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

Jared Neumann

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Nov 11, 2003
Messages
60
Hey Joe

Just a suggestion did you ever check out any of the M&K's
I have two set ups with them and love them.

For a more affordable budget I would reccomend the 750 thx system, I use them in my upstairs HT and they are awesome

Jared

MY THEATERS
 

Joe Mihok

Second Unit
Joined
Dec 14, 2003
Messages
265
Okay, I re-arranged my living room so the speakers have more room to breathe. They are sounding ALOT less bright. My ears still need a rest after about 3 hours, but this is far better than before. I am still trying to do things to make these speakers sound "warmer". I stumbled accross this user review at audioreview.com:

I wasn't prepared to buy speakers when I did but when I saw these on Ebay going for $400 I had to do it!!
These speakers are absolutely incredible for the price that they go for even in an audio store. And if you are planning on buying new definetly go with a either the light or dark cherry finish. Makes them look way better than the plain black ash at no extra cost.

I had them wired for about 2 weeks with some crappy old wire and using the bi-wire bridges and they seemed to be a bright speaker but still great. I then upgraded to some Kimber 4VS at only $3/ft(which I highly recommend) and bi-wired them and wow what a difference. The cable really cleaned up the low ends and made the mid/highs even tighter. I can't understand why people don't like the low range on these speakers... they are quite accurate for me; maybe it is the wiring or placement for others?

They produce a very neutral and accurate sound so that no extra processing is needed at all. Soundstaging in plain old 2-channel is great. I popped in one of Jewel's cd's and it sounded as if all the vocals were coming out of my center channel, and they is the way it should be!!

These speakers also kick some ass for home theatre. They produce a very powerful and accurate sound espcially when used with a timbre matched CC-350. I can't wait to get some cash together for some ADP-170's (even though the 350's are recommended).

Overall... probably the BEST bang for your buck. Definetly check some out at your local high-end store. And for god sakes people, don't use crappy cable or interconnects... especially MONSTER!!! YUCK!!

I am using some medium-thick cable (in-between MONSTER and the crappy thin stuff). Do you guys think Bi-wiring them with some nice Kimber 4VS would clear up some of the brightness ??? I've never used anything other than regular speaker wire before.
 

Joe Mihok

Second Unit
Joined
Dec 14, 2003
Messages
265
Oh, and do I have to use Banana plugs ? I find them too expensive. Do I lose any quiality by mounting the wire directly to the mounting posts (without plugs) ? I assume not ....
 

Mike_J_D

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Mar 3, 2003
Messages
213
Hello Joe, congrats on the purchase. I have of late become a Paradigm fan. To answer your question regarding Banana plugs to bare wire. For me I use Banana just because it is easier to connect and disconnect my speakers. But your suppose to get better sound with bare wire. So no you do not lose and quality. Enjoy your 7's and get that friend of yours over and blow him away with your HT. Hope that annoying ear thing goes away ASAP.

And my experience with Kimber will only make your speakers sound brighter. Try Tara Labs. Thats what I use and it is pretty affordable. Good luck.
 

Evan M.

Supporting Actor
Joined
Feb 26, 2002
Messages
910
DO NOT MESS WITH YOUR EARS!! I have a condition called tinitus- permanent ringing of the ears- it is not fun. After seeing many specialist I have to now be careful of anything loud OR sounds that can cause pain (these sounds DO NOT have to be loud). If your ears hurt after listening at lower volumes this is not someting that I would want to keep in the house. Even if it is good bang for the buck and sounds great. There are several excellent speakers out there that are just as good as what you have. I am not trying to be an old fogie, I am in my late 20's and ear problems at a young age is not cool especially if you could have prevented it.
 

Ralph B

Supporting Actor
Joined
Apr 27, 2003
Messages
584
make sure you angle your speakers in toward your seating position. having them straight you are losing a really nice sound.

I have mine angled in at my seating postion as so I cannot see the sides of the speaker. as the post of the guy metioned above, its as if the vocals and other sounds are comming from the center channel. also make sure to dial in your speakers with a spl meter. it really helps.

I myself just bought the Monitor 7's after hearing them at a dealer and couldnt go home without them. I dont think they are bright nor did they ever hurt my ears and I listen to them everyday for almost 2 weeks. also i think the bass response is excellent but at times it does depend on the source of the music.

I also bought the CC-370 center and its a wonderful match, my JBL ruined the sound of the 7's so I had to go back and buy it. perfection!!!!!!

I have my speakers bridged and using 14 gauge wire and its perfect. my onkyo 55wac receiver (TX-DS-494) has no problem pushing them and no problem pushing them at high levels. I havent had a problem.

I now need a sub as im using my HTIB JVC 12" 120w sub. I have read alot about subs the past few days and learned alot. seems this sub is actually made by pinnacle but JVC put in their own amp. it was terrible and boomy, hollow and bottomed out. this was suprising since the enclosure is nice and the woofer seems to be decnt, since its made by pinnacle. well i stuffed the port with a shirt and it improved 100% . I couldnt even listen to the bass cd I had before, now it plays no problem. seems the port design was not a good choice on this sub as now with the port stuffed it perform quite well. although I will still be buying a nice sub. paradigm or SVS.

congrats on you purchase. I habe heard 50/50 on paradigm mayne because of price but I absolutely love my 7's!
 

Joe Mihok

Second Unit
Joined
Dec 14, 2003
Messages
265
DO NOT MESS WITH YOUR EARS!! I have a condition called tinitus- permanent ringing of the ears- it is not fun. After seeing many specialist I have to now be careful of anything loud OR sounds that can cause pain (these sounds DO NOT have to be loud). If your ears hurt after listening at lower volumes this is not someting that I would want to keep in the house. Even if it is good bang for the buck and sounds great. There are several excellent speakers out there that are just as good as what you have. I am not trying to be an old fogie, I am in my late 20's and ear problems at a young age is not cool especially if you could have prevented it.
Thanks for the advice Evan. I'm gonna give these speaker 3 weeks to break-in. If they don't improve then they are going straight back to where I bought them. So far I've been playing the speakers all day while @ work for the past week. I've been listening to them for about an hour per day and they sound better and better. My ears don't bug me at all any more. I think the audition @ the store buggered up my ears. I was listening to them on a Pioneer Elite amp (very bright sounding) at loud volumes with the grills off. One thing I noticed about the Monitor 7's is that the grills damper the sound quite a bit. I am playing them at home now with the grills on and it really made a difference. I even went to Paradigms web site and this is what they had to say:

"Q16... Should I play my Paradigm® speakers with the grills on or off?

A... Paradigm® and Paradigm® Reference speakers are designed with low-diffraction grills that minimize interference from enclosure edges. These grills also incorporate a Controlled Waveguide™ to ensure superior wide-dispersion uniformity. As such, they are meant to be played with grills on."
 

Joe Mihok

Second Unit
Joined
Dec 14, 2003
Messages
265
make sure you angle your speakers in toward your seating position. having them straight you are losing a really nice sound.

I have mine angled in at my seating postion as so I cannot see the sides of the speaker. as the post of the guy metioned above, its as if the vocals and other sounds are comming from the center channel. also make sure to dial in your speakers with a spl meter. it really helps.

I myself just bought the Monitor 7's after hearing them at a dealer and couldnt go home without them. I dont think they are bright nor did they ever hurt my ears and I listen to them everyday for almost 2 weeks. also i think the bass response is excellent but at times it does depend on the source of the music.

I also bought the CC-370 center and its a wonderful match, my JBL ruined the sound of the 7's so I had to go back and buy it. perfection!!!!!!

I have my speakers bridged and using 14 gauge wire and its perfect. my onkyo 55wac receiver (TX-DS-494) has no problem pushing them and no problem pushing them at high levels. I havent had a problem.

I now need a sub as im using my HTIB JVC 12" 120w sub. I have read alot about subs the past few days and learned alot. seems this sub is actually made by pinnacle but JVC put in their own amp. it was terrible and boomy, hollow and bottomed out. this was suprising since the enclosure is nice and the woofer seems to be decnt, since its made by pinnacle. well i stuffed the port with a shirt and it improved 100% . I couldnt even listen to the bass cd I had before, now it plays no problem. seems the port design was not a good choice on this sub as now with the port stuffed it perform quite well. although I will still be buying a nice sub. paradigm or SVS.

congrats on you purchase. I habe heard 50/50 on paradigm mayne because of price but I absolutely love my 7's!
I'll try and "toe" them in when I get home. Thanks! :D

And congrats on your purchase too! :)

I have the CC-270 and haven't had a chance to try it out yet. It sure is a beefy speaker though. It looks like a monster on my small 27" Toshiba. heh
 

Jason GT

Second Unit
Joined
Dec 12, 2002
Messages
452
Joe,

My experience with Paradigm speakers is that you MUST listen to them with grilles on, especially if you're exactly on-axis (ie, the speaker is pointed at you).

I have some v3 studios and if you take the grille off and point them directly at the sweet spot, the high frequencies kill. Put the grille on though and all is well (more than well, in fact).

Regardless, experiment with speaker placement; what works for someone else may not work for you, due to differences in the room. Play around with toe in/no toe. You'll probably find that you can modify the stereo image by modifying the amount of toe. Additionally, toeing in speakers will generally increase the amount of high frequency sound you hear.

One thing that this thread has not addressed is YOUR ROOM! Size aside, what is the environment like? Uncarpeted hardwood floors? Large windows? Bare walls? These factors will increase the amount of high frequency sound that you perceive.

Lastly, though, if you don't like the speakers, don't hesitate to return them - no matter how sweet the midrange, etc. Though I ended up going Paradigm myself, I was VERY impressed with a pair of Totem Arros that I listened to. These guys image holographically and have a very sweet midrange. Highs are a bit rolled off in comparison to Paradigm, and these guys to me sounded a bit strained at moderate-but-reasonable volumes. They are of course somewhat expensive (about $1500 CDN for a pair).

The Totem was IMO a better music speaker but overall for HT and music, Paradigm was better for me.
 

Joe Mihok

Second Unit
Joined
Dec 14, 2003
Messages
265
Well, it's been a little over 3 weeks and my Paradigms are sounding absolutely amazing! I'll post pics of the setup when I get home from work. It took about 2 weeks for them to fully "break in" but it's well worth it.

I had one minor issue though, and it wasn't with the Monitor 7's. The CC-270 for some reason didn't seem to match with the 7's ..... I couldn't figure this out because my Paradigm dealer told me the cc-270 had the same driver as the M7's. I went online to Paradigms website and did some research. Sure enough, the CC-270 uses the "Performance Series" driver/tweeter. It turns out the CC-370 is the perfect match for my setup. I went down to my local dealer last week and upgraded to the new CC for $70 CAD. Now the CC matches PERFECTLY with the fronts. I never thought my setup could sound any better but it sure does!

Oh, and the annoying ear problem came back when I setup the new CC. This re-enforces my (and many others) theory that the Monitor series does indeed need "break in" time to sound warmer. Anyways, I can't thank you guys enough for pointing me in the right direction on my new purchase. Now I gotta pay these babies off (purchased with in store credit)and look for a sub this summer to fill in the lower frequencies :).

Paradigm rocks! I can't stress enough how good these speakers sound for the price I paid! :emoji_thumbsup:
 

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