Gravy Time!!!!!!!!!!!!1 (1 Viewer)

[ryan.p]

Hello once again people. It has been said on various other forums and the like that the Ascend cbm-170 is on par with the Paradigm Studio 20. Likewise, the Ascend cmt-340m is on par with the Paradigm Studio 40. Furthermore, the Studio 20' s and the 40's seem to offer lower bass extension. My position on that is nill because I have a Paradigm PS-1000 10" sub that provides all the clean undistorted bass I want. Therefore, beside the Ascends lacking a little in the bass end of the spectrum are there any other disadvantages when compared to the studio 20 and studio 40? I must say that the studio 20 has impressed me the most of any speaker in its class. The studio 40 did not do much for me at all. The 20's imaged better, were punchier, sounded much more detailed and controlled. In particular, I really enjoyed the 20's spaciousness more and it never once sounded overly bright to me. More laid back and very competent in what it was doing. It really is an amazing speaker. To say the Ascend CBM-170 is on par with the studio 20 is a HUGE statement to make. Those are awful big shoes to fill. If so, then the CBM-170 would have to be the deal of the century coming in at $328 a pair. The studio 20's will cost at least $750 a pair. So Ascend owners please speak up. Lets just leave bass extension out of the equation so to speak. Does Paradigm offer any other advantages other than bass extension? Please be specific and elaborate. Thank you for your time. Please share your thought with us.

 

[mackie]

Might be opening a can of worms with this one. It seems that just about every internet direct company says or has people say their speakers are better than the Paradigm Studio series. I've read comments by Rocket, Swan, Ascend, and Axiom owners that say that which I find interesting. The studio series speakers are all good speakers that offer good value for the money which is why so many target the studio series for comparison. It almost seems that Paradigm is the standard that many use to judge a speaker. I own one of the internet direct company's speakers. While it is a decent speaker and a good value, it does not have the detail, imaging capabilities, or width and depth of sound-stage my Studio 40s have. It sounds good for casual or background music but falls noticeably short of the 40s for critical listening.

 

[AlanZ]

I have not heard the Ascends, but I tend to echo the sentiments of Mackie. I'm very familiar with the Studio line-up, and I think some of these comparions are a tad hasty. I had heard many Axiom owners comparing their speakers to the studios, but when I recently heard a pair of the m22i Axioms, there was no way it compared to a studio 20. That's just my opinion, of course, and to be fair I'll point out that the price on the m22 is under $500 while the studio/20s will run you closer to $700. I'd say the Axioms compete comfortably against the paradigm monitor line, but not the studios.

I don't know how some of the other internet brands compare, but while the Axioms are good for the money, they aren't in the same class as the studio line.

 

[VinhT]

The problem is that many Internet-direct companies simply do not have the resources to compete with the research and development efforts of larger, well-established companies. This also applies to many of the small, esoteric, "high-end" retail brands. Paradigm is especially difficult to beat because their methodology is sound. I know we all love to find a great deal that purportedly beats products at X times the price. The claims sometimes get out of hand. I do not feel the CBM-170 is competitive with the Studio 20.

The Paradigm Studio 20 has three advantages over the Ascend CBM-170.
1) Better off-axis characteristic, resulting in a more neutral in-room sound
2) Lower distortion
3) Designed for use with the grille on

 

[MikeLi]

The other thing to consider whether an internet company or a store b/m brand... What is on the inside as far as components. Obviously build quality of the box is nice but the components are what makes the most if you get the drift. Also there are so many here that want a $1K internet brand because someone told them it was as good as say a $3K B/M brand. This just is not true. While there are some great internet brands out there (I happen to own a set) it still up to your ears to decide and thats why you need to listen to everything you can in hopefully a good setting and if possible with your gear and your home setting. If speakers all sounded the same the world would be a boring place for music. Again I have spent twice as much on B/M speakers only to find a specific top line internet speaker for a bit cheaper that sounded better to me. Could easily be the other way around for someone elses ears. But folks when tying to compair the both lets not try to compair a 2K speaker to a $850 internet speaker. Does not matter where the 2K speaker comes from its probably going to win out.