Paradigm vs Energy Questions (1 Viewer)

[Greg Olson]

I have been looking at new speakers for my home theater, and I think I have decided on the Energy C-3 ($499/pr)for the fronts and C-R1 Surrounds($175each)and C-C1 center($349)at Goodguys. But I think I should go up to Canada and listen to the Paradigms. I have never heard them, but they have great reviews. So I better give them a look. What would be compairable system to the Energys be in the the Paradigms? I looked on the web site a really like the Monitor 5's, CC-370, ADP-370 setup. But I don't even know what price range the Paradigm are in? I am trying to stay around $1500 or so. I will be adding them to a SVS 20-39PCI+ (soon to be ordered). Any ideas what Paradigm's cost and any good places to audition them in the Vancouver/Surrey/Abbotsford area?

 

[John Garcia]

I listened to some Connoisseurs last week with a nice Jolida tube amp and a Denon transport and I was really not impressed with the speakers. Plenty bass, though not very accurate at it's bottom, and they still had that characteristic ringing sound in the upper midrange and highs that has kept me from being a fan of Energy.

I have Monitor 5s & CC370 up front, with Titans + CC170 out back and I am very pleased with them. I got a very good deal on the 5s and they do an excellent job of both music an movies. In the price range, the 5s are a tough contender. You shouldn't really need to go to Canada to audition, but if you can buy them there, you will likely save some $$.

Monitor 5 V3 are about $540/pr, CC370 - $330, ADPs are just downright expensive (~$500ish /pr?), you might want to consider Mini Monitors instead @ $340/pr.

If these are what you are seriously looking at, near the same price, I'd also listen to the B&W DM602 S3 and the Axiom M22Ti.

 

[MatthewK]

I second looking into the Axiom M2i or M22Ti's (review )... especially if you will be pairing them with an SVS!
Probably could get an whole system for under US$1500 pretty easily...
But don't want to steal the thread.
Matthew

 

[Sihan Goi]

If you're already going to Canada, you might as well check out the PSB Image series too. They're in the same price bracket as the Paradigm Monitor series, and AFAIK sound better.

 

[Kevin C Brown]

I just decided between the Energy C-3's and Paradigm Mini Monitors for rears in a 7.1 system. Went with Energy.
I couldn't find any freq response curves for the Mini Monitors, so I emailed Paradigm. They emailed back, kind of gruffly in fact, that it wasn't company policy to publish that info outisde the company. OK...
But this is what I did find:
http://www.stereophile.com/showarchives.cgi?664:4
http://www.stereophile.com/showarchives.cgi?628:3
Both have unacceptable freq response performance, IMO. But here's what I found for the Energy's:
http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/energy_c3.htm
(Click on the measurements box.) Pay particular attention to both Fig 3's from Stereophile, and Chart 2 from the C-3 review. The measurement methods obviously are not exactly the same. But this satisfied me that I made the right decision.
You should read all the reviews too for context. For those of you who don't know, the NRC "up north" is one of the pre-eminant research venues for loudspeaker development in the world.
I 100% believe that it is more likely that a speaker that measures well, also sounds good. But a lot less likely that a speaker that measure poorly will sound good.
But you have to decide for yourself.

 

[Robert_Z]

Greg, here is my experience with these two brands of speakers... and keep in mind I am no audiophile.

I had an HT system consisting of a Paradigm CC-170 and two pairs of Titans, along with a Yamaha receiver. I was impressed with HT performance, but was never able to gain any musical satisfaction. More specifically, when watching bang-bang shoot-em-up movies, the harsh Paradigm tweeters let every trebly sound come through in force. Great speakers for movies. But I prefer laid back, mellow music. It is impossible for me to enjoy such music with the Paradigms, because the tweeters were too harsh. I auditioned the Monitor series and found them to be more abrasive than the performance series.

I recently auditioned the C-C1 in my system, and although it was better than the CC-170, I was not overly impressed. Let's just say that for $350, I was expecting...something more. I did buy the Energy C-5s for my mains, and I am happy with them. I upgraded to a Denon 3802 receiver, and the Energy/Denon combo is great. I recently replaced the CC-170 with an Energy AC-300. Whoa! I finally know what timbre matching means. The AC-300 and C-5 combo is, as they say, seamless, whereas the Paradigms never gave me that sensation.

I tried listening to the Paradigms with the new Denon receiver, thinking maybe the receiver was making my C-5s sound so good...but nope, the Paradigms were still too fatiguing for me. The Energy tweeter is great.

So my advice is, go for the Energy C series...and although the C-C1 will work fine, my experience leads me to recommend the AC-300. And most importantly, maybe shop somewhere other than Good Guys. They are giving you no discounts...I am sure you can find someone who will work with you on price, especially if you make a big purchase. I actually bought my AC-300 on eBay, brand new, for less than half MSRP. I know it has no warranty, but I have owned a pair of older Energy C-4s for a few years, and I know these speakers are dependable...whereas I blew out two Paradigm woofers in less than two years. That may be another thing to consider. Reliability.

If you really don't care too much for music, then go for the Paradigms. But if you intend to listen to music on your system, I totally recommend Energy.

 

[Kevin C Brown]

I got the Good Guys to give me $100 off the C-3's. You just have to find a salesperson willing to deal.

I found them on the internet for $358, but it wasn't an authorized dealer.