paradigm 90p speakers (1 Viewer)

[Joe Bachich]

Im doing up my first HT and saw a good deal on a pair of Paradigm 90p speakers. They have a built in powered sub woofer in each speaker. Any comments or critiques?

 

[Martin Rendall]

Pretty respectable speakers.. especially if you get a good price.

While there's definitely no concensus, many believe that routing bass to a dedicated subwoofer will produce better sound. That is, a more flat "volume" for all the lower range frequencies. You can find threads which discuss this in great detail, but there can be some very unfavourable interactions between multiple bass sources. It all depends on placement, room conditions, etc etc etc. If you end up using a dedicated sub, then you probably won't use much of the build in powered subs.... Then you could choose a cheaper Monitor speaker (such as the 7).

Much luck,
Martin.

 

[John Dunlap]

Joe,

I demoed these speakers using the Vertical Limit scene where the Nitro explodes. I found the 90P's to be somewhat lacking in the deep bass dept. IMO-You would be better off with a pair of Monitor 7's and a decent sub. I think you could easily pull this off for about a grand. Not sure how much the 90P's were selling for.

 

[Chas_T]

Joe,
I owned the 90P's ver. 2 for about two months and was quite pleased with them. Good soundstage, nice highs, fine mids and strong base.
I am not a huge base fanatic in any way, but these speakers generated a large amount of picture rattling low end for my room size, which is 16 X 20. Placement was critical in my room so it did not put out that cheap sounding boomy base. Also, the nice thing about these speakers is you do not have to play them loud to enjoy them.
As you know, the nice item about this speaker is the self powered sub/drivers and they met my needs very well for a short period of time. I was not happy with my previous system of Paradigm Studio 20's and a PDR-10 sub and had room size restraints for a sub so I went the P90 route thinking I would be happy.
To be honest, the P90's were an impulse buy after discovering this site and I thought it would be the answer for the moment.
However, after I had them in the home for that time period I found that I was missing the Sound of the Reference line. Some find the Studio's bright in nature, but they are fine for my ears.
The only way I could get the full value on trade in was to step up to the Studio 100's which I did. Now I am looking for a small, powerful sub to compliment them for home theater. The 100's are just fine for my type of music playing in two channel without the need for a sub.
In essence, I am back to square one/full circle again, needing a sub in my room for home theater. I guess it was part of the learning process for me.
I liked the P90's a lot. They are a good speaker for the cost and unless you want earth shattering, room quaking base, for most listeners they will do the trick.
If you are getting a good deal on them, I think you will like them alot, depending on your personal taste.
I drove them initally with an Sony STR-DA777ES 125 watts per, then an Aragon 8002 125 per and finally a Sherbourn 5/1500A. The amp upgrade path made a step up in sound quality every time.
Your purchase sounds like it is a used pair of speakers, so if the price is right and if you compare them to other products in the Paradigm line, such as the monitor series with a sub, let your wallet and ears be your guide.
Here are some reviews on the P90's in case you have not read them before.
Good luck.
Charles
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