Paradigm Studo 100's Ver.3 Back Baby!! (1 Viewer)

[Steven Simon]

Well,

I finally went back to the Studio 100's.... About a year ago, I closed down my Theater in the basement, and sold off most of my Paradigm Speakers, Including the Studio 100's version2, and the matching set. I moved my theater into a smaller room being a family member had to move into the basement. Well, my brother is gone, and I have come back with a vegance. I started with the Marantz Vp12 S3 DLP projector, and Stewart Studio Tech Motorized screen, and used the smaller set of Paradigm Reference with Studio 40's for mains, Studio CC's, ADP's and 20's...

I have a large room, and the 40's were just not cutting it... SO today I picked up a brand new pair of Studio 100's Version 3, and what a difference in soundstage it makes.... Boy I missed my 100's... They are truly an amazing speaker!!!! Much larger, more dynamic sound stage, tighter bass, and simply stunning imaging..... Man am I one happy camper!!!

 

[Bill Blank]

Steve,

Way to go sacrificing to help your bro out! Congrats on getting your system back at what I assume is an improvement from your previous.

I lived with a full Vienna Acoustics setup for around 2 years. They're very nice speakers but over time I just found them to be uninvolving, lacking excitement with my favorite albums.

I remembered how much of an impact the sound of Studio 60's had on me when I was auditioning. I went to listen to a pair of 100's (v3) and there was that sound again. That was almost 6 months ago...I haven't looked back since!

The 100's play my music (rock) better than any other speaker I've ever heard. Highs are smooth, mids are clear, and bass extends low with weight. They image almost as good as the Mozarts did but I'll sacrifice a bit of that for more raw emotion that my favorite CDs deserve.

Bill

 

[AlanZ]

I purchased my v.2's a year ago, and they have been more than satisfying. I was wondering if you guys could speak to the differences between the v.2 and the v.3?

 

[Kenneth Harden]

I have always loved the Paradigm Reference series. I know someone who was going to get some Reference 100's, but had to get a Lifestyle system instead

 

[Bill Blank]

Poor guy...that's quite a compromise.:frowning:

 

[Kenneth Harden]

WAF...

 

[Jay Mitchosky]

Should have taken Steve's 40s off his hands. Those speakers are one of Paradigm's best kept secrets. Certainly not going to have the "fill factor" of the 100s but they rock nevertheless. More than they have a right to for the price and size.

I'll be unboxing my trusty 60s hopefully in another couple of months as my new theater nears completion. I miss those guys! I'll stick with my v1 system for the time being (video and front end more in need of upgrades) but eventually I may move up to the v3 100s. No worries about WAF as I'll be in a dedicated room this time. One change I will make up front, however, is trading in my Servo-15 for the Seismic-12. Picked up a Seismic-10 for my upstairs great room and its size keeps it nicely tucked out of the way. People wonder that the hell is going on when they all of a sudden get hit by a Mack truck and don't know where it's coming from. Great little sub.

 

[Steven Simon]

They are resting in a closet right now Jay... I may use them for my rears though... undecided....

 

[Shane Martin]

Upgrading the Center to go with it Steven?

Now all we need is Trevor to show up and this will be like old times...

 

[Steven Simon]

Yeah....

The good old Paradigm days....

Prolly not on the CC... Should I be looking too?? The Version 3 is that much different??

 

[Jay Mitchosky]

Steve, have you tried moving those 100s up and together a bit? They seem a bit close to the wall, and towers like that would probably benefit from a bit more breathing room.

 

[Paul Fa]

Hi,
I'm struggling with funding to make the leap between Monitor 11's and Studio 100's, but Jay's comment brings up a point I need to ask about. In many reviews of the 11's and 100's the recomended distance from the back wall has been between 48" and 65" in order to get the best sound out of them. This could be a serious problem for me not to mention a WAF killer. How many people with a 'normal' living room actually put their mains FOUR FEET into the room??? That would put them at least 2 feet in front of most TVs and of course the center sitting on top would then be out of alignment. I can easily see this in a true home theatre like Steve's, but I don't see this happening in even a relatively large (24'x22') room like mine. Am I doomed to poor sound if I don't make an obstacle course of my room??

Thanks,
paul

 

[AlanZ]

Paul:
I've owned both of the speakers you mention. I had them approx 22" from the wall and they sounded great. The room I had them in was very open, and both pairs filled them extremely well. I obviously noticed an overall improvement in sound quality with the studios, but the Monitor 11s did just as good of a job at filling the area with sound.

 

[greggor]

Good call. My Studio 40's make excellent surrounds with studio 60's up front. Very nice set-up, enjoy your new V3 100's.

Greg

 

[Paul Fa]

Thanks for the reply AlanZ - that makes me feel a little better now - whew!

I am really looking foward to becoming part of the "New Paradigm Group" and being able to talk about these speakers, placement, room set-up etc.

I will be going back to a great place in the South Bay area of Los Angeles that I demo's the Monitor 11's, CC370, and ADP370 at last Wednesday - to do a blind A/B demo between that system and the Studio 100's, CC570, and ADP470(?). The extra $1,500-$1,800 is probably going to force me to go with the Monitor series, but I want to see if I can actually hear a 30%-50% difference in sound for the same % of $!! If I really think I can tell that much of difference, then I guess I'll get the Studios and put off getting a new Universal player and maybe downgrade the sub for now. That brings me to another question:

What do you guys think of the difference in a room like mine between the Pw2200 and the Servo15? Again, at $500-$800 more, will I hear that much difference? Maybe I can afford to get the Servo15 if I stay with the Monitor series. In your opinion is there another sub that rivals the Servo15 for $800-$1,000?

I may sign on the dotted line at this dealer on this coming Wednesday - so all the input you guys can give me will be much appreciated!!

Thanks,
Paul

 

[mackie]

When you demo check out the 40's too. The studio series speakers sound a lot alike and going the with 40s may allow you to get into this line for less $$$ than you think. I use 40's, 470, and 20's. Sounds great.

 

[AlanZ]

I agree with Mackie.....the only reason I went with the 100s over the 40's was because of the size of the room. I initially had the Monitor 5's, but when I moved into my house the room just swallowed them up, so I went out and picked up the 11's. The 11's are a great speaker, and they just filled the room accurately and dynamically with music and movies. When I upgraded to the studio line, I just assumed the 40's would suffer from the same problem as the Monitor 5's did, so I just went right to the 100s. But the better quality drivers in the 40's may be able to hold their own in your living room.....if so, just add a sub and I doubt you'd be able to tell much difference between that set-up and one with the 100s. And of course, don't forget to consider SVS for all your subwoofer needs

 

[Jason GT]

Paul, if you're going to listen to music (and your talk about a universal player indicates that you do) IMO Studios are the way to go.

Will you hear 30% better sound between Studio and Monitor? Probably not (diminishing returns and all that). Is the sound going to be noticeably better? Yes, definitely.

In the long run I'd bite the bullet and pay more now (higher cost to get in) than more later (upgrades!). Also, don't be afraid to try out direct radiating speakers as surrounds - not only may you like the sound better but you will save money.

 

[mackie]

I did drool over the 100s a long time but room size and budget directed me to the 40s. If I had a larger room and larger budget I would have gotten the 100s, but I just couldn't resist the high definition tv.

 

[Paul Fa]

Thanks guys for all the good input. I do like to listen to music both quiet and LOUD (90-100db) and since I have a pretty large room (22'x24') with high open-beam ceilings and some large opening into other rooms, I feel like the full-range 11's/100's just fill in that area better than bookshelfs do. I listened to some remarkable Ascend speakers last night at pretty loud levels, but even the guy running the demo had to admit he was probably reaching their outer limits - but they were very nice and clean up to that volume.
I'll be using a Harmon Kardon Citation 16 amp (160wpc) to run the mains and a Denon 3805 for the surrounds, zone 2, etc.
I think I'll save some money on not going with the Servo15 ($1800+) and use that savings for direct radiating rears or second zone speakers - maybe monitor 5's???