Newbie needs help buying speakers ..... (1 Viewer)

[Joe Mihok]

I auditioned some Paradigms at Audio Ark today. It's the best speaker I've had the pleasure of listening to, EVER!. Truly amazing!! The Mid-range is so crystal clear and the acoustics are breathtaking. I listened to quite a few songs I've heard throughout my life and I have never heard them sound like this. You can hear the artist "breathing" and you can hear his/her hand brush against the guitar stings unintentionally. The bass response is alright but nothing a good sub can't fix.

The model I have my eye on is the Monitor 7. The sales guy quoted me $720 CAD for the pair. If I had the cash I would easily pay triple!

I listened to everything from KEF, Mission, Energy, Klipsh, and Totems. Paradigms are in a league of their own. I couldn't find a dealer in town that sells Axiom though, which is very unfortunate .....

I think I'm gonna go down and pick up the Monitor 7's today. I haven't slept at all last night because of the sheer excitment of possibly owning these today.

Thanks for all your help guys!!!

Oh, one last question, do these things have a "break-in" period ?

 

[GrahamT]

Get the Paradigms. If you have such a strong reaction then it was meant to be. Axioms are only sold online and that is why you couldn't find any dealers. $720 is good but it will probabably go down 10% when you commit to buying them.

 

[Marty M]

The real fun is getting home and playing CDs and hearing things on them that you never knew existed before. That was my experience when I got my Monitor 7s. IMO, you have chosen a speaker you should be happy with for many years, or at least until the upgrade bug hits you. Enjoy.

 

[Joe Mihok]

Thanks for the extra praise guys! Man I'm in a good mood today .

Last night after the audition, I told the wife how good these speakers sound and she responded by saying "I would be happy with a $40 ghetto blaster from Walmart". I would like to ask her again after she listens to these 7s. I think she will change her answer. Who knows though, women can be strange some times .

 

[Joe Mihok]

Okay, I bought the Monitor 7 and CC-270 last night. I never had a chance to really try them out but I was more than pleased listening to music at low volumes (my baby girl was sleeping). They sound ALOT warmer on my Denon 1803 than the Pioneer Elite at the store. I guess I'll find out how they sound at moderate and loud volumes this evening when I get home. Anyways, I am happy as hell. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this post!

 

[Joe Mihok]

Oh, btw, my ears are sore after listening to the speakers for 2 hours last night. I don't understand why though. The volume was very low. Will this continue to happen with these speakers or will it go away after the speakers are "broken-in" ? Right now I have the speakers playing at home at decent volume while I'm here at work. How many hours does it usually take to break in a speaker ?

 

[John S]

That is some serious fatigue. The sound does not seem to be overly bright to you at all? It could sort of be a fluke too, maybe your ears hurting is not related is all.

I'll be tune'n back in here, to get your further impressions of your setup, as you gain more experience with it.

 

[Joe Mihok]

The soreness started 10 minutes into listening to the speakers last night. It got worse as I continued. After a good night sleep my ears felt better. This morning I listened to a few songs (this time at a decent volume) and my ears got very sore again. It's been about 4 hours since and now my ears are finally feeling a bit better. This really sucks.

The speakers sounded very bright at the store I auditioned them at (because of the Pioneer Elite amp being used). When I brought the speakers home, it sounded ALOT warmer on my Denon 1803 and I was happy ..... until my ears started feeling funny.

I really hope this goes away as my speaker gets used more and more. Is it possible I am damaging my ears in the long term by listening to these speakers ?

 

[John S]

Hmmmm.. not a good sign at all....

I can by contrast with my Denon 4802 listen for several hours at what most would consider vry loud levels, without any fatigue at all.

Just for grins, try crossing them even lower on the crossover to your sub. If you don't have a sub, then nix that idea.

 

[Joe Mihok]

My ears have always been very sensitive to sound (but never like this). My wife was listening to them last night with me and she had no problems at all ..... I am sure it's just me.

I do have a sub. I'll try that. Thanks for the suggestion John.

 

[PaulWY]

Joe, YGM.

 

[Joe Mihok]

YGM ? LoL, what the heck does that stand for ?

 

[Joe Mihok]

I just came accross an interesting consumer review from ecoustics.com:

My investigation has started. Now I have revealed the weakness of these speaker for people who may buy these:
they don't sound good in small spaces. They are strikingly forward and have a ring to them if you are to listen to these in small room. If you put enough air in between you and speaker they become to sound very much natural, to the point of felling like singer is in your living room.

So beaware, monitor series is not for small living rooms, because these will eat your ear canal out if you are too close. The only speaker I have seen do that, that is far worse in that sense is B&W DM601. It was hurting to listen to those.


What is more important these are best speakers I have seen so far, when helped with sub. If you want best deal but don't want to get burnt, go to dealer, ask them to borrow
the demos over a weekend of even for a day. It will be immediately obvious wether these speakers fit your audio room.

What was most puzzling about reviews on these speakers is that most people just love these speakers. Few posts indicated that speakers sound, forward and jingly in small room - source of few unsatisfied posts with monitor series.

My Monitor 7's are actually relativley close the the main listening area (7ft.). If I repositioned the main area (couch and HT), I could make them roughly 11 ft away.

My ears are still fucking sore (annoying as hell). Hope this works. I'll keep you all posted.

 

[PaulWY]

Joe, you got mail. check your pm's (private messages).

 

[Joe Mihok]

Thanks for the PM Paul. I auditioned the Monitor 9's as well. I felt the detail in the 8" woofers lacked compared to the 6.5" in the Monitor 7's. No doubt the bass response is much better in the 9's though. It's all a matter of opinion.

 

[Marty M]

As I have mentioned in previous threads, I have owned Monitor 7s for over five years and have always liked the sound. I have them paired with a Yamaha RX-V795 that some people consider too bright. Never a problem. Denon receivers are generally regarded as warmer sounding.

Sorry for the problems you are having. I hope it gets better.

 

[PaulWY]

Thanks for the PM Paul. I auditioned the Monitor 9's as well. I felt the detail in the 8" woofers lacked compared to the 6.5" in the Monitor 7's. No doubt the bass response is much better in the 9's though. It's all a matter of opinion.

Indeed, when I was auditioning the Paradigm Monitor series I recall going into the store with my head full of basic audio theories that I've gathered from forums such as this about what makes a good sounding speaker. As such, I was expecting the 7s to give a more detailed mid-range and tighter bass than the 9s because of the smaller drivers. I expected the 9s to be some sort of sloppy beast in comparison.

Oddly enough, my listening session proved otherwise. The 9s where slightly more open and detailed in the mids and tighter as well as deeper in the bass, which completely surprised me. In general the 9s seemed to be more effortless than the 7s. I admit this may have been due to some other factor such as positioning, but regardless it was at this point that I realized that a good speaker was a good speaker, audio theory be damned.

I've had the 9s powered by a Denon before I got my amp and have never found them bright to the point of pain. Hopefully your 7s just need some breaking in. How much toe in do you have? Maybe try straightening them out a bit. Sometimes, if the speakers are aimed directly at the listening position it maximizes the harshes. Another thing you can try is to turn the treble down a notch until the speakers get enough break-in. Goodluck!

 

[Joe Mihok]

They are straightened out.

I am continuing to read consumer reviews on the ecoustics.com web site and many people "had" the same problem as me. They say after approx 80 hours, the titatium tweeter will soften and become less harsh. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

 

[GrahamT]

Congrats on the purchase. If your ears are still ringing then you were listening too loud for too long. It is pretty easy to do. I doubt it is the Paradigms specifically because you would have thought they were harsh or fatiguing while listening. Enjoy the new speakers.

 

[Joe Mihok]

One would figure I was listening to it loud. The thing that get's me is ...... I wasn't. It was normal family listening volume. On my Denon 1803 the volume was at -45. Anyone with a Denon 1803/4 can confirm hat this is not by any means loud. Anyways, it is indeed the Paradigms. I mentioned this to my wife 30 minutes ago and she mentioned her ears bugging her today as well, she just didn't know why, until now.

The speakers were playing all day today and all night last night. I just got home and they do indeed seem to be less harsh. This a good sign .

These speakers, regardless of the damage they did to my ears still sound mind-blowing . I can't believe the price either. My friend with the Nuance system is trying to avoid coming over. LoL