Paradigm Studio 20V3 Review & DeVore Fidelity.

[jwh917]

I just purchased a new pair of Paradigm Studio 20V'3's and would like to voice my impressions.I will be comparing them to my Snell K111's which i still own.i always really liked the Paradigm sound so i was interested in getting another pair after selling my Paradigm compact monitors some years ago. i have listened to my new studio 20v3's for about 8 hours now and am not overly impressed.They are somewhat laid back and lacking in dynamics.There seems to be some discontinuity between the strong bass and the midrange.they don't seem to handle dynamic shifts in music well at all.Paradigm seems to have moved the entire musical presentation back in the mix...say rear of auditorium compared to up front.It seems you have to crank up the volume to hear all the music.what is really weird is nearfield listening is really good..but these speakers are not made for that.Compared to my Snell's they are quite less dynamic and off axis is not as good.the Paradigm's produce human voice better...more emotion...but voices are deep in the stage resulting in having to crank the volume or sit closer.I think Paradigm may be trying to move closer to that deep in soundsatge audiophile presentation but forgot you have to get the music out of the box.the best thing they do i believe is produce good strong bass notes giving most rock music a strong foundation.they image well but in comparison to my Snell's my Snell's present a much larger soundstage in width and height.i purchased mine from an authorized dealer who also sell's loudspeaker's from a company called DeVore Fidelity.he insisted that i listen to a floorstanding pair...the Gibbon 8 model.All i can say is that it may be the finest loudspeaker i have ever heard.the soundstage and imaging were incredible.A warm..tonally correct image with incredible instrument placement.the speakers were about 10 to 12 feet apart and were powered by a tube amplifier.all i can say is WOW...what a phoenominal sounding loudspeaker.I may see if i can trade up my Paradigm's on the matching DeVore bookshelf model.My dealer expalined to me that DeVore Fidleity is a newer company based out of Brooklyn,N.Y.the founder John DeVore is a drummer by trade and uses a crossover in his speakers called the Gibbon.don't know what the Gibbon is but it really works.If you get a chance demo these DeVore speakers...they are incredible.