Klipsch vs. Paradigm vs. B&W (1 Viewer)

[Fran Lu]

I've auditioned these speakers in the past couple of weeks. I'm curious to get people's opinons on these - even though I realize this is purely subjective. I've been auditioning the entry level speakers primarily (Paradigm Performance, B&W 300-series, etc.), and even though I feel I have a sense of what sounds good, I'm interested in hearing how others perceive the various brands and their products.

1) What type of sound characteristics would you say generally, that each brand of speakers posesses? (bright vs. mellow, tinny vs. full, etc.)

2) How would you rank the three brands comparatively based upon quality of product? For example, I see B&W and Paradigm on roughly the same level, but not sure where Klipsch falls in relation to the other two.

3) Price being roughly the same - which entry-level speaker set up do you prefer and why?

Feedback appreciated.

 

[Nick Breckon]

I've only heard Klipsch and Paradigm. Overall, I find Klipsch to be a good deal more bright than the Paradigm sound. Paradigm seems to have a more open, full sound compared to those horn tweeters. It all depends what sounds good to you though. I just got some Paradigm Studio 40's/20's that I absolutely love, but that's me. I don't dislike the Klipsch sound as a lot of people seem to - I just prefer the one over the other. Also, I'm not even close to being half as knowledgeable as some of the people on this board.

As far as quality of product, all I can say is I've had some very poor experiences with Klipsch in the past (woofer amps blown within the first minute of play, etc), although mostly with their Promedia speakers and not with HT setups.

 

[Mike Carter]

A friend and I just listened to all 3 plus more of the brands you mentioned. We also brought CD's on familer music. We got to listen to B&W and Klipsch in the same room so I can give you an accurate thought on what we heard.

Klipsch was the overall winner with us. The Klipsch did not sound harsh in the mid to upper end. Instead Klipsch sounded very open and detailed in the mids and upper end. Plus the mid bass was natural and warm. It seems that with out listening to a modern Klipsch speaker people see a horn and automatically think harsh. I know I did, however those days are long gone!

Paradigm had excellent highs, very crisp but the speaker sounded like it was pre-EQ'd. The Paradigm was very lacking in mid bass and upper mids. It sounded like someone took an EQ and dumped everything around 150-300Hz and 2.5 to 4hz in order to make the low's very tight and the high crisp. Not natural at all.

B&W had a great overall balance except for the very highs, the highs you would hear in a band with a horn section lacked the crispness and attack the Klipsch had. The B&W mids sounded a little hollow as well.

All 3 brands are built fine and I do not believe anyone of them would fall apart due to bad construction.

 

[Dan Halchak]

It's all about opinions... You have to go with what sounds best to you.

I disagree with Mike, because I thought the Klipsch just didn't have the detail and accuracy that the Paradigms had. And I did think the Paradigms had a little bit hollow sound do them over the B&Ws. I just really liked how clear and detailed the sound was of the B&Ws...

Course I checked out the higher lines of all three speaker manufactures and ended up with the 600 series from B&W. If I was looking at B&W, I wouldn't look at the 300 series, only start at the 600.

Unforuneately, you are the only one that knows what you are looking for in a sound. We can only offer you what we heard with different speakers...

All three are great speakers, so at least you aren't getting something like... Bos.......well I'll just leave that alone.

 

[Jesse Sharrow]

I personally prefer the sound of B&W. I have never heard paradigm but I hear good things. But out of B&W and Klipsch I still think the highs are too in your face for my tastes, I like crisp highs, but not to bright. My bostons have tweeters that proably go just as high as the Klipsch, but they are alot softer sounding. But over all I like the B&W's, the klipsch I think are for people who like to play it loud!

But the B&W Nautilus series is the only speaker that has ever made my jaw drop. Absolutly amazing!

 

[zangler]

i have heard all three, and prefer the b&w's...i do agree that you should at least go to the 600 series on the b&w's and i would say the monitor series on the paradigms.

 

[cabreau]

I've owned Paradigm Atoms and I now own Paradigm Studio 20's. While I love my Paradigms, I liked the sound of the B&W's also. Klipsch are just too tinny and harsh for my ears.

 

[Paul Rosen]

About a month ago, I was in the same position as you, auditioning new speakers for an upgraded system. After listening to a lot of speakers, I narrowed it down to your three as well. In the end, I went with the B&W's, although the Paradigm and Klipsch were close behind, in that order. I got the B&W LCR60 for center and 601's for L/R and surrounds. Incidentally, I loved the B&W's so much, I upgraded the L/R's to 604's and they are awesome.

Even though I thought the B&Ws had the best sound reproduction and accuracy, I did not particularly like their sub. I liked the Klipsch sub the best out of the three, but ended up getting a Velodyne 15" Sub and love it.

Paul