Paradigm Reference Studio 20 Floorstanding Speakers
Paradigm Reference Studio 20 Floorstanding Speakers
[Jul 27, 1999]
Alex Yang
an Audio Enthusiast
Awesome speakers, worth every penny. Plus, they blend really well with my Paradigm PS-1000 sub. Def. a 5 star rating!!!! |
[Aug 14, 1999]
Paul
an Audio Enthusiast
Excellent bookshelf speakers blew away equivalent/more expensive NHT's and B&W's. Studio 20's delivered a richer, more full, smooth sound with better bass performance than either the NHTs or B&Ws. Excellent soundstage and imaging for HT or stereo listening. For HT, I had matched with Studio CC-450 to create a seamless, large soundstage. I have since moved the Studio 20s to another room for stereo listening and have replaced them in my HT with Reference Studio 60's. Studio 20's are great speakers delivering a great sound at a great price. |
[Oct 14, 1999]
Anak
Audio Enthusiast
When I first listened to them, it was hard to believe that they were bookshelf speakers. Excellent soundstage for its size, great for home theater, bass is decent (I live in an apartment). Best of all, I paid for $400 the pair. |
[Nov 13, 1999]
Matthew Anderson
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Very good detail. Smooth sound and never tiring. Full rich bass with good clean treble. Biwirable.
Weakness:
Bass can be boomy if placed too near the wall. These speakers sound very nice with exceptional detail. This is what I like about them the most. They reveal so much detail in your music, espically on well recorded CDs. They can reproduce with such great clarity and smoothness. I have never had a problem with any harshness even with just having used them for a little over a week now. They are breaking in very well. These are version 1 and I will be getting version 2 for the fronts and then move these to the surrounds. I will also be getting the Studio CC along with some new speaker cable-Audioquest CV-4. The bass is very full and robust and I will be birwiring them to see if I can improve the definition in the bass. I have had a little bit of boominess with them but this has been corrected some by turning the bass control down a bit on my receiver and moving them out a little more from the wall. I am very satisfied overall with these and can't wait to get my full setup. Paradigm makes a great product and I had the Titans before these which were very good but the Ref.20s are really a cut above. Just listen to them and see. My setup is as follows: Similar Products Used: Paradigm Titans and CC-170. PS-1000 sub |
[Sep 09, 2000]
Martin
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Price, Looks, Mids and Highs
Weakness:
None These are an all-around wonderfully sounding speaker. The highs are clear, the mids are well defined and the bass is surprisingly adequate from speakers of this size. I auditioned several pairs of bookshelf speakers from the $300 to $2000 price range (just to get an idea of what was out there and narrow down my price range). Similar Products Used: B&W DM602 and CDM 1 and Nautilus 805, Linn Tukan, Dynaudio Audience 50, NHT 1.5, PSB Image 2B and a few other comparable bookshelf speakers. |
[May 16, 2000]
John Ross
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Bass, Mids, Highs, Detail&Clarity, Build Quality, $Value$
Weakness:
None considering the price My review is based on an in-home audition (side by side) of the Paradigm Monitor 3, B&W DM602, and the S20. Well, I have wanted to audition all three this way for quite some time now and finally, I have the chance. My supsicion is confirmed, the S20 blows them all away (well I am hyping a bit). Similar Products Used: Paradigm Monitor 3, B&W DM602 |
[Feb 12, 1999]
Kip Hardina
an Audio Enthusiast
I have my Studio 20's matched with a Definitive Tech. PF15TL subwoofer and absolutely love this setup. |
[Mar 06, 1997]
Sunil Patel
an Audio Enthusiast
I bought a pair of Studio 20s about 5 months ago. They are truely a great pair of bookshelf speakers. They deliver a very flat off axis response and a very impressive soundstage for its price. Many of my friends have been quite amazed that small bookshelfs like these can put out the type of sound that it does. Before I bought these I was looking at B&W 601s, but the Paradigms had clearer warmer mid-range and better soundstage. The bass is very good for the size and it is enough to shake the floors of my apartment. These little guys are also very fast, they keep up with any combination of beats that you throw at it, and the build quilty is amazing. Paradigm has made a truly increadible high performance bookshelf. I enjoy them more and more everytime I sit down to listen to them. At the price that I got them they are truly the BEST all round bookshelf. |
[Dec 28, 1999]
Jerome M. Lasker
Audio Enthusiast
Weakness:
Somewhat long break-in period, positioning These are truly great speakers - the Studio 20s sound as smooth as silk, are almost never harsh, and bring out exceptional detail in all of the music I listen to, especially from the good (HDCD) recordings. I’ve had them for nearly one month now, and the speakers are just about broken in. They were originally wired with classic Monster cable, but I recently switched to DH Labs Silver Sonic T-14, which gave a much clearer, more revealing, and very smooth, liquid sound. DH Labs BL-1 Series II interconnects further improved the accuracy and soundstage openness of the speakers. Similar Products Used: Nothing of this calibre |
[Sep 16, 1998]
Jeff
Love my 'Dimes! I had to work with the tuning a bit. Careful placement and toe-in makes a big difference too. I have a pretty boomy living room, and they didn't sound right for some reason unless played at higher volume levels (concurring with What Hi-Fi's opinion)....worked at it for awhile. I ended up putting open-cell foam plugs (from B&W 603) fully into the ports. I love bass, but hate it when it's boomy and cloudy. The plugs really lightened it where it was too heavy, while letting the lower details shine. I also found with the plugs that the midrange now really came though very |