Dynamic and detailed. Imaging and soundstage. Transparent. Capable of filling a large room. Full lows.

The lows are very present and full--with rock or jazz, they REALLY move lows. Placement away from the wall might be necessary.

Having read every review I could get my hands on, I made the decision to pick these up as my new main speakers. Great decision. I listen to a variety of music with classical and acoustic as the main stuff, but rock in the collection as well. Regardless of the music, detail and soundstage are remarkable, clarity/transparency and full lows. The Studio 20's are a perfect complement and counter to the warmth of my Arcam Alpha 8R integrated. My listening area is a 20 X 24 family room which opens on one side to the kitchen and on to the rest of the house. The Studio 20's fill the room with sound quite nicely without strain or distortion. The lows from these speakers are fast and full--and I notice for the first time the difference between fast bass and slower bass, and will probably upgrade my sub from the little Energy eXL:S8 that I have been using. I also upgraded my wires to Clearview Double Helix interconnects and speaker cables. These seem to work well with the Studio 20's but I plan to investigate the DH Labs wire that I have read about in the reviews here of the Studio 20's. Also, just a note, contrary to Paradigm's recommendation to leave the grilles on, for me, the slight added brightness with the grilles off allows a bit of added presence and clarity that I prefer. All in all, these speakers are a great investment and an end to my upgrade path. They are keepers.

Similar Products Used:

JBL L110, Castle Kendall, Acoustic Energy Aegis One, Monitor Bronze 2

Don't have internal amplifiers.

These speakers are exceptionally good for the price. I have been unable to find a home speaker near this price range that is as pleasing to the ear. Granted, they do not sound quite as good as my Event 20/20 bi-amplified studio reference monitors, but they blend in quite nicely in a living room and provide a beautiful soundstage. Running these in tandem with the matching surrounds in 4-channel stereo is very pleasant. I am especially impressed with the quality of bass these speakers can produce. B&K 4090 Rotel RB-985 THX Paradigm Reference 20 Paradigm Reference CC Paradigm Reference Surrounds Denon DVD Mitsubishi 65" Widescreen HDTV

Similar Products Used:

Some random Energy and Bose speakers before I got some dough.

Looks elegant on the stands. Good for surround speakers

None

I've used these speakers for one year. They are the rear speakers in a HT setup. They are mounted on stands that Paradigm recommends. Basically just for sound effects. Will get more use when I get involved with DVD A and SACD. rest of system is Paradigm Ref 100s Paradigm Studio CC REL 401 sub Rotel RMB 1095 amp Rotel RSP 985 processor Sony DVD Audioquest cabling

tight, accurate bass. warm, clear midrange. never heard this quality under $1000.

not enough of these in the world!

in a word - wow! just heard these today side-by-side with the mini-monitors, v3. until today, i thought the mini-monitors were the steal of the century. now i know otherwise. the reference had tighter, more dynamic bass, warmer midrange, and better detail. i highly reccommend this speaker, and i think the $300 difference will not matter once you've heard these speakers.

Similar Products Used:

b&w nautilus 805, paradigm mini-monitor, tannoy.

Very detailed sound, nice light cherry wood, warmth and very revealing.

none, best speakers at this price.

I have bought this pair of Studio 20 due to the rave and reviews from this site. I traded my Paradigm Titans with Studio 20. The Titans were good speakers but had a limited sound coming from the tweeters. The Studio 20 has warmth sound and not limited as the Titans. Fresh from the box, these speakers sounded like they are ready to rock and I have played all my favorite cds all over again to see what they sound like on a top of the line speakers from Paradigm. When I played "Superman, (It''s not Easy)" it feels like you were next to the singer and I can hear every detail, including the singer breath for air while singing. Then, I turned on my DVD player and played "Hell Freezes Over" by the Eagles and when it got to the Love will keep us alive, I heard Don Henley and Don Felder voices as second voices a little louder than Timothy Schmitt''s first voice. These speakers can reveal minute sound I never heard of from the Titans. Although, I have paid $800.00, I never regret because they are the light cherry wood veneer finish, not the laminate one. And they were also brand spanking new so I have the chance to break them in, though takes a little longer to break them in. I highly recommend these speakers for those with a smaller room designated for you to play your music or even watch your favorite DVD movies. I''m very satisfied with these speakers and my wife urged me to listened to them while we are making out. Go to your nearest dealer and get these speakers.

Similar Products Used:

JVC SP-95, Paradigm Titan, Atoms

tight bass, good imaging, clear and detailed sound.

none for this price and size of speakers

I upgraded from the Titan and the Studio 20 are much better than the Titan. I can hear every detail and every string on the guitar when Hotel California was being played by Eagles''s DVD. The bass is tight and not too thumpy, just about right. I will keep these speakers until I move to my new house. Right now they are just the perfect speakers for a 13''x15'' family room which I converted to a HT room. These speakers really amazed me each day I listened to a channel stereo music. I agree with other listeners that you have to match these speakers with the right components. MATRIX really comes alive with these speakers especially if you match them with the Studio CC when playing movies on DVD. I highly recommend these speakers to any beginner looker for a mid-fi systems. My gadgets Denon AVR 3801 Paradigm Studio 20 (main) Paradigm Studio CC (center) Paradigm PDR 10 sub Paradigm ADP 170 surrounds Paradigm ADP 70 rear back surrounds Marantz CD 6000OSE cd player Sony DVPNS700p DVD player Audioquest copperheads interconnects AR proseries 12gauge speaker cables all around.

Similar Products Used:

titans, jvc sp-95, monitor 11

Very accurate, muscial, uncolored sound.

None

I replaced a pair of Titans with Monitor 20''s and am very pleased with the new speakers. The Monitor 20 is a much better speaker than the Titan (a very good speaker) smoother, better balanced, deeper bass, and a top end that does not seem limited in any way. They are musically revealing without being harsh. I strongly recommend these speakers, especially if space is a problem.

Similar Products Used:

None

Pure, un-colored sound. Excellent detail. Convicing bass. Excellent build quality. Bi-Wirealbe and Bi-Ampable.

None. I just wonder if it''s REALLY Necessary to spend $500-$800 to get this kind of sound

Excellent sound when used right. I had them set up on a bookshelf in a very large, open room; they sounded below average. Once I put them in dedicated listening room, with carpet floors, on stands, they sounded ABSOLUTELY wonderful!!! I used to own Magnepan SMG-A and Studio 60s V2 (sold them to conserve space). I''m VERY happy with these speakers. I''d like to do A/B comparisons with speakers costing a little less and a LOT more, just to see how they Studio 20s stack up.

Similar Products Used:

Studio 60 Vs Magnepan SMG-A (no convincing bass though) These aren''t similar, just other products I''ve used.

Overall tonal balance, bass tunefulness, great midrange, overall price to performance ratio and a lack of glaring weaknesses

None for the price or size.

This review pertains to the version one Studio 20''s. I''ve had them for about 4 years now, and they get better with age. I disagree with those who feel this speaker is bright. They are a bit lively, and bad recordings or bright upstream gear is going to sound bad. Don''t blame the speaker for weaknesses elsewhere. I recently changed cables between my cd player and integrated; the brightness that I attributed to the speaker is actually the fault of the cd player and a cheap cable. My system is very modest, but after a few days of burn in on the new cable, it was obvious where the weak link had been. I really love the upper frequencies with my turntable and Incognito''ed RB-250. Smooth but far from boring. Remember: garbage in, garbage out. I agree that this is one of THE speakers to own for small rooms. I''ve always had small listening rooms, including one tiny one, and the 20''s have always sounded great. They don''t go very deep, but they go deep enough for most music listening. They also do it tunefully. I''d really like to hear these mated with a quality subwoofer, like a REL. With the right upstream components and a good sub, I think this is all the speaker most people would ever need for a small to medium room. This will probably be the last part of my system to be upgraded. I think the Studio 20''s are worthy of much better components than they are typically partnered with (including mine). My system: Studio 20 on 24" Premire stands (sand filled) NAD 314 integrated amp MIT Terminator 4 interconnect Marantz cd 67se (not the best choice for the 20''s) VPI HW-19 Jr. w/ modified Rega RB-250 AudioQuest Type 4 speaker cable Paradigm PS-1200 sub (not nearly as tight as the 20''s)

Great sound

Will sound bright with the wrong set up

When I started down the long round for a quality HT system, I knew virtually nothing except to avoid Bose. That being said, I went to the people at stereo discount and let them know my budget(which at the time was nothing) I walked out with a yamaha RXV496 and a pair of paradigm titans. I matched the system with a pair of old jamos and an old denon for the rear and center speaker. That worked for about 2months. I updated to the cc170 and the monitor 5v2. That lasted for another 4 months and I grew to hate the sound. WAY TOO BRIGHT. It was burning holes in my ears. I thought for sure it was the speakers and I decided to try the studio 20s. I loved them. Much warmer and more open, but still on the bright side. SO I did another countless hours of research and finally determined that the receiver was the culprit. I demo''ed a bunch of receiver(rotel, nad and denon to name a few) I am in the process of demoing the Denon 3801 and what a diffenence. These speakers sound incredible. They are warm, open and clear beyond anything I have heard before. For bookshelve speakers, the bass is tight and robust. I still have a couple of weeks before I need to return the Denon, but for the price($650) I think I may keep it. I could go with the NAD 751 which the guys at stereo discount have on sale for $550, but for the power and options behind the Denon, the compromise in sound quality is not an issue. I really feel the Denon competes very well with the NAD in sould quality. The Rotel is the best but the 965 has horrible reliablity issues. All that being said, I truly believe the Paradigm line is the best. B&W is prettier but for the money do not compare. The rest of the competition listed below do not even warrant mentioning specific, there is simply no comparison. DO not put these speakers with a cheap receiver, especially a yamaha-it will burn your ears out. The require a receiver that is strong and warm. If you are like me and cannot spend more than $700 or so, look at the NAD,Denon, Marantz or Onkyo. Try to get an older model for a close out price.

Similar Products Used:

b&w, klipch, boston accoustics, cambridge sound works