Paradigm Monitors or Studios? (1 Viewer)

I am in the acute phase of a severe case of upgrade-itis. Here is where I'm at currently:

Monitor 11 mains
CC-370 center
Mini-Monitor rears/surrounds
SVS 20-39 PCi
Outlaw 950 pre/pro
Outlaw M200's (x3) for front stage
Parasound HCA-855 for surrounds and rears

I can upgrade my mains to the studio 100's for about $800 with trade in of my 11's. If I do that, I would natually have to upgrade the center to the studio cc and possibly (probably?) the 4 minis in the back to studio 20's. With trade-in of all my current stuff, I'm looking at an expense of about $1500-1700 to do this upgrade. And that is on the heels of picking up the new amps and pre/pro a month ago.

So, I guess what I'm looking for are opinions from those familiar with both Paradigm lines, and who can tell me if the jump to the studio line will be a significant upgrade. I am not unhappy with my current set-up at all. I just have a financial window of opportunity to make some upgrades, while trying to be smart about it at the same time. I will, of course, demo the speakers side by side at my local shop and allow that to be the greatest determinant of what I do.....but gathering some feedback on here has been extremely helpful in the past and I will appreciate anyone who takes the time to respond.

Happy Listening

I've had 7semk3's, cc300, minimonitors v.2, ps1000 v.1 and v.3. I currently have studio 100's, 20's, studio CC, and Servo 15. There's my background.

The set I have without the servo 15, which is what you've listed you would get, retails for about $3050. You should be able to purchase these new without trading in your old speakers for about 15-20% off which is ~$2450-$2600. I would think your 5 speakers are valued about $1200 on the open market. That's about $1200-1400 difference if you sold them yourself, were able to get the 15-20% discount off the new ones and my figures are correct. To me, I wouldn't hesitate if you can upgrade all 5 for $1500 or less.

As far as the difference in sound...I couldn't imagine going back to the monitors series. The difference is immediately noticable and very desirable.

Do it. I did it. I was happier.


If I had time I would go into more detail.
James

Alan, this is Alan speaking!!

I recently held a HTF Local Meet at my house, and one of the attendees brought his Studio 40's. We switched them out for my Monitor 7's, the 40's sounded much better. And as you can see from My HT Pics, I ain't got a bad system!!

(Although my receiver just got damaged by an electrical storm....see my post in the Receiver and Separates section)

I will be upgrading to Studio's soon!!

I'm leaving work so a quick response.

I swapped my 9s, CC370, and ADP370s for 40s, 20s, and the CC and I wouldn't want to go back. They are noticable improved speakers in every regard. I understand the 100s are fantastic speakers but if you're looking to save some $$$ (don't know if you are) you also have a great sub (same as me) and depending on your room and many other factors, you might be just as happy with the 40s or 60s while running the sub. Just a thought.

Do the upgrade if you can. The studios a great!

The studio CC kicks ass, there's this one dialog scene in Blade 2 at the beginning in the blood bank and the vampire says this line, and the bass in his voice is just awesome. Highly Recommended.

when my friend was eyeing 40s, I told him to try the monitor5 since I thought the 40s were an awful lot of money to spend on speakers (it was in my early days).

After trying them a/b, I was amazed how great the studios sounded.

I ended up getting 60s myself a year later.

Thanks for all the responses! I really appreciate and value the viewpoints and experiences among members of this forum. My only reservation about the studio 60's is the fact that they are only 36 inches tall, and our listening position is a bit higher than that......In addition, we have a very open room with cathedral ceilings and openings into the kitchen, dining room, and foyer. When I went from Monitor 5's to Monitor 11's (twice as many drivers)the difference was pretty big. I am afraid the studio 60's might not move enough air to fill the room.....is this a valid concern? I would love to save a few bucks and go with the 60's, I just don't want to have the same problem I had with the Monitor 5's. Any thoughts?

Alan...look at the stands my 7's are on!! Brings the tweeter to ear level...sounds great!!

I think it may be unnecessary to upgrade the rears to studio 20s, which will save you some cash. I think more performance up front is worth more than having it matches up all around. If you're running your speakers small, i don't see how the size really matters, so I'm assuming you're crossing things over low, or running them large, in which case it's a tough call.