Paradigm owners (1 Viewer)

[John*DII]

I own a pair of monitor 11s, and I am thinking about getting a new amp to power the 11s. I wanted to know what other monitor owners were using.

Thanks

John

 

[TommyL]

Add studio owners to the list too...

 

[JakeMcM]

what are you currently using?

 

[Tim Reed]

I own the Paradigm studio 100's (v2's) (very good speaker) - - I was using a Yamaha 2092 (as pre-mp) and an Odyssey stratos for the amp. The Odyssey stratos made a signficant improvement in the speaker sound (the Yamaha 2092 just can't quite drive the 100's the way something with 120,000 microfarads of capacitance can !)- - particurly bass punch and control. But now I've got some EFE (Ed Frias Enterprises) T-22's downstairs as part of a home theater and have moved the stratos downstairs to handle the front two channels(the EFE T-22's are signficantly better than the Paradigm studios and I figured it was the best use of the stratos amp - - a great amp by the way - - to help out the Onkyo 800).

Good luck to you

 

[Alan Pummill]

I have a complete Monitor system. See my pics and equipment list below! I bi-amp my 7's with 4 of 5 channels from my Carver AV-705x (5 x 125wpc) amp. The amp really brought the sound out of these speakers!!

 

[JamieS]

I hva eMonitor 7s but at this time all I can afford is my Denon 1603. I NEED MORE POWER! (evil grin)

 

[MikeRP]

I listened to Alan's system last night! Thanks Alan! Anyway I can vouch for what that seperate amp can do - amazing!

We were way above reference and going strong for long periods of time 6 hours at least.

The Carver and his Pioneer Elite 09TX were great!

Mike

 

[Clinton McClure]

Running Monitor 9s with an Anthem MCA-5.

 

[Paul Bryan]

Studio/60's on a Sony ES V555 reciever...

 

[JamesY]

Studio 60/CC/ADP's and a cheap pair of Aiwa's for the surround back for 7.1....all powered with a Denon 3802.

Been looking for a 3 or 5 channel amp, but the 3802 does a good job.

 

[Paul Bryan]

Studio 60/CC/ADP's and a cheap pair of Aiwa's for the surround back for 7.1....all powered with a Denon 3802.

Sorry to break it to you but those arn't Studio/60's in the pictures of your theater... Look more like 40's on stands to me...

 

[Gary Q]

Hi John,
For my Studio 40 mains and ADP surrounds, I am using a Denon 3803… but I’m looking for more power.

I'm happy with the Denon’s performance in the various surround modes and I like its features, but I'm unimpressed with its power, or for lack of a better word, punch.
I replaced my HK AVR 510 when it went on the fritz with a Denon 2802 thinking I was getting a more powerful receiver—alas, the HK with its 70 W/c delivered more punch than the Denon 2802 with its 90 W/c.
So I moved to the Denon 3803 and guess what? I still think the HK was louder.
So, now, instead of moving to a more powerful receiver, I'm going to outsource the amplification and I’m in the market for a nice 5x amplifier.
In the end, I think this is the best solution for me because, as I mention, I’m happy with what the Denon *does* with the sound, and with its features, I’m just not overwhelmed by its muscle.

My setup:
Player - Sony DVP-S530D
TV – Hitachi Ultravision 50”
Receiver – Denon 3803
Mains – Paradigm Studio 40s
Surrounds – Paradigm ADPs
Center – Mirage Omni CC *
Rear Surround - none yet

* (Though the Mirage Omni CC does a great job, I will probably be trading it in for a Paradigm Studio CC for better matching. I got the Mirage before I’d decided on the Paradigms. I thought I was going to go for the Mirage OM-7s, but after testing them against the Paradigm Studio 40s in the store, I opted for the Paradigms. Reason: though the OM-7s might have been a bit (and I stress a *tiny bit*, to my ear—a tad flatter response across the full range) better sounding, for the price, the Studio 40s were the clear winners.

Have fun, Gary

 

[MikeRP]

Gary:

Noticing that you have the exact same speaker setup as mine except for the Studio CC which I have. You'll love the Studio CC when you get it.

I just got my ADP's last night and I'm experimenting with location. How do you have yours located and are you happy with just the 5.1 setup?

Thanks

Mike

 

[Gary Q]

Hi Mike,

I think my ADPs are actually setup improperly at present.

First, let me say that my listening position (a couch) is against the back wall, and for personal/ aesthetic reasons, this won't change, (I don’t want to bring it into the room just to improve acoustics).

The ADPs are flush with the side walls, (as if mounted, but not—on a credenza on the right side and a small table on the left). They are about 1’ from the back wall, and about 7’ from me. They line up with my ears both vertically and horizontally, but with the drivers pointed away from me, i.e., the front driver is pointing toward the center of the room, (actually the angle is so obtuse, it’s more like toward the front of the room). And the rear driver points to and reflects off the back wall, but again, at such a wide angle that the reflected sound bounces off at an acute angle, missing me.

The Paradigm owner’s manual suggests that the ADPs be set up with the “nameplate” grill pointed at the listening position—but it doesn’t say which nameplate grill, i.e., the back or front (there are two), but I don’t think that matters so much, and it doesn’t define “pointing.”
However, this seems hard to accomplish if you opt to mount the speakers on the side walls (with the included mounting brackets), arguably the most attractive setup. The angle is so obtuse that you would have to put the speakers way out in front of you, toward the middle of the room, to get the rear grill “pointing” at you, or way behind, to get the front grill ‘pointing” at you.

Another option as suggested in the owner’s manual is to put them in the corners with the “drivers pointing at the converging walls.” This seems to make most sense to me (for my setup anyway) because in that configuration, (considering my listening position is against the real wall), at least the rear grill will be sort of pointing to my listening position. I think I will get better spatial imaging with one set of drivers in each speaker pointed toward me.

I still have some more experimenting to do, but think I will end up using the second suggestion above.
I can tell you that even with my current setup, they sound really nice.

My question is what’s the best way to configure the Paradigm speakers on my Denon 3803, i.e., should they be configured as “Large” or “Small?” But I think I will actually post a new message asking what others are doing—if I post it here, doubtful many will see it.

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Re: the 5.1 setup and moving to 6 or 7.1. Right now, my biggest issue is power. I want more.
I already have one really nice amplifier, but I am using that in my music-only setup.
I want to get three more, ideally, to drive my mains, surrounds, and CC.
Once I get the power I need, I will probably add two surround-rear channels—don’t know which speakers I’ll use yet, and I’ll probably just run them right off the Denon 3803 since I doubt that they’ll need much power. (In the end, those will be the only speakers the Denon will be powering). Then I’ll be able to play around with the Denon’s fancy “Wide Screen” mode.

But I still have some work to do. I need a decent sub as well. ‘Looking into an SVS (great pricing) or maybe a Paradigm Servo-15, maybe even the PW-2200. Anything will be an improvement on my very old (and demo model) Polk 100w subwoofer that cackles at me (literally) whenever I ask anything from it.

My shopping list:
·New subwoofer
·Amp for mains (250w plus)
·Amp for surrounds (250w plus)
·Amp for CC (200w plus)
Oh, and swap the CC.

Color me happy.

Let me know how you make out, what you decide. Btw, what you driving yours with?

All the best, Gary

Ps. I'm new to this forum and if it’s best we continue our discussion via email on something like this, no problem, feel free.

 

[MikeRP]

Gary:

We have the exact same problem with the couch thing.

Here's my e-mail address. Send me a line and I'll respond to your post above.

[email protected]

Mike

 

[Dan Driscoll]

I have 90P mains, a CC350 center and ADP-370 surrounds. I originally drove them with a Yamaha RX-V596 receiver (100 wpc) and they sounded pretty good. But about a year ago I added a Sherbourn 5/1500A amp (200 wpc) and it made a very noticable difference. The Monitors have more 'air' and seem clearer in the treble and mid-range now. But the real improvement was at the low end, the bass tightened up considerably and the speakers have a lot more 'punch' now. It was definitely one of my better upgrades.

FWIW, the Yamaha is still in the system as a pre-pro.

 

[Matt Parnell]

I use a Harman/Kardon Signature 2.1 5 x 100W amplifier.

Personally, I am a HUGE fan of HK amps, and I love the sound. I have Monitor 9v2s, CC-370 and Bose 201's for the rears (yes, my rears are the "weak" part of my system).

 

[Scott_N]

I use a Marantz SR-18 to drive my Studio CC and ADP-170's and a Aragon 8008ST to power my Studio 100's.

 

[Nick V]

I use a Rotel RB-1070 to power my Monitor 11's, and I use a Yamaha RXV-1200 to power centre and surrounds.

The Rotel was a significant improvement for music, but less noticeable for movies. I'll soon be upgrading to a separate pre/pro (Rotel RSP 1066 or new Sherbourn), and I'll be adding a 5 channel amp (Rotel RMB-1075 or 1095).

I'll let you know how it sounds when I'm done.

Nick