Paradigm Atoms?

[Jace]

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

-Jace

[Jimmy C]

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

-Jace

...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.

[RGA]

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 RGA Reviews <$2000.00 Page 2, Epos, Audio Note, Paradigm, B&W etc.

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.

[kexodusc]

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.

[Jace]

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

[nightflier]

...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.

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?

[Jimmy C]

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?

...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 :*)

[kexodusc]

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.

[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