FLAT RESPONSE, GREAT SOUND, CLEAN AND CRISP

HEAVY, HARD TO MOVE AROUND

I RECENTLY TRADED MY 100'S V.1 FOR THE NEW VERSION 2. I THOUGHT WHEN I DID THIS AND PAID THE EXTRA $400 THAT I MIGHT BE WAISTING THE MONEY.-----WRONG----- AS GOOD AS THE VERSION 1 WAS, THE VERSION 2 WAS SIMPLY BETTER ALL AROUND. I HAVE BEEN SERIOUS WITH HI-FI FOR 12 YEARS AND HAVE NOT HEARD ANY SPEAKER IN THIS PRICE RANGE BETTER.

Similar Products Used:

B&W 604,605,803 DEFINITIVE TECHNOLOGY BP30, BP2002, HALES REFERENCE 3, CANTON ERGO 91

Sound is natural and revealing to the quality of the input source and media

I can't add much to what everyone else has said before me. These are excellent speakers for the money for HT or Stereo. They do have at least one short coming....I find the frequencies between deep bass and mid-bass to be boomy (maybe my room, which needs to be treated), however this is the point I want to make: To get a better speaker, you will pay at least 2 times more for it, which says a lot for Paradigm. Great job Paradigm. (This is the only 5 star rating I've ever given anything, they just sound too good for the money)

Equipment Used:
Lexicon DC-1
Marantz dv-18
Marantz cc65
Marantz MA500 monoblocks (demoed Mark Levinson 333 amp, which took the speakers to a whole new level...I'm saving my pennies!!!)
Transparent interconnects all around
Monster Power Center
Monster speaker wire
Transparent power cord (to Lexicon)

Similar Products Used:

Too many too mention

Ability to fill a room with beautiful & flawless sound

Even if they costed me $5,000 I would say absolutely none!!

Before purchasing the studio 100v2's, I did about two years of research (which is also the time I saved the money to buy them). In that time I went from wanting B&W to Newform Research and eventually settled on Paradigm. The Studio 100v2's seemed to be the best overall value under $5,000 I could find. Anyways, I was ready to plunk down the $2,400 for the speakers in rosenut veneer at a local shop when I read that many reviewers on this site bought their Paradigm speakers in Canada for a great price. I eventually found Sound West Audio (also called Radio Shack – I’m not sure why they use both names) in Trail, BC and worked out a price of about $1,700 U.S. for the speakers (in rosenut veneer) BRAND NEW!! It was a no-brainer for me to drive six hours round trip to save $700!! So after hauling these beasts into my house and setting them up bi-amped, I was ready for the first listen. Even from the first song I played all I could say was WOW! I had never heard any speaker create such an amazing sound before - The highs were crisp and clear but not too bright, the mids were clear and came out effortlessly, and the lows were simply incredible. The lows have become increasingly wonderful as the speakers have broken in a bit. I can't belive these speakers will only get better with more breaking in! If they never did get any better sounding than they did right out the box, I would still give these wonders five stars! It's really fun to listen to all your CD's again and hear things you never knew were there before. The only thing I would suggest is using a hand truck or another person to help you move them (while in their boxes) so you don't end up hurting your back getting these monsters around. They are HEAVY!! So, that's all for now - I gotta get back to listening. I'm supposed to work tomorrow, but I’m seriously tempted to call in sick and spend the day listening to music! If you’re thinking twice about spending the money on these, especially if you haven’t heard them before, DON’T!! I hadn’t heard them at all before I bought them, and I think these will probably end up being one of the greatest purchases of my entire life! Also, e-mail me if you have any questions or have any suggestions about some of your favorite recordings to listen to. I’m open to almost all music, as long as it sounds good! Again, a truly remarkable speaker!!

Deep, tight bass, Sweet highs and wood finish.

None

I've also loved Paradigm products and always wanted to get their top of the line speaker. I wasn't disappointed. The bass is very deep and tight. The highs are very sweet and clear, without being harsh. The mids simply sing. The detail and clarity are second to none in this price range. I can honestly recommend these for any type of music or home theater. Just make sure that your room is big enough for these, because in a small room they would be overpowering.

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm Studio 80, PSB Silver i

Build Quality is second to none. Sound delivery is so precise that these speakers absolutely are a must audition in the $4000 and below price range.

Are you kidding!!!

In my opinion you can't beat them. I listened to everything in the the same class and the 100's blew everything away. The were very accurate and precise. Rock solid bass, I just could not believe these speakers sounded as good as they did. The guys here in Rochester New York selling the B&W line should be very worried. These speakers are your worst nightmare. Sweet Dreams!!!

Similar Products Used:

B&W, PolK, Mission, Klipsch, Def-Tech, Infinity, Merlin

Everything that every one has reported. Excellent soundstaging and imaging with good source and amplification products. Excellent LF extension, weight and detail. Transparent midrange and extended, detailed treble without harshness. Efficient speakers and easily driven but revealing of weaknesses in source materials and components. in other words, a high fidelity product because it reproduces what it receives. It presents palable images of the instruments in space and you can hear the body of the instruments resonating in good acoustic recordings (i.e. hollow body acoustic guitar for example).Great value and well built. Requires extended break in as improvement in sound reproduction through use is incredible. Audition a broken in pair.

Binding posts are cheesy. Use banana plugs. Sounds best well away from walls so WAF might be a factor.

A great sounding, reasonably priced, well made product requiring extended break in that blows away every speaker I auditioned in overall musical satisfaction and fidelity to source near its price point. I highly recommend this product for audition if looking to spend between 1900 and 4000 dollars.

Similar Products Used:

I have an active quad amped Linn system in my other room. For the Paradigms I use a Quicksilver line stage preamp, Arcam Alpha 9 cd player and a GAS Son of Ampzilla power amp (remember GAS-they made great products) with Audioquest interconnects and cables.

Price to preformance ratio, very neutral sounding mid range, silkly highs, tight and controlled bass

Heavy and hard to move around.....

After I realized that I was spending About 4 hours a day listening session, I decided it was time for a speaker upgrade. I had a set of Monitor 70p's for a little under 7 months and was not getting the Transparency that I was longing to hear. So off to the stores I went, looking for a replacement all the while making careful notes. I listened to a set of B&W Nautilus 805's which were in the same price range and Nautilus 803's which were more than twice as much as the Studio 100's. The Studio 100's fit nicely in between there. By far not the end all be all of speakers, but not a bad choice if you are looking for speakers in the 1500-5000 dollar range. The rummors are true, they really need time to break in, a lot of time. I can't wait to do some serrious listening in about 2 weeks after they break in. So far they sound almost of good as they did in the show room. I would have taken a set of demos home, but they are hard to transport. Clocking in at 120 lbs a piece resonance problems are non Existent, as the cabinets are solid as a rock. The mid range is less forward than that of my trusty old monitor 70's and getting more trasparent as they are broken in. The highs are not bright at times like with some of the other speakers from the lesser Paradigm lines, such as the Titans. The control in the lower end is outstanding. I read a review where it was stated that the studio 100's were tuned to 20Hz, a non-conventional way design a speaker, but none the less, Paradigm did their homework on this one. I was a bit skeptial going from a set of Powered towers with 2 6.5" subs on the low end to two 8" woofers, a large driver by today's conventions. I thought the bass might get a bit slow and uncontrolled at times, but so far I have heard flat down to 20Hz without distortion. I have thrown everything from Metallica to Beethoven at the studio 100's and so far, I am not dissapointed yet. I can't wait to Bi-amp them in the future to see what they can really do, as the are power-hungery. Check them out, I am glad that I did..

Similar Products Used:

Monitor 70p's, Mini Monitors,titans

Sound, value, looks

Ummmm

Its a rare and sweet experience to shell out a few bucks and get so much in return. Coming home to these babies makes the the rat race and the rest of the crap in the world fade into the distance and disappear. My butt is planted in the middle of this sytem from the moment I come in the door. I added the Reference Studio CC and 2 Studio/20 rear speakers. It's a big room, and I've felt no need for a subwoofer (but will probably get one anyway). Makes home theater way better than going out to the movies, and reproduces immaculate audio. I got them primarily for audio, added the other speakers later, so I don't know how they sound if not on a good system. These rank up there with big boys, and beat the hell out of my friend's B&Ws that he paid oh, so much for! heh heh

Similar Products Used:

Mirage, Custom

Vertical imaging is great, produces a distinctly uncompressed three dimensional sound (Horizontal is good, not best for this price range), clarity, neutrality, effortless bass. Does NOT need lots of power.

Very clear, emphasizes every part of the recording, although not a bright speaker (does not emphasize high frequency), everything may be TOO clear and open for some who like warm smooth speakers.

I think the large size of these speakers lead many to believe the Studio 100v2's are power hungry. Not true, at least according to the Stereophile and Audio Ideas reviews. Check for them, they're available son the net. Although Paradigm calls the speakers "8 ohms compatible", both reviews measured actual impedence to be 3 or 4 ohms. This is a very easy load, and to quote one of the mentioned reviews, with a Bryston 3b-st(120wpc into 8 ohms), you'd have enough power to "throw a concert in central park".

ok the review. I was immediatly struck by three things with this speaker:

1. vertical imaging was superb, most speakers you can tell most of the sound comes from below you, the Studio 100v2's put you in the center of the vertical soundstage. I wasn't used to this. At first it seemed odd, but I quickly realized it was a good thing.

2. clarity, distinction of detail. I have an issue with speakers. Most sub $3000 speakers don't come close to the quality of headphones costing $100, at least in terms of communicating inner detail. The studio 100v2's are one of the few I've heard that sound headphone like in detail. I found a remarkably similar sounding speaker is the bookshelf B&W Nautilus 805's ($2000) (far less bass of course), they also produce the same utterly neutral tone and produce the same quality of un-forced detail.

3. detail is un-forced. The B&W 9NT is a great speaker with even better imaging than the Studio 100v2, but I found the detail contained in the upper midrange and lower treble to be thrust out at me, it called way too much attention to the detail for me. With the Studio 100v2, you can hear the same level of detail as with the B&W's without it being forced.

If you like the sound of these speakers, they are an amazing value, yes, comparable to much higher priced speakers. I personally love the sound of them, but they may be too "hi-fi" sounding for some. Match with components that have good timing, lots of bass control, and lots of musicality, because these speakers do not seem to add ANY qualities that aren't present in your electronics aside from the excellent vertical imaging.

ok

Similar Products Used:

B&W CDM 9NT, CDM 7NT, CDM 1NT, Nautilus 805, Nautilus 804, Monitor Silver 9i, Mission 783, Mission 782, Totem Forest, Totem Arro

LOTS! Extremely clear,excellent detail resolution,good bass,excellent extended top-end,outstanding vocal articulation,wide,deep,focused imaging,BIG SOUND!The best speakers I've owned by far!

HEAVY,hard to move around.They sound best with grills on.I hate grills.No more weaknesses though!

own two pairs of the Paradigm Reference Studio 100v2s.They are the best sounding and best built speakers I've ever owned by far.They have outstanding detail resolution,openness,clarity,excell in vocal articulation,timbre,top-end clarity and extension,naturalness,dynamics,etc. Their imaging and soundstaging is VERY WIDE,VERY DEEP,and VERY FOCUSED.I used to think the Infinity Interludes were the best speakers I had ever owned for smoothness,detail,clarity,dynamics,etc. No more!The Infinity Interludes with the CMMD drivers are great speakers,but,the Paradigms make them sound somewhat closed in,two-dimensional,rolled off in the upper frequecies,and vocals are much more alive and articulate on the Paradigms! The Paradigms also sound better than my Sennheiser HD-600 headphones! A first in my experieces with headphones vs loudspeakers. Before buying the Paradigms I also listened to the Revel Ultima Studios out of wonder how the Paradigms would compare. I was very surprised! The Revels are not $9000.00 better than the Paradigms! The law of diminishing returns kicks in hard here! Sure the Revels are SLIGHTLY better in some respects,but not much,in such areas as bass extension,transparency,detail resolution,and image width.I personally think,though,that the Paradigms sound just as good in some respects,such as bass tightness,vocal articulation,image depth,and treble clarity and top-end extension.I love the Paradigms!VERY VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Similar Products Used:

Lots!Infinity Kappa 8.1s,Kappa 5.1s,Infinity Interlude IL40 and IL10s,Polk RT-55s,Sound Dynamics 300TIs,Energy C-2s,JBL HLS-610s,Acoustic Research AR15s,Paradigm Reference Studio/40 V2,etc.