Jump from Paradigm Titan to Monitor

[WillKTaylor]

Hey all.

I received a fairly good deal by picking up a pair of Titans for $150 out of the box. They have served their purpose well by pulling surround detail. However, I'm approaching the end of the free upgrade period over at my dealer, and I can't stop thinking that I should take the step up to the Monitor line up, for an extra $120 or so. Would the difference in quality justify this upgrade?

Keep in mind that I'm running Monitor 7's with the CC350 up front and I am very happy with this grouping. My listening room is 20'x14' with carpeting and furniture all around.

I do intend to jump into the Studio line up in a couple of years, so, ya think I'd be better off even going further by picking up Studio 20's and run them off as surrounds for now? Decisions, decisions ...

Thanks for any input .... (btw, I'm happy with Paradigm, so please don't try to talk me outta them ... thx)

Regards

 

[ScottCHI]

i can't speak to the difference in quality, but i can tell you my advice:

get the upgrade. my experience with these sorts of things is that if you don't do it, it WILL "eat at you" later.

 

[John Garcia]

It shouldn't eat at you, but since it is still available, I would do it. You should be able to hear the difference already, since you have monitor mains. IMO, the Minis are noticably clearer than the Titans, even as surrounds, and will blend better with the rest of your speakers. It's not as critical with rears, but it will help.

 

[ChrisWiggles]

The step would definitely be worth it for mains (I went from titans, to mini-monitors, now dynaudios). But for surrounds, I dunno. If it nags at you do it, and if the cash is negligible. I think it would be more than 120 dollars more, the mini-monitors are 350/pr, so you may be getting another deal as it is. If it were *me,* I wouldn't, and spend that money elsewhere in my system, for better mains, etc. You can tell, as I'm only going to have atoms around the back, that this is what I would do, since I've blown way past monitors, or studios with my speakers as it is. I just cant afford to attempt to match them, 2-channel is where my bias is. I do no MC audio, only movies (and not so picky there). So really preference as to what you listen to.

 

[greggor]

I jumped from Atoms to monitor 3's and then to studio 60's with the matching CC all in a 2 year period. I think you should just dive in and get the studio 20's. With paradigm (IMO) there really isn't a huge sound difference between their performance and monitor line of speakers. Infact I really didn't notice a huge improvement in sound quality until I upgraded from Monitor 3's to studio 60's. The lesson I learned is patience. Wait until you can afford to get what you really want and you'll be happier and save money in the long run.

Greg

 

[BrianWoerndle]

I went from Titans to Minis as surrounds. (The Minis were mains that were replaced by 20s, now the Titans are surround backs). The difference was bigger than I thought. The biggest difference was when I went to a 60hz crossover. The Minis can handle a 60hz crossover much better than the Titans (I know, I have a slight dip when the crossover starts sloping off, but overall I am gaining more at 60hz in the room response than I will ever miss in the small dip in the surrounds.) And with your Monitor 7s up front, you would be a great canidate to try lowering your crossover.

 

[cabreau]

Do the upgrade...but don't use the Studio 20's as surrounds while you have Monitor 7's up front. Trade in the Titans and the CC-370. Get two Studio 20's, and a CC-470 or CC-570. Use the studio 20's up front, with the CC-470 (AWESOME MATCH) and use the Monitor 7's out back for surround detail. The Studio series are SOOOOOO much clearer sounding than the Monitors...you won't regret putting that setup in the front. THEN, later on, you can trade in your Monitor 7's for Studio 100's and move the 20's out back for surround at that point.

That is the PERFECT plan for you. That'll be 2 cents please.

Right now, I have Studio 20's and CC-470 up front, and I kept my V.3 Atoms to use for surrounds (7.1 setup). Coupled with a PW-2200, I won't be upgrading for a LOOOOOOONG time. The only possible upgrade I ever see is upgrading the 20's for 100's...but I really don't listen to alot of music up there.

 

[PaulDA]

If you plan to do a lot of multichannel music, then I'd upgrade. Otherwise, if you're reasonably happy with the rears, then I'd save the money (if you have the discipline

) toward the Studio series in the future. Just my opinion.

 

[Marty M]

I agree with PaulDA's opinion. FWIW though, I went from Atoms to Mini-Monitors for my surround and did notice a change. I'm not sure if there would be as noticable change from Titans to Minis.

I am also using Monitor 7s and CC-350 in front. I have been happy with this combination for 6 years.

 

[cabreau]

When I listened to the Monitor 7's vs the Performance line at the store, I didn't notice much. Also, I thought the CC-370 sounded worse than the CC-170 that I had, it was muddy. Then, I listened to the CC-470 and Studio 20's, fell in love and worked around the price issue. LOL.

 

[WillKTaylor]

Thanks all for the great contributions ... which doesn't necessarily make it any easier, though.

I would say that my preference lies 80/20 in favor of home theater material. As I have come to realize in my speaker/receiver infancy, music provides more dynamic range detailing that would otherwise be lost to a better receiver/speaker combo. WIth that said, I'm not as concerned with the jump into the Studio line up unless it would also offer me much better home theater experience with the law of diminishing returns in play.

I'll be honest by saying that I haven't had the priviledge of hearing a properly calibrated book/sub set up for home theater usage, so I'm curious ... if I go for the Studio 20's up front (and moving the M7's to surrounds) instead of a vice versa relationship, would a justifiable benefit be there for home theater even though I do not have a sub? If so, then most accordingly, the hop over Monitor series to Studio 20's seems the most likely with the thought in mind to finish up with 40's and finally getting a good sub. This seems like a lasting relationship where I wouldn't have to upgrade again for many years ... ?

Anyway, thanks for following through the wordy response. Upgrading is not necessarily painless affair for someone on somewhat of a budget. That's why I'm here. Thanks again ....

Regards

 

[PaulDA]

If you don't have a sub, you might find it better to stick with the Monitor 7s as your mains. IMO, if you make the move to a total Studio setup, you'll be set for quite some time. I was down to the Studios or the Boston Acoustic series I eventually bought. It was very, very close and I would have been quite happy with either set. In the end, I got a better deal on the Bostons (otherwise, to me it really was a toss-up). My initial choices were the Monitor series from Paradigm (5s all around with a CC-370) and the Energy Connoisseurs (C-5 fronts, C-3 rears, CC-3 centre). I liked them both (my wife nixed the Energy line, didn't like the high frequency tone) and would likely have been satisfied, except I was exposed to the Bostons and the Studios (as well as B&W CM2s) and suddenly, I "knew" there was another level of quality that I'd thought out of reach. I had to stretch my budget a fair bit, and downgrade my goals on my DVD (was thinking of Denon 2900 or even 5900). I still would have been happy with the Monitors, though I would likely have sought to upgrade sooner, rather than later. Now, with the Bostons, I don't think I'll feel the need to trade up anytime soon. To make sure, I auditioned some speakers in the next price category up and the difference was not as striking as the previous step up had been, so I'm pretty confident of my choice. All this to say the Studios, IMO are at a level where you'll need to spend SERIOUS coin to make a notable trade up in sound quality--if you like the Studio "sound", of course.

Just remember, it takes a bit of discipline to not give in to "upgraditis" (as my wife will attest

).

Good luck.

 

[mackie]

I recently upgraded to a Studio 40, CC470, Studio 20 package, and I'm very happy with it. The Studio 20 is a solid purchase that will add lots of flexibility in the future since it can be used for mains and surrounds. Unfortunately, the 20's do need a sub to make a really satisfying HT or music experience, but with a sub they will make a VERY satisfying HT and music experience. FWIW I was patient and saved for about a year before I upgraded. During that time I auditioned many different speakers in many different price ranges, and I kept coming back to the studio series due to the performance vs. price issue. I'm very content with my upgrades since I shopped around and eliminated all of the, "What if?" questions.

 

[greggor]

With paradigm speakers I believe that unless your willing to purchase their studio series speakers or their new signature line of speakers you will always be somewhat dissapointed or less then satisfied with the results. I don't buy into all the hype from reviewers who casually state that a speaker like the Atom outperforms speakers costing ten times the price. I think Paradigm speakers sound propotional to their pricing. I was always slightly dissapointed with the lower end paradigms or performance/monitor series speakers. I do however think the studio line of speakers sound great and are priced reasonably for what you get. Take the advise given in a few of these threads and upgrade to the studio line. In the future its what you will probably end up doing anyways. Good Luck!

Greg

 

[Brian Harnish]

What can I expect to pay for a pair of Studio 100s and the CC-470 and Studio 20s for the surrounds? Since I'm upgrading my system I might as well spring for my dream audio system that will last me for a few years (and then some!).

 

[mackie]

Studio 100s are approximately $2200, 60s are $1500, 40s are $1100, CC470 is approximately $600, and Studio 20's are about $800. Depending on the dealer, expect a minimum of 10% off retail. Some will go higher or lower, and from my understanding Paradigm is rigid about their pricing. Something to consider on the speakers is that all of the studio series will make solid main speakers, so listen to all of them before buying. The 20s and 40s are great with a sub, so you might save some cash.

 

[greggor]

This is very true. Infact, they all sound remarkably similiar. I went with studio 60's for mains, 40's for surrounds with the matching Studio CC. I additioned all the speakers in the studio line and was equally impressed with all of them. What sold me on my set-up was the extra headroom gained by the 60's vice the 20's and I didn't want my mains to be on speaker stands, which ruled out the 40's. I just recently bought the 40's to be used as surrounds because the deal was to good to pass up otherwise I would have purchased studio 20's for surrounds. Good luck and have fun.

Greg

 

[cabreau]

Not having a sub for home theater is NOT AN OPTION...so I'll pretend that you never even said that...and I'll assume that you have SOME sort of sub. The Studio 20's are outstanding and deliver a rich enough sound to handle the fronts. The CC-470 is outstanding for the center also. I would not suggest going to a CC-570 unless you are getting the Studio 100's. For surround, let the Atoms handle that stuff. They do an oustanding job and will save you from spending over $1000. I couldn't justify spending as much for surrounds as I did for my fronts/center/sub. I'd rather put more into the fronts and just keep my Atoms in the back.

As far as what Greggor said...I must disagree. I personally thought that the Atoms sounded better than some of the lower model Monitor line. As soon as I heard the Studio's however, I was in love.