which center and surround to match Paradigm Monitors? (1 Viewer)

[Jason_Chen_LA]

Hello,

Which model of Paradigm center and surround speakers are timbre-matched to Paradigm Monitor 7, 9 or 11? my local dealer suggested CC170 and ADP70, but somebody on the board told me these are not the timbre-matched ones, but he did not remember the exact correct model.

thanks,

Jason

 

[WayneO]

The CC-370 is the only center that is part of the Monitor line intended to be used with the speakers you mention. The ADP-370's are the dipole surrounds that match as well. This of course doesn't mean spekaers from the other lines don't match nicely with the Monitors. The ones your dealer mentions would probably work, but is suggesting them because of budget restraints? They certainly are less fuller/powerful of a speaker than the matched Monitor ones I mention above.

 

[PaulDA]

I auditioned the Monitor 5s at four corners with the CC370 and it was quite nice.

 

[Kevin. W]

The CC370 is the only center for the monitor line. If you got the CC570 you would probably find yourself unhooking the rest of you speakers and listening just to the center.

Kevin

 

[Steve Lucas]

I have monitor 9 Mains and use a cc-370 and ADP-370's. These are the ones Paradigm recommends for the monitor line. If I were doing it over again though, I would at least audition some direct radiating speakers for surrounds. I'm not sure if I'd change, but I didn't even consider it when I bought. Now that I'm ready to move up to SACD audio, I'm wondering if I'll regret that.

 

[DonJ]

I have the CC370 and Mini Monitors for rear. They are matched to the Monitor 9's.

 

[Kevin. W]

You maybe correct but to each his own when it comes to preference. If you look at Paradigm's website the recommended center for the Monitor series is the CC-370. Going with the 570 loses the timber matching across the front soundstage. I would assume panning across the the front would be more forward and defined when it comes to the center. Not a good situation for DVD audio and movies.

Kevin

 

[John Garcia]

I have to completely agree with Kevin on this one. One could get away with Monitors as surrounds with Studio mains, but a front stage of this mix is not an ideal setup.

 

[TimMc]

Just depends on your criteria and budget. The 370 is the textbook ideal match for the Monitor line, no bout a doubt it. The drivers are the closest match, etc. and can be pretty darned seamless. If you don't mind playing & tweaking to get it just right, if you plan on further upgrades, or if you just like the sound of a 570 and have a couple hundred extra $$$ lying around then the 570 is a tremendous speaker (just remember to budget for upgradeitis ;-).

Bigger question is are you mostly HT? If so then ADPs (prob. 370) are fine for surrounds, but if you become enamoured w/ multichannel audio (SACD, DVD-A) then you might want to listen to direct radiators for surrounds (even Mini-Monitors do fine). It's definitely personal preference, but some who've heard both do prefer direct radiators w/ SACD and the like. Just my $.02.

 

[John Garcia]

I prefer direct radiators for surrounds. I'd put that money towards the mains.

 

[EddyObregon]

I have Mini Monitors as Mains and cc370 center and atoms for rears and to me the atoms do a very good job as rears for mini monitors. I bet Mini Monitors for rears would be much better but I have heard that you cant go wrong with atoms in the rears if you have mini montiros and cc370 as yoru fornt setup.

 

[Kevin. W]

Another option is to get another pair of Mini Monitors and use one as the front center and the other as a rear center. Cost should be the same as a CC370.

Kevin

 

[Jason_Chen_LA]

thanks for all the responses. I talked to my dealer again over the weekend. he said you could "argue for" the center to be CC-370 (instead of CC-170 he suggested first), but for surrounds, he said it's "unnecessary" to go with ADP-370. He still thinks ADP-70 would work fine.

I think I will go with CC-370 for center. what's your opinion on the surround? would ADP-70 work? (that's like two levels down from the manufacturer recommended model)
in other words, what would I loose by not getting ADP-370s?

the other option is to get mini monitors as surrounds. how does that compare to ADP-70 or ADP-370?

thanks!

 

[WayneO]

The 70's just seem like they'll be a little wimpy to keep up with the bigger boys up front, maybe the 170's would be a nice compromise? The mini's vs. ADP's is another debate all together. Either you like the dispersion of the dipoles or prefer the direct radiatiing like the mini's. If you listen to multi channel music, the directs might be a consideration, otherwise I'd get dipoles for best movie performance IMO.

 

[TimMc]

I'd second Wayne's opinion on the 70's & wimpy - but then I've never really listened to 70s so that's pure speculation on my part. They just look wimpy - so there.

I have listened lots to the 370 & Mini-Monitors (w/ the Minis as either Mini-mains or surrounds) and they work. The Mini's definitely are not wimps. Heck, if you haven't decided on 7s vs 9s vs 11s yet, you could just pull the trigger now on the 370 and a pair of Minis to get you started and move the Mini's to the back if/when you get something bigger up front. Depending on the size of your room, the Mini's might surprise you and they will always work very well as surrounds.

It seems like you have a rare dealer who apparently prefers to sell their lower model (with probably lower margin)...

 

[David Hoffman]

My dealer was doing the same thing (or rather the kid who was working there on a weekend).

I wanted a demo of ADPs, and they fired up their home theater demo room. I was less than impressed, and really wasn't hearing *anything* from the surrounds! They had the ADPs behind me on the back wall, three feet from my head and four feet apart, with the null pointed into the room.

Then, the kid admitted that it was a Pro Logic receiver they were using, as they sold their 5.1 demo receiver recently.

He suggested the ADP 70 and CC-170 would be find even with big monitors up front. I don't think he knew what "timber-matched" meant. "Dude, we set up a lot of homes and the CC-170 sounds awesome with these monitors!"

*sigh*

 

[John Garcia]

Timbre matching is not so critical between the mains and the surrounds, and the Performance line ADPs will blend well enough with the Monitor line, that it probably won't matter.

I've used the 170 with Minis, and it was OK, but definitley not a perfect blend.

 

[David Hoffman]

And it appears that the ADP-70s are even worse than the performance line, since it's a completely different type of woofer.