw it up, it's not too expensive of a mistake. What is the soldering like? I've soldered before, but only on computer equipment, so I presume it's the same process. Can I upgrade any of the components (I have some good cables?) to make them even better?

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Originally Posted by nightflier

This is a little off-topic, but if the original poster is in the same situation as I am, he might have the same questions:

I've never put a speaker together myself, so I thought I would try these. If I screw it up, it's not too expensive of a mistake. What is the soldering like? I've soldered before, but only on computer equipment, so I presume it's the same process. Can I upgrade any of the components (I have some good cables?) to make them even better?

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...and I haven't soldered in YEARS! There are online tutorials if need be. Basically, it's touching the item to be soldered (heating it up) then applying the solder itself. Then pull away the solder, then the gun. Something like that. There are maybe 30 solder points... not exactly sure. Got a cold joint? Big deal, suck it up and do it over.

As far as upgrades go, I haven't tried anything yet. I want to fill the enclosure with Polyfill (or whatever). I wouldn't worry too much about the wires, they provide (IIRC) the "Soundking" fat stuff already. But, hey... whatever you wanna try.

I really think you would like these... warm, forgiving and quite detailed. NEVER grating... geez... some $2000 speakers have gotten on my nerves...lol. They throw a good size soundstage with decent dynamics and bass.

Just bear in mind they are certainly not perfect - bass is a bit loose and there is a slight "hollowness" to the sound... this is why I want to try additional filler. Also, they are not very sensitive. All of this is positively nitpicking when considering the price and performance. Go for them, I like hearing others impressions. Not that I think you should buy just to amuse me... hehe

Oh - one thing... if you decide to buy, make sure the drivers work (read: your soldering skills) before installing in the cabinet. Yes, I had one faulty joint :*)

If you insist upon upgrading, then don't bother with wires, instead, concentrate on the cabinet.
I would recommend instead of poly fill to do one of two things.
Either build your own cabinets from scratch out of 3/4" MDF and use the insulation the kit comes with or line the insides with a few peel and stick vinyl tiles so as to increase the density without dramatically reducing the interior volume.
Preferrably you'll be able to get 3/4" MDF cabinets.
If you aren't ready to try this just yet, the Kit itself is fine. I certainly do believe they top any $250 speaker I've heard and easily challenge the $400 dollar and up commercial offerings.

ok whats going on here? are you all talking about putting speakers together here from a kit (BR-1's i am asuming)? not sure what this has do do with my original topic, but alrighty.

-Jace

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Originally Posted by Jace

ok whats going on here? are you all talking about putting speakers together here from a kit (BR-1's i am asuming)? not sure what this has do do with my original topic, but alrighty.

-Jace

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Sorry about going off-topic. I thought it would be helpfull if you did decide to go with the kit instead of new speakers.

Proceed.

Uh...web forums really need a new thread/link tool so we can easily redirect discussion to new threads when necessary.
Until that happens, there's no real harm in going off topic as long as it doesn't turn into a flame war or argument.

oh, it doesnt bother me at all. i was just curious as to what the new topic was about so i could keep up with the goings on and possibly add my two cents.

also nightflier, as i stated earlier, i already have a set of atoms so i wont be building any speakers from kits at the moment, but i am actually quite interested in the process of building speakers up from kits so by all means, continue on lol.

actually, if you have any questions about soldering, that is one area i have plenty of experience in since electronics is my field of expertise. of course, if you have experience soldering computer components, you should have no trouble as there really is no difference.

-Jace

Well, I went ahead and ordered a pair from PartsExpress. I probably won't have the time to get these built before x-mas, but I'm looking forward to it. I'll also try to add some heft to the cabinets, as that seems to be the best upgrade. Maybe I'll build my own....

Hey there, IF you build your own cabinets, I'd suggest you switch to the Dayton Budget Project found at:
www.speakerbuilder.net.
Use 3/4"MDF and you'll be fine. You'll probably save a fair chunk of money too. For a first project though, the BR-1's are great. I'm tempted to get some myself or some for mom and dad.

I think you'll rather enjoy the project, nightflier, and it could turn you down the dark side, away from buying commercial speakers.

Do you have any speakers you can compare these too when you're finished? Keep us updated in the DIY forum here!!!

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Originally Posted by nightflier

Well, I went ahead and ordered a pair from PartsExpress. I probably won't have the time to get these built before x-mas, but I'm looking forward to it. I'll also try to add some heft to the cabinets, as that seems to be the best upgrade. Maybe I'll build my own....

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...with different drivers, cabinets, etc. The kit is good as is. Ya wanna better kit? Order one of the under-$400 upgraded DIYs they have... I think you'll be happy... please post your impressions one built. X-Mas? C'mon, as soon as you get it, you will be working :*) And the box is pretty heavy (cumbersome)...lol..

Enjoy, take your time and tell us your impressions...

...actually, I've been collecting speakers for a while so I have several sets I can compare them with. Most of my purchases have been in the bargain-basement end of the stores & online, though. Let's see if I can remember: Polk RT600i, Infinity Primus, Polk Monitor 60's (just bought these and they are incredibly good), Pioneer S-H152?-or-somethings, Klipsch RB5 II's (my reference speakers), JBL-somethings, Axiom Audio M22ti & M3ti's, Athena S-2 ('been wanting to buy a pair of P3's to join them...), and a few speakers that I have canibalized for parts over the years. My garage is a big warehouse, you might say.

My favs are probably the Klipsch & Athena's, both of which I bought second-hand on eBay for a pittance, ironically. That said, the Polk Monitors are quickly climbing to the top as they burn in.

I know this will border on the sacriligious for most of you, but I never saw the value in paying that much more for a 5% improvement in sound. In hindsight, I probably could have bought a good pair of Dynaudio's with all that I have spent on speakers, but then I would have missed a lot I think.

So now, I'm trying something new. My brother built a pair of speakers in thickly-lined aluminum cabinets and they sounded very different. They were more of an architectural experiment using old drivers, so they looked better than they sounded. But we learned a lot. With these speakers I want to use real wood with added bracing and a front firing port instead of the stock MDF cabinets. Should be interesting....

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Originally Posted by nightflier

....I know this will border on the sacriligious for most of you, but I never saw the value in paying that much more for a 5% improvement in sound. In hindsight, I probably could have bought a good pair of Dynaudio's with all that I have spent on speakers, but then I would have missed a lot I think.
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the fun is not in the ultimate setup out there. it is in the time spent working your way up to that setup.

-Jace