Paradigm, Bose, Athena or Polk Audio? (1 Viewer)

[Jan Strnad]

I attended one of the special Bose demonstrations at Fry's. They had set up an auditorium just to demo the Bose systems...no comparisons or competition here! They did the gimmick (a pretty good one, actually) of hiding the little cube speakers inside fake speaker boxes, then removing the boxes halfway through the presentation.

By that time, though, my ears were hurting. The sound was harsh and even spoken voices sounded awful. I had ear fatigue after about 5 minutes and couldn't wait for the demonstration to end.

I couldn't imagine spending over a thousand dollars on a system this poor.

Jan

 

[Chris Quinn]

Bose v. Paradigm quality/price.

The Paradigm quality and sound is far above the AM10 for likely less than a couple hundred more. There are many systems that are better than the Bose for the same price. Bose has to recoup all that ad money. If you can return them then go listen to what else is out there and decide.

 

[Michael_V]

Are people really putting Polk above Paradigm on these lists? Are we comparing the higher end Polks (LSi) with lower end Paradigms (Atoms, Titans)? Can Polk really compete with the Reference Studios?

By the way, comparing Paradigm to Bose is like comparing an Aston-Martin to a Yugo. The difference between the two should be so self-evident, it is simply not worth the time it takes to make the argument.

 

[Jim Prillaman]

Having used both Bose (Acoustimass 7 and Model 100's) and Paradigm (Reference Studio/60's, Studio/CC, and Studio/ADP's), I will concur with Michael_V -- Bose doesn't even belong on the list. I'm not sure which it's more unfair to: Paradigm for placed in the company of Bose, or Bose for being placed alongside a simply superior product. You can spend less money on Paradigms (Titans, etc) than Bose Acoustimass and get a significantly better product. Just my $0.02...

 

[Brian Kleinke]

Well has anyone actually compared the Polk LSi's to the Paradigm Reference?

I for one did compare the lower end Paradigms to the Polk RTi and choose the Polk's. And I didn't own or know anything about Polk back then so I wasn't playing Brand Loyalty.

The Polk LSi's are very very good speakers and because they are Polk's most people don't seem to give them any credit. For this reason rating the two speakers without listening to both is futile.

By the way, comparing Paradigm to Bose is like comparing an Aston-Martin to a Yugo. The difference between the two should be so self-evident, it is simply not worth the time it takes to make the argument.

I would agree with you there, and say the same thing about Polk vs Bose. However this may not be true for someone who hasn't listened to anything but Bose. Paradigm and Polk build speaker, Bose builds name recognition and hype.

 

[Paul Seyfarth]

"Are people really putting Polk above Paradigm on these lists? Are we comparing the higher end Polks (LSi) with lower end Paradigms (Atoms, Titans)? Can Polk really compete with the Reference Studios?"

The Polk LSi series sound better than the paradigm studio series.

1-Polk Audio
2-Paradigm
3-Athena
4-most cheap speaker systems
99-Bose

There is no need for the price of bose, plenty of other cheap small speaker systems sound better.

 

[Frank Zimkas]

I like to listen to Bose speakers! Of course I also like to chew on tin foil while shaving my head with a cheese grater, so my opinion may not count for much!

 

[Michael_V]

Frank,

Ha ha!

By the way, your HT looks sweet. Very clean. Well done!

M

 

[brentl]

"Is it worth returning them for 2 Paradigm Titans, a CC170, 2 ADP 170s and a PDR10? "

YES YES YES

 

[DavidBelis]

I finally got to listen to and price out some Paradigms, and yes, they definitely do sound a lot better than the Bose.

Is this a good deal? After a bit of bargaining, the price came to about $1400 CDN (about $900 US) after tax, for:

2 Titans, 2 Atoms, a CC70, a PDR 8, and 4 speakers stands.

How do the Atoms compare to the ADP 170s? Because at Paradigm's site, all the recommended systems in the Performance line have ADPs at the rear.

Also, is it at all worth upgrading to the CC170 ($50 CDN extra) or the PDR 10 (I think it was $100 CDN extra, but I forget)?

 

[James Tg]

I used to compare Studio 40 and LSi 9 in a local store. They are neck to neck. The sensitivities of the two models are similar, but LSi 9 is 4 Ohm nominal impedance v.s. Studio 8 Ohm. It means LSi 9 requires twice the current to drive. As far as the sound quality, they are close. Since I already have Studio CC and ADP at home, and long excellent reputation from Paradigm (LSi was new at the time), it is a no brainer from me to pick Studio 40. So far, I have never regretted my decision.

 

[ernie.bin]

David,

That's not too far off but I think you can do a little better. This is what I paid in vancouver:

Titans: $235
Atoms: $180
cc-170: $210
pdr-10: $375
front stands: $90

In this deal, they threw in banana plugs here and there.
This was about a year ago, but a friend of mine was able to get the same deal from a different store in victoria about 5 months ago.

 

[Dave Ma]

NO POLK sounds better then PARADIGM REFERENCE. Only in someones dreams! They need a trip to the EAR doctor and Fast.

 

[Andrew Walbert]

If you question whether we hate Bose because they are the "biggest name in the industry" or because they genuinely put out a bad product, let me tell you of my experience with Bose.

I own the Bose CS-10 center, and a pair of Bose 201-IV speakers for my left/right. I also have a pair of ultra-cheap SoundDesign speakers that came with my $80 stereo from about ten years ago. These make up my rear speakers. At first, when I got my Bose, I wasn't exactly blown away by the sound quality, but I figured, hey, this is Bose, so it must be as good as it really gets. A couple years later, for kicks, I switched the Bose 201-IV and SoundDesign speakers. Low and behold, I could hear the difference. The SoundDesign crap actually sounded cleaner and produced a more audible range of sound. Go figure. The speakers that came with an $80 stereo sounded better than the speakers that cost $150 each by themselves. As I became more accustomed to listening for distortion (a result of turning my car stereo into a clean, clear audio environment), I began to realize that the SoundDesign speakers really sucked, yet still sounded better than Bose. I mean, Bose actually ruined FOTR:EE for me, because it sounds so horribly distorted. Yet the cleanest speaker in my entire system is my Acoustic Research 12" subwoofer. Yeah, the sub is cleaner than the other speakers. Scary, huh?

So, how would I rate this?

1. Paradigm (the Studio 100's are amazing, never heard anything like them before)
2. Polk (great sound for the money, but there are better options out there)
x. Athena (haven't heard them)
0. Bose (do not buy them. ever.)

 

[Paul Seyfarth]

"NO POLK sounds better then PARADIGM REFERENCE. Only in someones dreams! They need a trip to the EAR doctor and Fast."

have you even heard the Polk LSi series?

 

[greggor]

I have and I chose the Paradigms studio 60's over the polk LSi's. The Paradigms had a smoother mid range than the Polks had. I also remember the Paradigms being less expensive than the Polks. It is very hard to beat the quality of Paradigm for the price.

This of course does not mean that Paradigm is better than Polk. Paradigms just sounded better to me than the Polks did.

Greg

 

[Michael_V]

Dave,

Could you please tone down your posts? No need to offend. I personally have and love Reference Studios, but others love their Polk LSis. When we are talking about speakers at this level of performance, personal preference carries a lot more weight.

Greggor,

Off topic, but I got your email about Japan, just couldn't respond for some reason. In any case, you will enjoy your time here. Just make sure you make all your big HT purchases before you leave the States. . . .

 

[Chris Quinn]

David- Definitely get the 170 remember that your center channel carries around 80% of a movie's sound. I'd also get bigger sub. As for the Atoms as surrounds that more of personal taste. Some like direct sound and others like indirect. Depending on your room you can bounce the sound off the side walls or ceiling for diffusion of sound from your surrounds. I have Atoms aimed directly for my surrounds and like it.

 

[DavidBelis]

I have 1 more question:

Today, I auditioned a few different speakers, and heard the Bose 301s, (which sounded better that my Acoustimass, but still not very good at all)

Afterwards, I auditioned some Polk Audio speakers (I forget if they were the R50s or the RTi70s. I'm leaning towards RTi70, though, but I'm not positive).

Anyways, I thought these sounded very good.

I got to audition them in a room, along with a 450 subwoofer, and like I said, they sounded much better than the Bose.

Also, like a mentioned befoirehand in this thread, a few days ago, I got to audition the Pardigm Titans with a PDR 8, and from what I heard, they also sounded very good, but I did not get to listen for very long, or at a very high volume, whereas I did that with the Polk.

So, my question is about the fronts and subwoofer only: in your opinion, how to Paradigm Titans, and a PDR 8 compare to Polk RTi70s and a 450 woofer?

The Paradigms are less expensive, but aside from money, how do they compare sound quality-wise?

 

[Mark Russ]

David, in that particular match up which you are inquring about, Polk wins big, IMHO.