Price, sound, bass, ambience

Heavy buggers, but I knew that before I bought them.

I am very, very happy with this purchase. These speakers for the cost are quite remarkable. Cost was $1398 and after careful consideration of other brands, I decided to stick with the Paradigm line. The 90P’s version 2 replaced a pair of Paradigm Studio 20’s and a PDR-10 sub in my home theater setup. I was not totally happy with the musical/theater presence of the output that they produced. Could be the acoustics of my room or my ears, but the presentation/image just seemed to lack something that I could not put my finger on. My system consists of all Paradigm products. A CC-350 for center, two Micro’s for rears and the 90P’s for fronts. The system is powered by a Sony STR-DA777ES, which produces 120 Watts per channel. Yes, Sony, but this receiver has excellent reviews and is quite the workhorse that produces excellent quality for the money. The item that impressed me the most about this speaker was how much fuller and richer the sound is, compared to the Studio 20’s and the sub setup. Initially I did not think there would be a vast difference, but it is like night and day. To be honest, the speakers do not produce quite the detail in the high and mids as the Studio 20’s, but the difference is made up by musical presence alone. However, in this room, my focus is more inclined towards home theater rather then music. Yet, even with music, they are quite wonderful and almost exceptional for cost versus performance. The nicest item of all is that you don’t need to purchase a sub for these speakers and they do put out a huge amount of bass with the self amplified three 8 inch woofers. In fact, for my ears and the room size, (16 X 20) they are outstanding. I am not a high power, crank it up type of person, but like moderate to above average levels of sound reproduction. Yet, even beyond normal listening levels, they are warriors. These are not Dynaudio Contour’s, but then pricing is not equivalent. However, for the amount of money you spend, they are a steal in this price range. There are better sounding products in the marketplace, but at this price level, in my opinion, cost and performance warrant a listen. The Paradigm 90P''s Version 2 are a true bargain for the amount of money your need to spend. Even if you don’t like the Paradigm sound, audition these and I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Similar Products Used:

Dynaudio, Klipsch, Klipsch

Full warm bass.

Living too close to Paradigm dealer.

On impulse I decided, that it was time to improve my rear speakers to Paradigm. I knew from a previous visit the monitor 9''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''s was what I wanted. I promptly moved my monitor 7''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''s to rears, and hooked these babies up. It was immediately apparent how much harder the 9''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''s pumped out the bass than the 7''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''s, with a nice warm sound. Combined with the 7''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''s the sound is simply outstanding. Be sure to check these out if your looking for a great speaker.

Similar Products Used:

monitor 7 v 2

Price, Great sound from Highs,mids,and bass. Quality, Continuing relationship with customer

I''ve had no problem t all with these

I audtioned a lot of speakers before making my purchase on the Paradigm monitor 9. But as soon as I had heard them I was sold. I''m a Audio Enthusiast but a Home Theaterphile on a budget. So I matched the monitors with a Harman Kardon AVR 520, Paradigm PS 1000 sub 370.v2 center and mini monitor rears. They sound AWESOME for music with there airy highs smooth mids and tight bass. There clarity shows through with any movies I watch and with both they have a great depth to them. I also love the fact that Paradigm doesn''t just sell you the speakers and then closes the door. They let you trade them in next year at the full purchased price if you sepend twice a musch with them. I like half off next year Coool. I will be up grading :) to all reference.

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch, JBL

Nice Natural sound

Undefined bass, midrange blew, grills suck, long break in period....

This is an update to the preceeding review by me. Well i had these speakers for a month now and im quite dissapointed. The midrange blew on me and i''ve been having constant grill problems. I went to back the grill they gave me another one and that one also had problems. I tried putting me left speaker grill on my right and it sounded fine. What i can''t believe is how i can end up with another bad grill. When even looking at the back side of the grill u can see shabby handmade type construction which really pissed me off. Well these speakers arent to bad but my listening needs might be better suited in the reference levels. Too bad i can aford it, i could barely purchase these. Its tough being a highschool student with high requirments.

Similar Products Used:

pionner 205k $99...they sucked

Crisp Base, Clear highs and mid, Not boomy base,

Had to pay extra for Shielded version?!

At first I shopped around, didn't know too much what to expect and realized the best way to go to start HT or a good music system was with large speakers. Most of what I saw and heard surprised me at the quality, Polk audio was a bit boomy, Mission was perfect but not too rich in sound for a large room and also more expensive (from UK), B&W was great all around but a little more expensive.

Finally when I heard the Monitor 9 hesitated between these and the Mission but the richness of sound of monitor 9 was outstanding against all others in the 800$ +/-$200 range.
The sound dimension is here and everywhere. Place the speakers about 6 feet distance slightly angled in and sit in the dead center about 6 feet from the center, you'll feel your in a sound bubble regardless the size of your room, and you'll enjoy close to this sound if standing anywhere in the room unlike other speakers!

I wasn't ready to spend 1000$ on speakers, i was going to buy a complete set with HT integrated like the Kenwood 699$ all included 7 peice set..but after auditioning in listening rooms all the options I realised the importance of selecting 2 Speakers alone and a good amp match; Yamaha 596 dts Amp to match them for quality listenning and to enjoy the mains alone first. Adding afterwards other speakers for HT... any sellers of rears, center channel, and sub? (starting to look at monitor series).

Don't take the size negatively because smaller speakers don't perform in richness and sound dimension like these.

Finally, Monitor 9 has cross over which seperates the high/mid/bass thus is capable for bi-wiring. I tried using Monster Cable BW.5 but didn't give any real difference, using 2 amps would of been the way to go. I only use 1 amp so i kept the gold plated connectors an let the speaker crossover seperate the voices.

Similar Products Used:

Mission, B&W,

it looks decent ...

midrange,voices, overall sound

I have owned B & W speakers for over a couple of years and being canadian I felt I needed to give Paradigm's another listen ( listened to them couple of years back when I bought my B & w's and I was not impressed ). I continue to hear how they are such good value, but value to me only is relevant if their is quality beside it. I listened to the monitor 9 v2 with the cd's I know well and immediately I was struck with the same impression the last time I listened to them . The midrange is hollow sounding and I think that is to the polypropalene drivers. The salesmen then switched to paradigm reference 60's and their was great improvement over the monitor 9's. My wife happened to be with me and she normally does not hear great differences with speakers but she even commented that the monitor 9's sounded cheap. The reference 60's sounded more like the
B & W 603's that I own which is not a suprise since they have the kevlar drivers as well.

The reference 60's are roughly the same price as my 603's and their sound quality is close but not quite as good. I would not recommend the monitor 9's to any of my friends.

Similar Products Used:

paradigm reference 60, B & w

Highs, Tight bass.

Harsh before break in. No super low bass.

Loaned my mini monitors to a friend for a week and brought the mains from my HT system into my bedroom. (JBL HLS 620s) When I brought the mini monitors back in I decided that I wanted bigger speakers for my room. :)

Since I really like the brightness of the paradigms I decided to audition a pair of monitor 9s. I listened to a good selection of guitar and some female vocals. I was sold, they sounded great.

Took them home and they were a bit harsh to say the least. Had to turn them down because of it. After a couple days break in they have softened a bit so they're not shredding my ears. They sound very nice now with the brightness I like but none of the harsh sound from before the break in. Sarah Brightman and other female vocals sound very smooth and detailed. For a crank it test I chose Disturbed, 1st song from 'the sickness'. Shook the windows, but no distortion. Just nice tight bass. These speakers will not boom to hip hop however. A sub would be suggested if you like the deep bass or are going to use them for home theater.

So overall I'd say that if you listen to rock, jazz, blues, classical, and even country, you're gong to have a tough time finding a better speaker in this price range.

Similar Products Used:

JBL HLS series, Paradigm mini monitors.

Great sounding speakers. Excellent for home theatre as well as music

None

Couldn't be happier with these speakers, the sound is excellent, bass is strong enough to not require a sub (Will probably get one anyway though :) ) and they are *clear* Hearing new sounds in music that I've listened to for years.
Go and buy some!

System:

Yamaha RX-V995 Amp
Sony DVP-C670D DVD
Paradigm Fronts
Sony center and rears (not for long!)

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Aaron floor standing fronts

Solid cabinet, well defined bass. Cleaner mid-range compared to the original Monitor 9's.

Nothing Yet

I had originally owned a pair of Paradigm Monitor 9's v.1, and loved them. When I saw the specs of the new Monitor 9 I had to listen to them. My local dealer let me sit in for a quick audition, and I purchased them that same day. Upon getting them home, I noticed that they were a bit bright,( a common characteristic of a new titanium tweeter) but after at least 30 hours, they seem to have toned down alot. I listen to a wide range of music, and the Monitor 9's handle everything I play on them, with no difficulty what so ever. I've found that Paradigm has improved the mid range a little. (most likely the cause of the new cross over set up) . The Monitor 9's v.2 excel on jazz music, especially on the sax. Female voice is very detailed and clear. I did find howerver, that the Monitor 9's did need to be partnered with a sub (Paradigms PW-2200). Don't get me wrong , the Monitor 9's have amazing bass, but not enough in a 15x13 room with a cement floor. For HT, the 9's blended beatifully with my CC-350. The imagery was amazing, and the Monitor 9's handeled Saving Private Ryan's "storm the beach" scene incredibly. For $900 Paradigm has out done them selves again, awesome value!


Setup:
-YAMAHA RX-V2090 Reciver
-YAMAHA DDP-2 Digital decoder
-YAMAHA CDC-815 CD player (digital out)

-Paradigm Monitor 9 v.2's (main)
-Paradigm CC-350 (center)
-Paradigm Mini Monitor (rear)
-Paradigm PW-2200

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm Monitor 9 v.1 , Nuance Spatial 3's, Paradigm Mini Monitor

great bass,mids,treble

none

I just bought these 3 days ago and they are killer speakers for the price ! I have these along with monitor 11's and love them--great clarity and a fantastic product that is very reasonably priced ! I highly recommend to all !

Similar Products Used:

paradigm model 11 v.2