I have owned in the past several pairs of Studios (100 v2, 60 v4, 20 v2, 40 v2), but this is my first pair of 60 v2s. I picked them up on Craigslist with the real wood cherry finish (same as sample photo) for $400, an outstanding value for speakers of this quality. I would say the sound quality is very neutral, never calling attention to itself in any particular frequency. Bass is good and not bloated, but not extremely deep. The v4s I had a while back (in a different house/ room) always sounded boomy to me- would love to have another pair on hand now to compare. Mid and upper frequencies are exceptional without being harsh. I can play these loud without ever feeling the need to turn it down due to harshness. The 60 v2s LOVE power, and really come alive at moderate to higher listening levels. At 70 lbs/ each, the cabinets are pretty inert.
HIGHLY recommended, especially given a new set of 60s will set you back around $2500 (and don't sound any better- IMHO)

- Sound Quality (Low to High)
- Soundstage
- Clarity
- Balance
- Well Built
- Easy to Set-up

- Cabinet look a bit " low budget " (V2 version)

I had a pair B&W DM640i and love them but they sound to bright for me, and I had previously owned a pair of Studio 20 v2.
I sold the B&W DM640i
Found a pair of used but in perfect condition STUDIO 60 v2 (black ash finish)
Now I can honestly say that PARADIGM REFERENCE SERIES is my kind of sounding speakers.
Overall performance is solid for any style of music .
They are not the best in any category, but there versatility make them an excellent choice for audio and home theater user.
You wont get tired, even for long period of listenning with the "Studio 60"
They are just good speakers.

musical truth. transparency, detail, midrange honesty. a sweetheart of a tweeter.

bass is a shade soft. could use a bit more control. wish i'd bought the veneers.

After three years with this speaker, i have yet to add a piece to my system whose performance is being hindered by their abilities. In fact, it is the transparency and truthfulness of these speakers that allow me to resolve the minute differences in other components when scrutinizing changes. A wonderful barometer in that regard. I laugh at other speakers within this price range when it comes to build quality. Such a joy to own.

Similar Products Used:

b&w, polk, mission, wharfedale, energy.

Overall great sound; from the highs to the lows. Crisp, clean, realistic sound.

None so far.

I purchased the Paradigm Reference Studio 60/v20 speakers as a package deal with a Parasound A23 amp, P3 pre amp and a T3 tuner. I was fortunate enough to listen to 7 different pairs of speakers in the store through the same amp and pre amp to hear which speakers I liked best with my set up. The Paradigm by far had the best sound out of the seven. I do not remember which other speakers I listened to off hand although I do remember one pair being Infinity and another being Polk. The Paradigm sounded great in the store and even better in my living room. The sound is always incredible and the speakers have no problem handling the power of the amp. I had Polk speakers before the Paradigms and I hooked the Polks up to my amp before the Paradigms to hear the difference and the Paradigms definitely sounded better. All of my music sounds crystal clear with no distortion (I know a lot of this has to do with the amp). I would recommend these speakers to anyone looking for high end sound without looking to spend thousands on the speakers alone.

Mids, design, cabinet, appearance, imaging, versatility in placement. Heavy!

EXTREMELY LONG BREAK-IN PERIOD! I listened to them for months until they really sounded their best. Heavy!

I can't say enough about these speakers! I bought them after listening to just a handful of higher-end speakers, NHT, B&W, Definitive Technology and some lower-end, consumer grade stuff like Infinity and Polk. They stand head and shoulders above anything even close in price. For a little over a grand, you get a first-class box that weighs 88 pounds, which I believe is always the place a good speaker builder should start. Fit and finish are impeccable. And the sound! Holy cow. I'm running a new Yamaha 6.1 receiver, but it only has 75 watts per channel and the Paradigms seem to have what they need except at very high volumes. The bass response is good and tight, but I'd like a bit deeper response curve. At the price, though, the bass is excellent, smooth and never muddy or "blatty". The mids are perfect. I'm a guitarist and singer and mids are very important to me. Listen to a good female vocalist like Nancy Griffith or Sheryl Crow and you'll see what I mean. Acoustic guitar is reproduced so accurately you'll swear someone is playing in your listening room. To add a mix of impartiality to this review, I've had several of my friends listen to them and their comments range from "as good as my NHT's" to "incredible" to "I wish I bought these and saved myself six grand vs. my B&W's".

Phenomenally solid and well-designed cabinet construction, fantastic bass response, wonderful sound -- all at an ASTONISHING price. (Note that the price I paid is in CAD.)

Can't think of any.

I've been using B&W DM601's for many years now, and while I still love them to death, I'd been planning for quite some time to upgrade (and to keep the 601's as my "B" speakers). I'm sufficiently taken with B&W that I'd felt almost sure I would be upgrading to the B&W DM603 S3. So I was astounded when I first heard the Paradigms, and discovered that I not only liked them as well as the 603's, I maybe even liked them better. The 603's are, to be sure, also fantastic speakers (and I heartily agree with the previous reviewer who suggested that anyone who likes B&W's audition Paradigms, and vice versa) -- but the Paradigms are less expensive, have even deeper bass extension, and better control in the midrange. What won me over was hearing female jazz vocalists -- try, e.g., Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie's "Sunny Side of the Street". Perhaps because of Paradigm's superior cabinet, Ella's voice just sounded more like a real human voice (albeit, a uniquely beautiful one!). And if anybody complains about the bass response of the Paradigms, you should know right away to discount their opinion, as they clearly don't know what they're talking about; these have FANTASTIC bass -- tight and controlled, but with phenomenal extension. And the highs, too, are splendid -- very much, in fact, like B&W's. Listen to these! I'm using them with an NAD C370 integrated amp (a FANTASTIC amp, and quite well matched to these speakers) and a Nakamichi MB-10 CD player, with Audioquest interconnects and speaker cables. I still have the B&W 601's (though I haven't yet decided where to put them), and a Nakamichi cassette deck and Harman Kardon tuner; a nice little system, I think. The amp and speakers, in particular (total price for these two: under $1500 U.S.), would more than hold their own against ANYTHING -- some systems might sound better, but there's NOTHING that would totally outclass them -- which is amazing given the price.

Similar Products Used:

B&W DM601, Boston Acoustics A60, Genesis 10.

Top notch sound (to me) for $1000 competes well with more expensive speakers, high quality build, biwireable!

6 inch woofer helped, but would suggest placing money for deep bass into a dedicated sub to maximize the performance to cash ratio.

Thanks to all the other reviewers for their help, these Paradigm studio 60 were my first top of the line equipment I have purchased, and are very pleased with them. The first thing I was struck by these Paradigms was the sharpness and clarity of the soundstage. I had some def. tech BP2 already, and both at the store and later at home these Paradigms seemed sharper and more focused by at least 1 or 2 steps higher than the def techs bipolars I already had. The def techs do have the textile(fabric) tweeters found on the early models, and now def tech seem to have aluminum tweeters on all their models which could bring their sound quality up to the Paradigm's own aluminum tweeters. It just seems to me that a veil has been lifted from the front of the speaker, exposing a slightly more detailed sound when I listen to the Paradigms against the def tech bp2 bookshelfs. To be fair, I got the small bipolar def techs for only $400 and the Paradigms were more than twice that at $950 Also the def techs have twice the tweeter and midrange sets in the BP2, 2 per speaker which seem to create a somewhat fuller image as they reflect off the rear wall of my room compared to the 60 But the Paradigms just seemed to have a better sound quality. I've heard some of the higher range B&Ws, and they are very close in character to my Paradigms, perhaps more revealing(slightly),but definitely close in character. The paradigms have a 6 inch woofer that adds a great quality to it's bass, but when I turn on my 15 inch 185 watt Definitive Tech subwoofer, a whole octave of bass the Paradigms can't reach is suddenly revealed. To me, this new depth of bass below the Paradigms is well worth the money the 15 inch Definitive woofer cost at $600, but I am a real Dolby Digital fan, so I really enjoy the rumbling that a good large subwoofer can add to movies and to Metal and rap music also, so the cost of a subwoofer to me is well justified. If I were to purchase again, I think I would go with the Paradigm studio 20's, which are small bookshelfs that have the same tweeter and midrange of the more expensive 60s and lack the 6 inch bass woofer but which are $200 to $400 less the the 60s. I like the 60s immensely, but with my very healthy 15 inch Def Tech sub, I don't think I need any of the Paradigm's lower response, the def tech sub seems to cover it all already. But without a great subwoofer, the Paradigms do perform well enough for music listening, with a smooth detailed bass of it's own. Nice quality! Another time, I would choose 5 to 7 small Pardigm studio or B&W monitors, and buy one of the newer Def. Techs super cube 1000 watt subs with the dual 10 inch passive radiators. I'm very happy with the Paradigms,would buy again, but I would suggest looking for ultimate bass with a large coned powered sub instead of the 6,8, and dual 8-inched studio monitor model towers that Paradigm makes. The studio 100 has 2-8 inch woofers for about $2000 and I'm convinced that the extra $1000 would buy a very hard to beat sub from Paradigm, Def Tech, or even Sunfire etc. But if you want to enjoy SACD or DVD-Audio, full range speakers seem to be the best, although most expensive route to go. I would suggest Outlaw Audio's ICBM at $300 as a great bass management component to realize the full effect of 5.1 music. Most receivers don't have any bass management, and there aren't many SACD or DVD-audio players that seem to have it yet either. I really learned a lesson with the Paradigm 60's. I thought that getting slightly better sound quality from more expensive speakers was worth almost any cost, but I've realized that you can really enjoy something almost as nice at a lower cost if it saves you the money to buy surround and rear surround speakers to complement your 5.1 or 7.1. home theater. The surround element really changes the way for you to enjoy music and movies, and I definitely encourage anyone to audition it thouroughly.

Similar Products Used:

Denon 60 watt Dolby pro logic reciever, new Pioneer 5.1 receiver, Polk $200 center cs 30, def tech bp2 bipolar surrounds, Japanese cd,dvd, sony t.v. BBE sonic maximizer(good!), Aphex aural exciter(als

Detail, dynamics, Metallica-compliant, staging and imaging top-notch, bass is wonderful without a sub.

if there is a weakness in this speaker for what you pay for it, it would have to be the slightly laid back midrange...female vocals especially dont "stand out"...maybe a Krell front-end would cure that. But it just doesnt put the singer in front of the music like B&W nautilus line. Depending on the recording also has to be a factor. But I won't complain.

I am in love with my 60s! The not as popular Rosenut color is the most beautiful. Better than the light cherry. Bought them january 2002. Shopped and listened for a month or so before settling on the 60s...came close to buying 20s..i think they image a bit better. but i dont have a sub yet and i wanted the floorstander...i will get 20s for rears and try them in front in my home and may change my mind who knows but for now i totally love these speakers. My favorite band is Metallica and I listen to them all the time and loud. B&W makes excellent speakers but cant quite cut it with the loud heavy music. Neither can almost every speaker ive heard. The Krell LAT-2 are the most dynamic stand mounted speaker out there and although I havent listened to Metallica on them I would guess that they would do an amazing job with Metallica. Anyways, back to my 60s... I got them home and hooked them to my Denon 3802 with Monster XP....sounded good but not great. Let them break in for a few weeks and then months....better every day. Then I finally upgraded to Transparent 14/4 biwire. Incredible difference. You MUST biwire these! I then started tweaking with positioning. Moved them another foot apart made night and day difference. out from the wall a bit more also helps a ton. My Denon cannot give these enough power...they play clean and loud until my Denon clips. So my next power upgrade will be a BIG amp...hopefully i can snag a good deal on a Krell. Rotel makes excellent amps for the money. So does Musical Fidelity. I love the transparent and uncolored top end. The midbass and bass is tight and fast (not quite as fast as Monitor Audio's C-CAM woofers but very very very close)....I am going to get a sub mainly for movies. Ill cross it over at around 55 or 60Hz because the 60s play well that low. I listen to all kinds of music and one thing to watch for is the quality of the recording. These speakers will reveal crappy recording and equipment! I now work where I bought these and have the chance to listen to really expensive speakers. The Sig. 800 from B&W I think takes the cake so far. Silver Sig. 30 I think is the most "beautiful" sounding and looking speaker ive seen....top 3 anyway. Martin Logan Clarity is so good and inexpensive I think everyone should have a pair. Krell LAT-2 by far the best monitor out there. Well worth $10,000....Paradigm Studio series is so detailed and dynamic, by far the best choice for loud Metallica fans :).....just remember: BIWIRE! and mo' power.

Similar Products Used:

Monitor Audio Silver 5i (fastest midbass ive heard with the exception of maybe Krell LAT-2), anything in B&W and Paradigm, Tannoy Saturn (very sweet imaging and staging, Revel Studio (great speaker),

Excellent speakers, great clarity and detail. Very smooth.

These speakers require alot of power. They will also expose any weak links in your system. You may need to upgrade other components to get the most out of these, but its well worth it.

I purchased these speakers in Dec 2002. When I hooked them up, I wired them to my Carver TCM-15CB 100w 2 channel amp, and bridged this to a Marantz SR5000 HT receiver. The sound was good, but these Paradigms are very power hungry. I started to get a "thud" at moderate volume levels, so I removed the Marantz and played them directly through my Carver amp. What a difference! These speakers really come alive with a good, high powered amp. The clarity is outstanding. I can now hear much more detail, and the bass has improved. I just purchased a Rotel RB985 MKII 5 channel amp rated at 110 watts. I also have a Lexicon DC-1 THX Processor coming as well. I can only imagine what this set-up will sound like.

Similar Products Used:

PSB, Cambridge Soundworks, B&W

One of the best in build quality,price (less $$ than Bose 601and701,the looks (i show it off to my friends with grilles off),Natural sound, crisp high and tight bottom end,best in imaging and soundstage.features(bi-ampable/bi-wirable).It will show the true attributes of the recording.

It's a big chore to move around (heavy), is it a weakness? No over publicity like other competitors.

When i jumped to A/V wagon, I started to look for reasonable size of speaker for my small to medium size space.I checked around all available brand and models in my area and of course get info. from the net for buying guides and tips, same time searching for A/V receiver. JBL was my first choice but was turned off with their bright top end and a hard bass line, maybe coz of it's unsettled titanium tweet and some models are way too expensive. Then Jamo but only few models are available and sound quality mentioned in some reviews. Then Tannoy, their Mx series sound is ok and good reviews but made from Taiwan which seems like computer equipments that in few months will be outdated if not malfunctioned, so reliability and components quality are in questioned, price does not proportionate from place of origin.Their Saturn models with concentric driver are not as crisp as metal dome tweeters and twice the price of Studio 60. Checked out Yamaha models but too bright thanbright than the summer sun.also looked at deffinitive technology but prices are exagerated (are they really made in USA of somewhere in ASIA?). Infinity- they look nice and sound just ordinary nothing remarkable and quality issues come again. Ofcourse Bose is also considered with their new hyped 601 & 701 models sporting BIG silver nameplate that doesn't have to do in sound quality (are they really made in CANADA coz of self adhesive paper sticker on the back that says so?), transmission line design but it even made the sound boomy coz of cheap board cabinet and they are not that crisp on high end with paper cone tweets used similar to my 301-II model use as surround speakers. Paradigm was not even on my list of interest,I just knew that they make good sounding subs but not speakers.I stambled to this model when i accompanied my friend to an audition for floorstanding models to replace his Bose Accoustimass 5 in the front (which he found out after 3 months use that most of the midfrequencies are missing).Accidentally, we came accross to studio 60v2 in a dealers showroom, i loaded my steely dan disc on cd player and played some tracks that i'm familiar with. i inspected the pair from top to bottom, drivers size, material used,the looks is superbly imposing,very deep that gives more meat to sound, I immediately felt that this is the one that i'm looking for a speaker,the top end is very crisp and the bottom is tight but not boomy.but my friend didn't like the laid backed sound instead and we went down to Bose showroom to hear the new 601&701 models which i already knew how they sounded and its build quality. I didn't want influence his decision but i gave my opinion and preference but the next day he went alone and brought home the Bose 601, so maybe he's happy with it. My next step was I checked Paradigm on the net and found their Reference Series line speakers coupled with rave reviews on this site and audio-video mags.When I went out to buy my speakers I already knew what i will be bringing home, Studio 60v2 to match with Denon AVR2802. Out from the box, the was flat but neutral,a little edgy and bass shy. I understand that it needed time to break-in and my AVR2802 to burn-in. After about 100 hrs. of playing time at moderate volume level,the sound started to come alive, channel separation of instruments becomes very distinct. highs are crystal clear, midrange very neutral and near perfect, the singers like standing in front of you, background vocals are clearly separated behind speakers,some reviewers mentioned the harsh tweeter, in my opinion it's depenent on recordings quality.It never dispoint me whatever type and format of music I played. When I pop in my reference disc from alpine audio, the music flowed like liquid and float around the air.the bottom end is dependent on type of equipment handling it,from my receiver it is bit laid backed but when i connected (bi-wired with Cat-5e TNT-TTS configuration) to my B&K ST-1400 Amp huge imrovement to overall sound quality, Bass became more solid and defined.Playing music and movies are real experience and think no need for sub for the deep bass it giving out,also to keep good relationship with my neighbors. My only caveat is the extra BIG binding posts that my AR spade slugs didn't fit, I have to invest on another 4 pairs of compression type banana plugs. I always long the day in my work to go home and enjoy the music. I always keep my system on all the time I'm home and overnight on moderate volume, even if I'll have to go out for a while I leave them playing on FM. Associated Equipments: Denon Avr2802 (A/V-Pre/pro/Amp) - 90W X 6 B&K AVP3000 (Music Preamp) B&K ST-1400 (Power Amp) - 125w X 2 R&D VP300X (Power Amp) - 100w X 2 (bridgable) Technics ---- (Tuner) Panasonic RV32S (DVD/CD/MP3 player) Pioneer CTW503R (TapeDeck) refurbished JVC Hifi VCR JVC Interiart TV Paradigm Reference Studio 60 v.2 (Front) Bose 301 - II (Surround) - cone edge replaced JVC "mini sp" (Surround Back-Atom

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Bose-301,pioneer, jbl,jvc. auditioned others brands i mentioned above. other high-end models not available in my area.