Leef D
Auditioning
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2003
- Messages
- 3
(sorry Meant to pub this earlier but couldn't)
(Written around Dec 12th, 2003)
----------------------
Here goes a quick tertiary review with some paradigms i picked up.
The following review covers the CC-470, and Ref Studio 20's V3.
Getting a little older, i realized it was time to upgrage my system. Having been a First gen DVD adopter and somewhat fresh outta college i picked up a pioneer/onkyo/jbl system for a limited amount of cash. It was all pretty much thoroughly researched and i'm still convinced i made out well with a limited funds 'at that time'. The Onkyo (838) i still have. The JBL's were part of the J-series that were touted so well as being economically mid-end stuff.
Theres actually a couple things that the JBL's did rather nicely.
Horns for example. Those nice little titanium tweeters do an INCREDIBLE job of recreating brass. Trumpets, trombones...get out yer Indy DVD's and the rocketeer. Nice job by JBL on those.
I picked up most of this stuff back in 1997. By April '97 i had a first gen DVD player and was collecting titles like Eraser and Blade runner.
By 2001, i went and demo'd some projectors (Seleco and Sony first gen stuff). I was amazed at the resolution i started hearing in Surround sound. I was immediately hooked. I heard this B&W, Seleco, Sonic Frontiers/Anthem stuff at a local dealer here in Toronto. I think at the time he was playing Gladiator (freshly out on DVD). I started to hear all sorts of new stuff like armour clinking and horse bits grinding in the background...
Fast Fwd to last winter. I researched my ass off. What it came down to, for me, was I was NEVER going to be able to afford B&W's. I stared at those Nautilii for months on the internet. Drooling all over myself. I wanted detail Hugely. Just like that Gladiator demo. But bottom line was i couldn't (in good consencience) afford them. I think if I had've bought them, My wife woulda killed me.
Then comes a little suprise. Paradigm makes a couple little tweaks that it seems i've been waiting for about 2 years for.
My bud, was interested in a 2-channel stereo. Having made out well with the sale of his house, i promptly blurt out Paradigm/Rotel combo spec's. Being the Uber-Genesis/Musical Box fan, he is, he goes for it. Blows my socks off.
( i still go over every now and again for some pints and music nights!)
But something just wasn't QUITE right. I think it was the tweeter. Some will say detailed. Some will use the term 'harsh'. Whatever it was it was just TOO much. Then i see this new V3 line comes up. and whaddya know: They Tweaked the tweeter! and more...
I went for an audition. Keeping the N804's in mind (my reference standard to which i've been bugging the local stereo guys for months to let me listen to). And, HEY, not bad.
Hmmm not bad at all. These things actually beat out the CDM-nts that i've been coveting as well.
Holy.
Okay bring out the collection. Sade: Hadled with grace. Eagles: devoured. Floyd: dominated. Heh heh. Looking good. Super tramp: AWESOME! okay they made a believer outta me. Nicely done.
I decide to sit on it for 2 months. During this time, the new B&W 700's come out. AND the Paradigm Siggy's come out. drooooooooL.
*wipes his mouth*
Have to stay focused. remember! new house and new car. Need..money..must..stop..talking..like..hulk!
Okay so you get the point.
On to the review:
20's V3
______
MAN can these things pump. Some people call paradigms nothing but bass quakers, and i can see where they get this. These little puppies extend! Not in a bad way either. i think the people that say these bookshelves might be bass heavy are over looking the obvious. They do everything else wonderfully as well. They aren't subtitutes for floor standers mind ya. i put them up front to a) break them in and b) i dont have $$ yet for the 60's.
i threw Sade, police, metallica, supertramp, depeche, Santana, and a pleathora of DVDs at them and they didn't flinch. 5th Element SB has to be heard to be believed. Man that was sweet. Any speaker that can do these things has its spot reserved as my rears any day.
Heard that Armour clink in Gladiator. Made my hairs stand up.
heh.
Thats what I was looking for
that 0s0 familiar hig end sound that i heard at the store.
Mmmmm.
They do brass, guitar (tried some classical guitar-Nice!), synth, bongos, Bass all nicely.
Strenths: Triangles, high hats, cymbals, snares..anything high and detailed.
Don't do violins very well (trying to remain subjective, right?)
Wish they did lower strings a little nicer.
(maybe once i put more hours into them. Hopefully!)
hey, then again these are Only 20's.
These wont retain theyre front postioning in my line-up. I will be getting the 60's to complement them.
ok CC-470 V3
--------------------
I listened to the 570's. Honest i did.
to EricEash and Rboster and all the guys that are thinking of getting the 570. Be careful. Go listen. The 470 is "enough". actually its more than "enough". If i was getting the 100's i would definitely go 570. otherwise, i'm not sure its worth it.
For me, timber matching is what its all about. That why i chose now to go Paradigm. They matched ALL their drivers in their line. EVERYTHING. that's what's so cool about the the V3 line. (well that and the new Anodized tweets).
The 570, to me, exhibited a LITTLE more dynamics. Ever so slightly more detail. Slightly more. But thats it.
The 470, as it is, is a beast. It barely fits on my 50" TV. Once, i do up the basement, of course, i'll go strictly Front project. But this thing is LARGE.
It covers just about everything. its Clear, detailed, precise, excellent imaging.
I had it break up last night as i pumped Star Wars, but i figure it was due to my ill powered Onkyo (85w). I gotta feed this puppy a little more meat.
I was able to get the 'Sycamore' finish. Much to the shagrin of my wifey.
Doesn't look too much like a speaker. Paradigm did and awesome job on the faux veneers-not too bad anyways.
I'm truly glad to see this thing handles trumpets and brass like the JBL's did (actually better). Some scores to soundtracks like Indiana Jones, Krull, and Robin hood just make me melt into my chair. I put on Legend for that Tangerine Dream stuff, and it was likewise. Awesome stuff. the front soundstage when combined with the 20's is essentially seamless. I can't wait to get the go-ahead for the 60's in April.
Its just an incedible centre. Much better then my SC-305. at last, i dont have to turn up the centre volume just to hear what folks are saying.
I definitely need to feed it more power though. I just tried Days of thunder and heard it crackle under some stress.
Hmmm....i think i settled. But i'm being honest with myself. To anyone who has auditioned B&W, i think they owe it to themselves to try the Digm's out. I'm satisfied. Well, unless i win the lottery er some crap.
wouldn't that be cool!
Cheers and Merry Xmas,
Leefer
(Written around Dec 12th, 2003)
----------------------
Here goes a quick tertiary review with some paradigms i picked up.
The following review covers the CC-470, and Ref Studio 20's V3.
Getting a little older, i realized it was time to upgrage my system. Having been a First gen DVD adopter and somewhat fresh outta college i picked up a pioneer/onkyo/jbl system for a limited amount of cash. It was all pretty much thoroughly researched and i'm still convinced i made out well with a limited funds 'at that time'. The Onkyo (838) i still have. The JBL's were part of the J-series that were touted so well as being economically mid-end stuff.
Theres actually a couple things that the JBL's did rather nicely.
Horns for example. Those nice little titanium tweeters do an INCREDIBLE job of recreating brass. Trumpets, trombones...get out yer Indy DVD's and the rocketeer. Nice job by JBL on those.
I picked up most of this stuff back in 1997. By April '97 i had a first gen DVD player and was collecting titles like Eraser and Blade runner.
By 2001, i went and demo'd some projectors (Seleco and Sony first gen stuff). I was amazed at the resolution i started hearing in Surround sound. I was immediately hooked. I heard this B&W, Seleco, Sonic Frontiers/Anthem stuff at a local dealer here in Toronto. I think at the time he was playing Gladiator (freshly out on DVD). I started to hear all sorts of new stuff like armour clinking and horse bits grinding in the background...
Fast Fwd to last winter. I researched my ass off. What it came down to, for me, was I was NEVER going to be able to afford B&W's. I stared at those Nautilii for months on the internet. Drooling all over myself. I wanted detail Hugely. Just like that Gladiator demo. But bottom line was i couldn't (in good consencience) afford them. I think if I had've bought them, My wife woulda killed me.
Then comes a little suprise. Paradigm makes a couple little tweaks that it seems i've been waiting for about 2 years for.
My bud, was interested in a 2-channel stereo. Having made out well with the sale of his house, i promptly blurt out Paradigm/Rotel combo spec's. Being the Uber-Genesis/Musical Box fan, he is, he goes for it. Blows my socks off.
( i still go over every now and again for some pints and music nights!)
But something just wasn't QUITE right. I think it was the tweeter. Some will say detailed. Some will use the term 'harsh'. Whatever it was it was just TOO much. Then i see this new V3 line comes up. and whaddya know: They Tweaked the tweeter! and more...
I went for an audition. Keeping the N804's in mind (my reference standard to which i've been bugging the local stereo guys for months to let me listen to). And, HEY, not bad.
Hmmm not bad at all. These things actually beat out the CDM-nts that i've been coveting as well.
Holy.
Okay bring out the collection. Sade: Hadled with grace. Eagles: devoured. Floyd: dominated. Heh heh. Looking good. Super tramp: AWESOME! okay they made a believer outta me. Nicely done.
I decide to sit on it for 2 months. During this time, the new B&W 700's come out. AND the Paradigm Siggy's come out. drooooooooL.
*wipes his mouth*
Have to stay focused. remember! new house and new car. Need..money..must..stop..talking..like..hulk!
Okay so you get the point.
On to the review:
20's V3
______
MAN can these things pump. Some people call paradigms nothing but bass quakers, and i can see where they get this. These little puppies extend! Not in a bad way either. i think the people that say these bookshelves might be bass heavy are over looking the obvious. They do everything else wonderfully as well. They aren't subtitutes for floor standers mind ya. i put them up front to a) break them in and b) i dont have $$ yet for the 60's.
i threw Sade, police, metallica, supertramp, depeche, Santana, and a pleathora of DVDs at them and they didn't flinch. 5th Element SB has to be heard to be believed. Man that was sweet. Any speaker that can do these things has its spot reserved as my rears any day.
Heard that Armour clink in Gladiator. Made my hairs stand up.
heh.
Thats what I was looking for
that 0s0 familiar hig end sound that i heard at the store.
Mmmmm.
They do brass, guitar (tried some classical guitar-Nice!), synth, bongos, Bass all nicely.
Strenths: Triangles, high hats, cymbals, snares..anything high and detailed.
Don't do violins very well (trying to remain subjective, right?)
Wish they did lower strings a little nicer.
(maybe once i put more hours into them. Hopefully!)
hey, then again these are Only 20's.
These wont retain theyre front postioning in my line-up. I will be getting the 60's to complement them.
ok CC-470 V3
--------------------
I listened to the 570's. Honest i did.
to EricEash and Rboster and all the guys that are thinking of getting the 570. Be careful. Go listen. The 470 is "enough". actually its more than "enough". If i was getting the 100's i would definitely go 570. otherwise, i'm not sure its worth it.
For me, timber matching is what its all about. That why i chose now to go Paradigm. They matched ALL their drivers in their line. EVERYTHING. that's what's so cool about the the V3 line. (well that and the new Anodized tweets).
The 570, to me, exhibited a LITTLE more dynamics. Ever so slightly more detail. Slightly more. But thats it.
The 470, as it is, is a beast. It barely fits on my 50" TV. Once, i do up the basement, of course, i'll go strictly Front project. But this thing is LARGE.
It covers just about everything. its Clear, detailed, precise, excellent imaging.
I had it break up last night as i pumped Star Wars, but i figure it was due to my ill powered Onkyo (85w). I gotta feed this puppy a little more meat.
I was able to get the 'Sycamore' finish. Much to the shagrin of my wifey.
Doesn't look too much like a speaker. Paradigm did and awesome job on the faux veneers-not too bad anyways.
I'm truly glad to see this thing handles trumpets and brass like the JBL's did (actually better). Some scores to soundtracks like Indiana Jones, Krull, and Robin hood just make me melt into my chair. I put on Legend for that Tangerine Dream stuff, and it was likewise. Awesome stuff. the front soundstage when combined with the 20's is essentially seamless. I can't wait to get the go-ahead for the 60's in April.
Its just an incedible centre. Much better then my SC-305. at last, i dont have to turn up the centre volume just to hear what folks are saying.
I definitely need to feed it more power though. I just tried Days of thunder and heard it crackle under some stress.
Hmmm....i think i settled. But i'm being honest with myself. To anyone who has auditioned B&W, i think they owe it to themselves to try the Digm's out. I'm satisfied. Well, unless i win the lottery er some crap.
wouldn't that be cool!
Cheers and Merry Xmas,
Leefer
