Paradigm Atoms...a disapointment! Where'd the guitar go!! (1 Viewer)

[salim_N]

Man, what a disappointment! I just upgraded from the Energy Take 5.2's to the Paradigm Atoms. Having auditioned their Mini Monitors and Studio 20's so I expected at least fidelity and clarity. I know they are not in the same class but given the overwhelmingly positive reviews...I thought it would be a safe bet and a good upgrade. After three days of critical listening using same receiver (Yammy rx-v620 soon to be a 1600) and placement, these are my biggest issues:

(I only listened to songs I knew extremely well)
-Its as though they had been designed to play guitars (specially rock) at a lower volume and with the treble at 1. It's weird because half of the songs sounded fine, but on the other half I was like "where the hell did the guitar go?".
-Backup vocals on some songs sounded faint and hard to make out.
-Bass is a little boomy but it's great improvement over the Energy's.

That being said, the Atoms have a great soundstage and definition is really impressive on certrain types of music. Overall, my initial impressions are " inconsist and a tad laid back."
I wasn't blown away in the way I was when I upgraded from my old JBL NSP1 system (N24 front and rears) to the Take 5.2's.

So, I think I'll have to return these but my options are limited due to height (10.75" max) restrictions so i'm looking at the NHT SB1 and Monitor Audio Bronze B1's. Anyone have any suggestions? Opinions? Please fire away!

 

[John Garcia]

Laid back? You mean the midrange right? All the 'digms I've owned (and I've owned quite a few) have been bright. Compared to Energy, maybe not quite as bright I never really found the Atoms to be that great for music, though they sounded better when pushed harder rather than at low volume. They were good for the price, but not a speaker that I would call world class. IMO, the Minis are a step up, but sort of in the same boat. The height restriction is a serious limitation because most of the speakers I'd recommend are taller than that. Ascend CBM-170, Mordaunt Short 902, Epos ELS-3 (*4ohm).

 

[Jack Briggs]

Salim: FYI, in the future, please notify an administrator that you posted in the wrong section and he will move your post/thread to the correct area. Do not simply go to the proper area and start the thread over. Thanks. JB

 

[salim_N]

Sorry Jack.

 

[John Garcia]

Do you have a width restriction too? Maybe you can look at some of those speakers mentioned and lay them on their side?

 

[salim_N]

Yeah I considered those but, like you said, too big...
This is how bad it is:

 

[John Garcia]

How about these guys?

http://www.onecall.com/ProductDetail...=true&id=21573

Especially if you already have a sub, since the package doesn't come with one. The sats are just 8 1/2" tall.

 

[Jimi C]

Epos ELS-3 Are around $300, they always have amazing reviews. Not to mention that they fall under your height restrictions.

http://www.epos-acoustics.com/produc...13&lookup=els3

 

[derekBannatyne]

Hey I just got these speakers on Thursday, I must say they sound amazing, well to my ears at least. This may be because I previously had htib speakers, but these definitely sound good. I can see what people are talking about when they say they sound bright...but it's not harsh or anything like some of the Klipsch speakers. I read your post on AVS Forum about your speakers not sounding good with U2 and such, but I'm listening to New Year's Day right now and they sound pretty good to me... the built in brackets are nice too.

 

[Chris Quinn]

You can lay Ascend Acoustics 170s on their side without an issue. The 170s compare favorably with Paradigm Studio 20s.

Athena is Energy's budget line so those would be similiar to the Take 5.2s.

 

[Chris Quinn]

What is your TV on to be that high? Maybe changing that out would help you. Does it hurt your neck to look up at that? Do you sit in the front row at the movie theater?

 

[John Garcia]

DOH, if not identical; somehow I forgot we were talking about the Take5.2s. They are probably too close to warrant that purchase.

One more thing: The Atoms, as with most speakers, aren't going to like the location that you have for them. Very close to the ceiling and wall (I can see, not much of an option) is going to make them sound a little compressed. In fact, if you had those Atoms still, you might try flipping them over 180 deg. so the tweeter is on the bottom so the tweeter isn't reflecting directly off the ceiling.

 

[Chu Gai]

With all due respect, why do you consider the Atoms an upgrade? Mr. Garcia's comments regarding speaker placement bears serious consideration.