1. Should I upgrade? 2. How much are my speakers worth? 3. Am I just bored? (2 Viewers)

[Charles J P]

I have been toying with the idea of selling my Paradigm Monitor series setup (two pair mini-monitors for rear and side surrounds, one cc-350 and one pair Mon 7s all v.1s) and getting the Norh 4.0 "package".
How much do you think I could get from my 7 speakers (all in perfect condition with original packageing)?
Where would be the best place to sell them?
Are the Norhs as good as people say or will I be wasting money? My concern is that I am just bored since my speakers are what I have owned the longest. Retail price vs. retail price, the Norhs would technically be a downgrade, but on the other hand I am very impressed with my other web-only purchase from SVS.
Is Norh willing to deal? Could I get them to reduce the price on a pair of cermic 4.0s if I wanted the 4.0 package plus another pair of 4s for rear surrounds?
I know that MSRP and even the lower prices that I paid for the Paradigms would be well above what the Norh package costs, but we are talking about used speakers here, so I dont really know what to expect.
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[BryanZ]

With the 4.0s it will depend upon how good your source equipment is because they can be very revealing. Your Paradigms are also very good speakers. You may want to try and get in touch with someone that has the nOrhs and lives in your area to audition them before you decide to get them.
As for retail value, it depends upon age of the speakers. If you have had them for a long time, you may only get 40 - 50% of what you paid for them. If they are fairly new, you may get 70 - 80%.
The best place to sell them is either here, audiogon, perhaps in your local paper. Ebay is a possibility too. But primarily advertise on audio sites and see what happens.
Prior to selling your speakers I would mess with the placement of them. See if that makes a difference. Try recalibrating them or even redoing the ends of the wires. That may bring some life back into them and save you money.
nOrh might be willing to deal with you and get you a better rate. Just email them and ask. Worst case is you pay $1,250 vs a little lower.

 

[Saurav]

I haven't heard nOrh, but I own Mini Monitors, and I doubt you'd get any significant improvement in sound without spending a lot more money than what you paid for your speakers. You'd get something that will sound different, but not necessarily better. If you're feeling like changing something because you're bored, then sure, go ahead and spend the money. Otherwise, I would advise researching speakers that are a good step up from what you have now. There are plenty of options to move up rather than sideways.

 

[Mickey Brown]

Charles,
I think you'd be making a mistake. If you really want to upgrade, why not think about the Studio series from Paradigm? Studio 20's all around? I really don't think you'll get much more performance from the N0rh than the Studio 20's.
And I might take a set of your minimonitors off you, since you DID live in Iowa City!

 

[Charles J P]

quote: I really don't think you'll get much more performance from the N0rh than the Studio 20's.[/quote]
Maybe not, but if I get even close, or a little better, it would be at a fraction of the cost. For the nOrh's at $850 for five, that's $170 per speaker or $340 per pair. Thats about MSRP for a pair of mini-monitors and I dont even know what a pair of studio 20s goes for.
EDIT: Oh, and my other problem is, I have been told by Paradigm that it is not recommended to wall mount the mini monitors, so I may be looking for new surrounds anyway, because I eventually want them higher up and off stands. Of course the ADP line is an option if I stick with paradigm but they are grossly overpriced. The ADP-370s that are in the monitor line are usually sold for $630 (if my memory serves) I only paid $500 for the monitor 7s so there is no fricken way I'm dropping $1200 on surrounds to do an EX/ES setup.
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[Edited last by Charles J P on August 09, 2001 at 03:57 PM]

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Charles: your system is find. You are bored (it's been a bad release month).
Here are some things you can do:
- Try moving your system to another wall. This forces you to un-cable and re-string everything. And the new-placement will change the sound so you have to re-calibrate, ...
- Get a universal remote and spend a week programming it.
- Do a "HT Cleaning" by disconnecting every component, dusting it off, cleaning the RCA jacks with a soft tooth-brush and putting it back. Trim 1" off of all the speaker wires and re-connect.
- Go to your DVD collection and pull out every disk that has full-length commentary (you know, the ones we never bother listening to) or major suppliments. Try listening to all of them.
- Go through that collection of old, adult VHS tapes that you keep on the top shelf in your bedroom closet and watch them. Decide which ones to keep and put the others up for sale on ebay. Buy a few new ones while you are at it.
Last Resort: if you still think your sound is less-than-it-can-be, do this: for a week go to the Video Store and rent only VHS tapes. Bring them home and play them, but not through your HT receiver, just the TV. Do this for a week. Then pop in a DVD and you will be amazed at how much your system improved after your "ht fasting".
Good Luck.

 

[Charles J P]

You know, I think you may have a very good idea. I am going to just rearange a little, recallibrate etc. and see if I like the results. I have had stuff setup the exact same for so long.... Besides my next true goal is to upgrade from my 32" tv to a large RPTV or even FP so I should be saving my money. I think the other problem is, I need to try some soundtrack listening with the TV off. I think the smaller screen fools you into thinking the sound is small.
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[Marty M]

I think the reason Mini-Monitors are not recommended to be wall mounted is because of the port on the back. I believe you could put them on shelves on your back wall as long as the speakers are pointed towards your couch and their is at least 12" between the side wall and the back of the speaker. At 15 pounds a piece you have to make sure you have a very secure shelf.
I have the very same speaker set up as yours and really like the sound. The way I raised my Mini-Monitors in the rear was to build 2 flexy stands with 6 foot threaded rods. I put in five 14 X 16" shelves on each stand and placed the Mini-Monitor on the top shelf. From your pictures it looks like this set-up would fit next to your couch.
If you have any questions about the flexy shelves I buit, e-mail me. But seriously reconsider before getting rid of your Monitor speakers.

 

[GarryW]

Charles:
Your speakers are fine, but if want to see some improvements, I would add good 3 chanel amp or some monoblocks to those M7's and CC-350.
I was all set to upgrade to Studio 60's and a new center, but added 3 Marantz Monoblocks instead. I still use my Denon 2700 reciever as a pre-pro and use it to power my ADP-350's, until I get the Outlaw 950. I also bought two more monoblocks for that purpose.
You're right about the ADP's, they are expensive, but they do offer an improvement over the mini-monitors in sound and ease on installation. I picked mine up on E-Bay for about 1/2 the cost of new.
I was at dealer in Michigan recently and told him of my set up, and he stated that the M7's and Studio 60's aren't that much different in design, and advised the next upgrade for me to the Studio 100's.
It never stops!

 

[Mickey Brown]

Charles,
What I meant was that perhaps you could trade in your 7's and 350 for Studio 20's or 40's and a Studio CC. I personally think that the front three speakers make the most difference, not 5 of the same speakers all around.
I think this would give you the most enjoyment.
But I think you'd be best served saving up for a bigscreen tv, cuz the speakers you have are nice!

 

[Charles J P]

Man, I think you guys just saved me a bunch of hassle and money. I think most of these suggestions here have been really good. I think monoblocks sound like a good idea because by their very nature, the upgrade would be modular. I also think a better CD player might help improve the sound more than new speakers. I have never really had too much of an issue with surround sound, except I do NOT like the current placement of my surrounds. I think they need to be up much higher, but unfortunately I've had those stands for less than a year, and wall mounting probably wont fly in the apartment. Speaking of which, has anyone ever mounted a speaker bracket to a speaker that wasnt designed for one? I am wondering how it will affect the sound.
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[Steve_D]

First of all, I would consider nOrhs a downgrade from Studios.
That out of the way...
I would highly recommend you try a B&K amp with your Paradigms. They blow the MA's away, even my wife heard the difference and she's fine with the clock radio.....Pick one up mint used on ebay or audiogon and if you don't like it, you can sell for about what you paid. Or do what I did, buy 5 different amps and try them all out and sell what you don't want.
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[Brian OK]

Charles,
Definately 3. Yeah, definately 3.
I suspect you may have already bagged your "upgrade" plans based upon the excellent postings above.
Yeah, definately 3............. (that was a bad Dustin Hoffman...aka ....rain man.
BOK

 

[Marty M]

An upgrade that really improved the sound of my Monitor 7's was a pair of new speaker cables. I got the Nordost Super-flat bi-wired cables. They are not cheap at nearly $250 per pair of 3 meters, but my wife and I both noticed a difference. My wife would also be happy with a clock radio, but her first reaction was the new cables made every cd sound cleaner.
Conidering what I would need to pay to get a major upgrade in speakers, the amount I paid for the new cables was well worth the money. It is something to consider.

 

[Charles J P]

Hey guys, thanks for the suggestions. I think I am going to do this for now.
1. Re calibrate and try playing with toeing my speakers in a little
2. get some new speaker wire for my front three speakers, maybe even bi-wire the mains.
3. start budgeting for a new DVD player that does well with cds, DVD-A and maybe even SACD and budget for future mono-block purchases. I like the idea of eventually moving to a budget pre/pro from outlaw or something similar.
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[Ron Eastman]

I disagree with everthing said above. I think you should upgrade the speakers as those are the weakest link in your system. I don't care what you get, just get rid of those things as fast as possible. As my charitable act of the day, I will assist you by taking those Mini Monitors off your hands for 50% off list. In fact, I'll take the whole package at 50% off list, just to help you out. Those speakers are your albatross and no amount of speaker wire or tweaking will help.
Can I pick them up today?
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[John-D]

Speakers upgrades should not be taken lightly. They SHOULD be upgraded cuz that's the MOST important upgrade which WILL change the way your music sounds.
However if you are more of a HT nut, a bigger screen which immerses you in the action will TOTALLY take your mind off your current audio setup.
I'm really amazed at some setups of full range speakers and racks of amps with a 34" direct view or even an RPTV!! I mean THAT"s not a 'theater'!!
Go crazy on the video portion of your HT.. You'd realize that HT sound is way overrated!
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[Edited last by John-D on August 10, 2001 at 11:15 AM]