Speakers Fads. (1 Viewer)

[Ron_L]

I've noticed in the time I've been here at HTF, is that there are speaker fads. When I first joined here, Axiom was mentioned in almost every thread, now it seems to be Paradigm.

Is this really happening or maybe I'm more aware of Paradigm because I own a setup of those speakers myself?

 

[RISUG]

A little of both I'd say.

 

[SkiingNinja]

I also think it's more of a community type thing rather than a 'fad'. A few people ask about Axiom here. Then on another forum, someone asks the same questions and they get referred over here...domino effect. Now you have lots of Axiom owners perusing these boards.

Witness the Onix Rockets popularity on AVS. Typically when someone asks about them on another forum, they are told to go to the AVS forum. It just happens like that in a chaotic community.

Although it can be tiring see post after post about one speaker or how great it is or whatever, a lot of very cool things become because of this community.

Witness all the G2Gs...discussions about music...general camaraderie between people that have never met etc.

So, in the end, I have to say skip those posts if you are tired of it Oh, I'm not saying you were implying that in any way, but almost this exact same post has cropped up on AVS several times so I have some experience with this hehe


Agree or disagree; I love to hear more opinions on this...

Regards,

Sean

 

[Jason.Soko]

While I cannot vouch for Axioms I personally am not impressed by Paradigms at all. They sounded dull, boring with nothing behind them. For the size and number of drivers contained in their biggest line, they should provide a little more enthusiasm.

 

[Mike_T_]

Paradigm speakers are known for good quality for the price. No one here is saying they're the best speakers out there. I have studio 100 v'2 and paid $1700 for them. I think the main reason they're so many people on this board talking about them is because they reach so many levels of income.
SVS is another brand spoken about constantly, now I want one!

 

[Chris Quinn]

Paradigms are a good value. But, with a little work you can find a few with better performance for the same money. I always think how much the ads cost that Paradigm runs in every audio/HT mag out there. They have to recoup those costs. Some of the net direct brands have virtually no advertising costs and no middle man needing to make their money.

 

[Ron_L]

They have an ad for every speaker line they have.

 

[Mike_T_]

Still, with all of that said, Paradigm is considered one of the better values in home theater. The studio 100's I own are rock solid 100 lb beasts. Either way, it's all subjective as we all know, as far as what sounds good to us individually. I auditioned the 100's side by side with a $4,000 pair of JMLAb Electra 926's, and felt the Paradigms performed just slightly below speakers that cost twice as much. If the studio 100's are overpriced at $1700, then I can live with that

Besides, there's a natural inclination for many of us to get sick and tired of what the herd likes. Popular music, tv shows etc. are all just like this forum, when a brand or company is hyped up constantly, many people would rather rip into it and find what's wrong, then even attempt to see what's right. I REALLY feel that when the 100's are driven with a good 400 watts, and the right processor, there are few speakers under 2 grand that will make me feel like I was 'taken' by popular opinion and an overpriced product.

 

[ChrisDixon]

Though it isn't a deciding factor, I like the fact that Paradgim speakers have good resale value as well. All the popularity and name recognition has made it possible for me to easily sell my Monitor line speakers (and PS1000) as I have slowly upgraded to Studios and an SVS. I've been able to get a good percentage of my money back from local buyers, so it makes the upgrade path a little easier.

 

[Matt Odegard]

I personally am not impressed by Paradigms at all. They sounded dull, boring with nothing behind them. For the size and number of drivers contained in their biggest line, they should provide a little more enthusiasm.

what were you using to drive them? As stated the 100's don't truely come alive untill fed some serious power. If you auditioned them on some Yammy or Elite reciever alone it won't make them sound as good as they can. Obviously the reciever and or components used to drive them make a difference.

What was your source material? What CD's did you use for reference?

Again many factors come into how a speaker sounds, the speakers alone aren't going to make a $80 Jensen reciever sound like a million bucks on there own.

I also understand that to you maybe they did sound dull, we all have different ears, but I'm just try'n to figure out if it was something else in the chain that made them sound that way to you.

 

[keir]

axiom and paradigm are certainly popular, but the HTF threads that get put on the front page change so rapidly that its pretty hard to pinpoint something like a current "fad". the fact that you saw more paradigm threads recently doesnt mean that the brand is currently enjoying more popularity, just that people happened to post about it within the last couple of days.

 

[Mike_T_]

Perhaps the most telling factor in a lot of this for me, is that this board is comprised of MANY individuals who are not your average joe when it comes to home theater (my apologies to those of you named joe). So, if a brand such as Paradigm is both owned and appreciated by a great deal of members, the word of mouth factor won't die down soon.

People just learning about home theater come to a sight like this, and see a certain brand name mentioned often, and in a positive light, so they look into it, ask questions etc. I guess what I'm trying to say, is that it's not always a negative thing

 

[LanceJ]

As a Boston Acoustics owner/admirer I am confused by the almost tabu nature here of speaking about them. Anybody have any TECHNICAL reasons for not liking them?

Paradigm? For me, kind of a blah-sounding speaker, no matter what model. And yes, they do have lots of advertising......:wink:

LJ

 

[Kip Lackey]

I own Boston's and think they sound great.

 

[Mike_T_]

LanceJ.....I gotta laugh at what you said above.. You want TECHNICAL reasons why no one likes your Boston Acoustic speakers. Then, you turn right around and say you don't like Paradigm's sound because it's "blah sounding".. Is that a technical term??

I'm just giving you shit

 

[LanceJ]

A speaker's SOUND is subjective, so I wondered if people had a problem with the way Bostons are designed/built.

I realize Paradigm's use some very modern technology and materials & are constructed well (I'm not sucking up-I mean all this).....but that doesn't mean they sound good to everyone. There's many people that still lust after 25 year old Large Advents because they sound so good, despite using paper cone/dome tweeters and stamped-steel woofer baskets.

So...so...THERE you big meanie! :p)

LJ

 

[terence]

I own AR's myself, i know alot of people do not own them or may not even heard of them but hey that is fine with me. They sound great to my ears. It is funny how this stuff works, word of mouth on a product starts a buzz,some people only want what is popular or to feel like they are apart of something special or have peace of mine that have a brand name product that is also popular. So when they talk about their speakers people can relate. A fine example of this is a Bose owner or potential one, all they have ever heard is Bose is the best so it must be the best. Marketing at it's best. There are over 1,800 speaker companies out there some are being born as i write this, that is how much room is out there for them. Some of these companies never run any kind of ads but make plenty of money. When a buzz is started it can do wonders for a company trying to get their name and product out into the world, so in a way some fads are a good thing even better when the product lives up to the hype, claims and testimonies.

 

[Mike_T_]

I see what you mean..really I agree with a lot of what people can't stand about over hyped products etc. I also totally agree with everyone that says "Whatever sounds good to you is the only thing that matters" which to me, means that even over hyped speakers can sound good to whoever purchases them.

SVS, Paradigm, Outlaw, Rotel, Rockets, Parasound..I could go on and on about all of the companies or individual products that have been mentioned at nausium on this chat board, but what it really comes down to is #1 they really are all good solid products and #2 it's always still up to the individual, not the crowd, to decide what's best for them.

 

[MikeLi]

Its funny... I had 4 matching Kenwood huge speakers (100 lbs each) that I just loved until I got married 24 years ago. Did not take to long and I had to get rid of them. Remeber the old quad days. Anyway I wish I had them to this day.. I'd have paid a fortune to have them reconed. Boy did the rock and put anything current to shame. I have some pretty expensive NHT's that would not hold up to them....