Which system? B&W, Boston or Paradigm (1 Viewer)

[Jim Kosinski]

I'm making some progress. I think I have narrowed my search for an HT system (50% music, 50% HT) to B&W, Boston or Paradigm.

I've listened to each speaker and they all sound good to me. Unfortunately, my auditioning has not been back-to-back and my acoustic memory seems to be lacking.

For now, i'm just concentrating on the front and surround speakers. In addition to the center channel speaker, i'll probably get a subwoofer with each system. The rear surround speakers will be wall mounted about 4' behind the listening area on the side walls. The room is approx 20x20.

For B&W, i'm thinking 604S3's as fronts with DM601S3 or DM602S3 as rears.

For Boston, i'm thinking VR950 for fronts and Micro 100x as rears (the salesman recommended the Micro 100x).

For Paradigm, Studio 60 for fronts and Studio 20 for rears.

Has anyone compared these speakers back-to-back? I would appreciate any input that would help me make my decision.

 

[Steve_Ma]

If you go with the B&Ws, I would suggest the following:

Get either the 603s (tower) or the CDM1NT (bookshelf) as fronts/mains. Go with the 601s (front ported) for rears. Then throw the $ you saved towards a high quality seperate sub. I have a B&W ASW1000. It's a decent sub, but if I had to do it again, I'd go with an SVS.

I have compared the 600 series to the Paradigm and I prefer the B&W sound, but that's me. You have some solid choices there. I'm sure you'll be happy with whatever you ultimately end up with.

Best of Luck,

--Steve

 

[Darrin_R]

I think you would be happy with any of these brands. However Boston seems to be overlooked quit often on this site. Im not sure why because they make a great speaker.

I really like the sound of the VR950 and considering the price, its a great speaker. But I feel the Micro 100's are overpriced. If you are going to spend that much for rears, you should consider the VR-MX or even just another pair of VR950's.

You cant go wrong with the Paragigm or B&W either.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I have a B&W 600 Series setup that I have been very pleased with. I helped a friend audition and pick out a comparable Boston Acoustic setup. I think that the BA's had a similar sound to my B&W's and sounded quite nice. Unfortunately, I could not compare either to Paradigm at the time. Other speaker brands I did audition were Energy and Klipsch.

I have a B&W ASW1000. It's a decent sub, but if I had to do it again, I'd go with an SVS.

I am a ASW1000 owner, too, and agree with Steve's comments. SVS was not yet in business when I purchased this sub, so they were obviously not an option. However, while the ASW1000 is a decent sub, you will get more for your money by looking at SVS.

 

[Mark Guidry]

I have the 602's for the fronts 601's for the rear the CC6 for the center and dual SVS 39+/S1000 and I love it!!!!!!! I like the B&W sound over the Paradigm...but try to listen to them both...like A/B them.

Good luck

 

[Steve_Ma]

hehe. wanna start a 600 series support group? Anyone else sick of the 600s getting creamed next to the CDM lineup?

 

[James Bergeron]

But the 600 series is MUCH less expensive, I don't think the CDM creams the 600 series in price/performance. Yes the CDM's sound better but you pay for it!

I'm scared to listen to the Nautilus I want a corvette or porche first!

 

[Steve_Ma]

Agree. The CDM line is impressive, but you REALLY pay for it! I also agree the the 600 series is a much better price/performance option.

Then again, I own the 600s and can't afford anything else right now. I need to believe that...desperately!:b

 

[Greg_R]

I preferred the CDMs over the 600 series but preferred the Paradigm sound over the CDMs. I would suggest listening to the Studio 40s... I preferred them over the 60s. Since you are getting a sub, I'd suggest auditioning all these speakers with a 80Hz crossover...

 

[ryan_m]

How does the CM line compare (quality and price) to the 600s and CDMs? The CMs are a step up from the 600s right?

thanks

Ryan

 

[Edward M]

I second the paradigm studio 40's with a good sub. I was initially looking at B&W 600 series but fell in love with Paradigm. I have them mated with an ACI Titan II LE sub...great combination.

Ed

 

[Jim Kosinski]

Tomorrow, i'm going to try to make time to listen to both the B&W and Paradigm speakers. Unfortunately, it seems that the local Paradigm dealers only have the Studio 40 set up in the store. The Studio 60 is more in line with the B&W 604 pricewise, and the dealer raved about them. I guess I was assuming the more $ meant better performance. After reading these posts, I am not so sure.

For those of you with the B&W 601 or Studio 20's as rears, are they wall mounted? If so, what bracket did you use? Especially with the Studio 20's, these speakers are heavy and I want to make sure the bracket is beefy enough to hold the speaker yet still allow for precise aiming.

My wife is gonna just hate the dimensions of these speakers, so I am tempted to not tell her until they are installed. Wall mounted with brackets, do they appear large as I am afraid they will be? For HT, I am sure that smaller speakers would be sufficient but I listen to music frequently and am thinking that the larger rear speakers would be a good idea for music.

 

[EricHaas]

The 40's and 60's are almost exactly the same speaker in different sized enclosures. The drivers and cross-overs are otherwise identical. They really are about the same price too, when you account for the cost of stands for the 40's.

You cannot mount the 20's with brackets unless you buy really heavy duty brackets like Omnimounts. Otherwise, you have to put them on bookshelves. They do not sound best near walls though, because they are rear ported. However, putting them on bookshelves will be fine in a surround capacity, as long as they are also set to small.

 

[rodneyH]

I have a pair of 602s sitting in the garage since I got my CDM7NTs, the CDM is a better speaker and much better built, but for the $, the 600 line is nothing to be ashamed of. many Nautilus owners act like the CDM line is a joke and the 600 even more so, and to go for the 800 series or NOTHING, I am NOT that way, teh 600 line is very very good for the $$, so much so that I run the 601 in the rear, and have NO desire to replace them, NONE (and the upgrade bug bites me often, so its not about that).

600s do sound very nice

 

[David Judah]

Nautilus owners act like the CDM line is a joke and the 600 even more so

Yes, I'm suprised when I see that, because B&W's are very solid price/performance-wise all through their lines. I have the CDM-9NTs now, but I have owned all of the 600 series from the 602s on up(I still use 602s for the rears and don't have a desire to upgrade them)and they were/are great performers for the money.

DJ

 

[James Bergeron]

Do you guys run the 602's are large in the rear?

I'm still debating if I should stay with my 303's at small or go to the 602's at large. If I go 602 at small I don't see the point!

 

[Mike Veroukis]

My wife is gonna just hate the dimensions of these speakers, so I am tempted to not tell her until they are installed.

That's the way to do it!
I too went into the store to check out the B&W's but ended up purchasing a set of Studio40s (in the Rosenut veneer). I think they are both very good speakers but I didn't care for the B&W sound too much. It sounds very dispersed, like you have a DSP mode on. The Paradigms seem more focused and forward sounding. It simply depends on what you like. I know someone who bought the paradigms and returned them in favour of the B&Ws. The only thing I can say for sure is that they are both very high quality, the rest is up to the listener.
- Mike

 

[Arron H]

Jim,
I like all 3 brands that you listed. I have B&W 603s & 601s with an LCR6 center and have absolutely no complaints about the way they sound. However, it's a preety subjective choice. Make sure before you listen to as many speakers as you can. I notice on many of these "which speaker is the best threads" that a poster starts out really liking one speaker but ends up going with something else. It's not that the 1st speaker was bad, it's just personal preference. Enjoy your hunt

 

[Dustin B]

One thing I think is cool with the B&W is that the LCR60 is a 2 1/2 way speaker while the Paradigm CC and Boston VR910 are a 2way. A 2way horizontal MTM center will invariably have off axis response problems. If everyone who listens will always be directly infront of the center (meaning no more than 2 people at at time) its not much of a problem. But if people will be off axis the 2 1/2 way design of the B&W center will have a distinct advantage.

The VR920 is a 3way design (with same driver layout as the B&W HTM1) that will also solve the off axis response problems of a horizontal MTM 2way center.

Just something else to weigh into the decision if one of the manufactures mains doesn't really jump out at you for stereo listening.

 

[Matt_Sulli]

have you looked at Psb? i compared recently compared the studio 60's, B&W 603 and 604 to Psb image 6t's and i thought the images blew the paradigms away by far in terms of clearity and imaging. I thought the B&W's were better then the paradigms, but still feel short of the images, just my opinion