Polk or Paradigm (1 Viewer)

[John Mil]

I am looking at 2 seperate towers:
Paradigm Monitor 9
Polk Rti10

Any suggestions?

I am not interested in home theater at the moment( my room is not set up correctly for it and I listen to more music than movies). My room is 19' by 14' with a cathedral ceiling that starts at 9' and ends at 16'. I will most likely buy a sub at some point. I listen to rock and R and B mainly. Since I am just going with a 2.1 system, I will most likely buy the Harmon Kardon 3480 receiver(120 watts per channel). I can get the Onkyo 603 at Circuit City for a little more money than the HK, but I guess that might be overkill with just a 2.1 set up? Thanks in advance for helping out a newbie

 

[Alon Goldberg]

Without a doubt I would pick up the Paradigm Monitor 9's over the Polk's. You may even want to check out the Paradigm Monitor 7's.

Other stereo receivers to check out: Rotel RX-1052 (my pick), Yamaha RX-797 and Denon DRA-685. If you have no intention in using this system for home theatre then there's no reason to budget for a 7.1 receiver like the Onkyo 603.

 

[John Mil]

Thanks Alan! I will check out that Rotel receiver you mentioned. I did check out the Denon DRA 685, but I don't think it had an output for a sub woofer, which the Harmon Kardon did have. I listened to the Paradigm's at my local Hi-Fi House, so I'll ask if they have Rotel. The Harmon Kardon receiver is listed at $300 at Circuit City and comes with a free Ipod bridge(whatever that is?) My wife likes the Ipod. I'll see how much the Rotel goes for. Thanks again Alan.

 

[Sami Kallio]

For music you want to listen to Polk's LSi lineup, not RTi's. Instead of a stereo or multichannel receiver, go separates or find a nice integrated. If you want to go with a stereo receiver, I have an extra HK 3375 that is not seeing much use.

 

[johnADA]

Let YOUR EARS decide which speaker is better.

Just before Christmas I posted a similar type post about speakers.
Axioms, Paradigms and NHT were mentioned as suggestions along with a few more.
Well I took the OPINIONS of WHAT THEY LIKED and went shopping. I found IMO the Paradigms were flat up high, Axioms were brighter than the POLK RTi series which were all ready too bright for my taste and the NHT and others had too much mid range focus. Then some were just outrageously priced for very hard to hear subtle differences.

Opinions are just what others tastes are and you should listen without seeing the type or price. I was poking around the store after a trial time deciding what to do and then heard something that sounded sweet to my ears someone else was trying out. It ended up being Polk R-30, very neutral sounding, did highs well, decent lows and didnt focus on any one area. The guy thought I was nuts after I was willing to drop ALOT more on others when I picked these up. They fit MY TASTE and werent even mentioned in any post I asked this question.

Opinions suck, there taste related and each person is different. Test out all kinds of speakers, not just what you think or others think, you may be surprised at whats out there off your list that do the job YOU want to hear!!

 

[scott>c]

Exactly. Peoples opinions are just Opinions. Some have never heard much of anything else. I`ve gone through many brands of speakers. Its what u like to listen to and what u`r using them for(HT,music). Also keep in mind what u`r gonna power them with as efficiency is important. Every speaker has strengths and weaknesses and u have to find whats right for u.

 

[Marty M]

I would like to second this suggestion. Even the salespeople at my local dealer thought 7s were a better sounding than the 9s. I have been a very happy owner of the Monitor 7s for over eight years, but as mentioned above let your own ears make the decision. Good luck.

 

[John Mil]

Thanks for your opinions guys! I'll have to go listen to the Monitor 7's. If I go with the seven's, then I could put more money into a sub. So I'm thinking a pair of Paradigm 7's and a good sub would sound better than just a pair of Paradigm monitor 9's and no sub? What do you guys think?

 

[Seth=L]

Just don't get a paradigm bandpass sub. PS-1000 or PS-1200 these are naturally boomy due to the nature of the design.

Seth=L

 

[BillSuneson]

If you can try to listen to the LSi 15's or the LSi 9's from polk they are absolutely amazing speakers

 

[John Garcia]

By themselves, I'd actually get 11s over 9s or 7s. The 9s are my least favorite speaker in the Monitor line. With a good sub, the 7s would be fine, but I'd also then be looking at Studio 20s or 40s...

For stereo only, I'd look at an integrated amp if you don't need a AM/FM tuner.

 

[John Mil]

Thanks Seth! At the Hi-Fi House, I heard the Paradigm PW2200 sub along with the Monitor 9's. The sub sounded great to my ears, although I have not heard any other subs to compare it to They wanted $930 for that sub.

 

[Seth=L]

The one you listened to is good. It is a solid design. It's just the PS series that I cannot stand. I had one and upgraded to an M&K and I'm very glad I did. I am also glad that I didn't pay much for the PS 1000. It was good for the money I paid for it but not for $500-600. You might also look at Definite Technoligies or Velodyne for a sub.

Seth=L