I have owned a pair of 20's for about eight months and have had the opportunity to place them in dramatically differently sized rooms. I am using McCormack electronics at the front end; the DNA.5 amplifier and TLC preamp, a EAD CD1000 CD player and Kimber PBJ interconnects. Many of you claim the 20's are hashy in the upper frequency ranges. You must not blame this on the 20's; to do so is to admit your ignorance toward the electronic audio system as a whole. Granted, metal dome tweeters are typically less silky sounding than their composite peers, but the intrinsic performance characteristics of the system's front end gear should not be overlooked. Given their price point, I think that most people who purchase the 20's are driving them with amplification of relatively poor quality. Characteristically, most Japanese-designed amplification tends to be hashy in the higher frequencies, while that from the English design mindset is relatively staid. The DNA.5 amplifier retails for $1000, which I don't feel is off the charts for a speaker of this price (and quality). With the exception of the initial break-in period, I have never noticed the 20's to be overly "bright" or "harsh", and I have had the opportunity to listen to outrageously expensive speakers in outrageously ideal room conditions (which, of course, cause the 20's to seem completely underwealming in any environment) It is important, when making performance comparisons, for the critic to look at the whole system in relative terms before blaming one aspect of it for what he might deem poor performance. The 20's are a very good value for their intended purpose and worthy of great praise, when mated with complimentary electronics,for their solid performance.

Detailed, refined, musical, they help me feel the music

Binding posts don't hold spades too well

I am so happy with these speakers. I initially purchased a pair of Mini Monitor's and even though I loved them I felt that what I was getting was just short of extraordinary so I decided to move up to the 20's.

These speakers have such incredible detail and they allow me to hear the strum of a guitar or the tap of a cymbal linger and fade in a way that really engages my emotions.

The Bass is solid and tight, the mids sing and sing and the highs are focused, clear, transparent and musical. I've only had them for a couple of months but as I don't have a TV they're on whenever I'm home and have settled into my system and opened up beautifully (they were great out of the box but now there amazing...to me)

I auditioned B&W 601's and 602's but they weren't to my taste. A little too forward and thin, they didn't make me feel the music as much and that's the most important criteria.

I also audtioned the the Dynaudio Audience 50's. These did make me feel the music, and man do they have bass but they didn't make me feel the music more than the 20's and they don't have that much more bass (not $250 more).

I have the 20's Biwired with Music Meter Signature speaker cable and I know there's disagreement on this, but there is no doubt that there is a very noticable difference (particularly in the highs and in background vocals). I've been listening to Wish You Were Here for 23 years on many systems, headphones, concerts etc. and after Biwiring the 20's there were sounds that, although I'd always heard them, were/are dramatically more in focus and clearly distinguishable. By the way if you're in the market you should audition the Music Meter stuff

The 20's are hooked up to a
NAD c34o
Marantz CD 5000
Music Meter Signature true Biwire (double run)
Music Meter Signature IC's
Tara Labs Missing Link Jumper Cables
NAD 616 Dual Cassette deck with Audioquest Jade IC's

Since to me 5's mean the best value and best product and since it's all subjective I have to go with 4's

Similar Products Used:

Owned Mini Monitors, Auditioned B&W 601's/602's and Dynaudio Audience 50's

great value

half-decent bass

sorry people, the prices in my review were in CANADIAN dollars, not american, so that's why you might think i got ripped off, but that's the story!

Rob

Similar Products Used:

none

great mid-high range

half-decent bass

Boy, Did I ever get a good deal on these things. I seen this ad in the paper about a guy selling these things. I called him up, but he moved to australia. but, anyways these were still in the original boxes and were NEVER used.
I offered them 500$ and they agreed. 1100$ speaker for 500$!

I couldn't believe it, i'm so happy i got these things.

now to the sound quality, i've compared these things to comparable energy's and they don't compare. these things just rock, any type of music, classical, r&b, rap, dance, anything you put to these things just sounds crystal clear. but the only thing i'm gonna have to do now is add a subwoofer, because the bass on these doesn't go quite as low as i want when it comes to the r&b, rap stuff. the break-in period was pretty long, a month or two. but now they're wicked and I would highly recommend bying these, even you if spring the list price, i would've had I not had this really good deal. I've had these for a couple years now and they sound better than ever, and this is coupled to a cheap JVC RX-558V amp. I can't wait to upgrade that to really get the punch these things can pump out!

When it comes to speaker quality for the buck, you can't beat these things, nothing but excellency here people.

Similar Products Used:

none

This is a follow up to make two comments...first off, bi-wire these babies with some good cables. With that done these compare with many mini monitors in the $1-2k price range. Also...beware of companies dumping the old version of these as the newer version has a much better finish, and the cabinet seems more solid also.

Studio 20 - great bass, great imaging, great price -- but the treble s-u-c-k-s big-time. I highly recommend these speakers to anyone who appreciates an ear-bleedingly bright, cold and sterile top end (you know who you are).

Everything, imaging, soundstage, clarity, incredible speakers

At the price i paid, there is none

Just yesterday i recieved my tax return and the first thing that appeared in my head was new speakers. After reading the reviews of the Studio 20's i believed it to be the best choice. Went to my local paradigm dealer and recieved these puppies for $500 CANADIAN funds!!! i believe that's approximately 320 dollars US funds. I took the shiver test and passed with flying colors. Put my favorite song on (Hotel California, Eagles, H*ll freezes over), every single note on all those guitars was distinct, crystal clear, incredible. The hairs on the back of my neck, h*ll, my entire body just stood up and applauded. Definately the best investment i have ever made in home audio.

Speakers: Paradigm Reference Studio 20's
Paradigm Reference Studio CC
In a month i'm going to buy Studio ADP's

I'm using a sh*t amp which isn't bringing the speakers to their full potential. I will most likely go with either Rotel or Harman/Kardon (although the way the H/K units are 'supposedly' performing i'm aiming for the Rotel) recievers in the next couple months.

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm Monitors, Klipsch, JM Labs Chorus, B&W's

Compact size, solid build, very smooth top end, pretty decent bass extension for the size

needs to be played at higher levels to sound right, slightly recessive mids, bass a little muddy

This is actually a re-review after a year and a half of use. The room itself is apparently a difficult one acoustically since the Paradigms were the first thing that sounded good in the room after a number of tries. As a result I was initially very pleased with them and waxed enthusiastic. But over time, something was missing. Hard to pin down, but definitely something was wrong. More recently I had a chance to pick up a pair of 1978 vintage JBL L-110's (modified with different woofers) and the comparison was not at all favorable to the Paradigms. Since the L-110s are much larger and use a ported 10", you would expect a solider and deeper low end. But what was not expected was the increase in definition, depth, reproduction of hall ambience, and a sense of liveness. By comparison, the midrange of the Paradigms sounded withdrawn and "flat". On duets, the JBLs easily resolved the sound into two distinct voices, while with the Paradigms they were homogenized into a muddle of voice that was difficult to seperate. Perhaps most disturbing is the Paradigms tendency to make ambience disappear. On Proprius' CD "Live at the Pawnshop" the sense of being in a club with the diners and musicians is noticeably less with the Paradigms. At first I felt the JBLs must have an elevated midrange to give more of a presence to the sound, but on playing a number of large scale classical works, the orchestra was in proper perspective and not at all "forward" in placement.

Similar Products Used:

Bose AM-5, Design Acoustics 3 piece, Bose 301 Series IV

Great detail and imaging, depth and dimensionality of soundstage, Incredible bass from a rather small bass/midrange driver, smooth midrange, detailed highs without harshness

Not full range, must have good set of stands to extract the maximum performance (minor gripes)

Well I ordered a set of Paradigm Studio 100's in cherry wood and an MCA-3 Amp from Stereoland in Minneapolis MN, and they were kind enough to send home a set of Studio 20's, Premier J-20 stands (the ones intended for the Studio 40's, so the 20's sat a bit lower, oh well!), and a Marantz 2 Channel Amp...

I have been evaluating and listening for many years now and once I had the pleasure of listening to the Paradigm Reference line, there was no turning back! Out of all the speakers I have heard, the only speakers I actually would consider in lieu of the Paradigm's are the upper end (read 10K/pair) Dynaudio line. I am by no means an audiophile, but I do have a good set of ears, and since price is marginally important (The Dynaudio are nice but comprise more than my whole budget!) Paradigm is the clear winner... If you like speakers that: are neutral (they are not bright as some might say, if they sound bright they are probably not broken in yet), fast, have no pronouced weight in any particular frequency range, and great imaging with superb deep/wide soundstage - the Paradigms are for you. It is a very muscial speaker that works equally well as a HT and 2 Channel speaker...
The beauty of the Paradigm Reference line is that they all share a strong sonic family resemblance - really! The 20's have amazing bass response from such a small speaker, probably becuase unlike the rest of the line, the bass vents exit posterior rather than anterior. Thus the 20's sound changes (more so than the rest of the line) depending upon how close it is to the wall - the 20's can do a respectable job at providing adequate 2 channel bass to a moderately sized room (HT would need a sub). The bass is fairly tight, but this again depends upon wall interactions and hence placement... I still find the 100's to be a "better" speaker, but it's 2-3x the price and a bona-fide 3 way design... For under a 1000 bucks, you will not find a speakers that can do so many things so well as the Studio 20's... If I did not have the room or the cash for the 100's, I would seriously consider the 20's... For value I give them 5, overall (price no object they are a good 3.5 -4 (terrific)), yet comapred to other bookshelf speakers, they are clearly 5 stars.

P.S. if you are near the twin cities and are interested in auditioning the Paradigms, talk to Terry in Minneapolis or Bill in Eden Prarie at either Stereoland store... They are very accomodating and are very plesant to work with.

Equipment:
Paradigm Studio 20's v2 (now 100's)
Premier J-20 Stands
Audioquest Slate Speaker wire
Audioquest Coral Interconnects
Monster Silver Digital Coax
Lexicon DC-1 processor
Marantz 60 wpc amp - the weakest link! (It's not mine)
Onkyo R1 CD player
Pioneer DV-333

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm line, Def Tech's (yuk), Kef Reference, Dynaudio, Energy, Monitor Audio, M&K, NHT, Martin Logan, Vandersteen, Audes

Amazingly clear and dark sound.

Bass below 60Hz will require a sub

I've had these speakers for a little over a year, and figured now was as good a time as any to submit a review. When I auditioned the speakers I chose them because their sound was much darker than the Infinity and especially the B&W speakers in it's prece range.

When playing a sine sweep from 20kHz down to 20Hz, the sound stays quite level with no segments of the field becoming glaringly louder ever.

The only real complaint I'd give it would be with the low, deep bass. A sub is a requirement for anything below 60Hz.

In all due fairness to Paradigm, this isn't a speaker that's designed for the deepest bass, and I love it for music and for HT uses. There will come a time when I can afford better, more expensive speakers as my mains, but until then, I am 100% satisfied with my decision to buy these speakers.

Similar Products Used:

B&W 301, Infinity RS5