Flat, uncolored mid range. Sweet, airy highes with no brightnes. Nice clarity and detail.

Base response, of course. And rear ported so they must be placed on stands.

I purchased these speakers used to act as mains in my HT system and for limited music listening. They were already broken in when I got them. I had pre-demoed them in the store so I knew that I would at least marginally approve of the sound. And they are a noticeable upgrade over Paradigms Mini-Monitors, the next level down in Paradigm''s highly respected suite of bookshelf models. These speakers were a huge upgrade over my old JBL cubes, offering an extremely flat, uncolored midrange. They do especially well with female vocals and piano. The highs are airy and sweet. Paradigm has a reputation for being on the bright side. But this is not at all true of the Reference line. If anything, paired with my Denon 3801 receiver, these speakers sound very neutral in the highs, and sometimes just a hair laid back, without sacrificing any amount of detail or clarity. Base response is a problem with these speakers, like any other bookshelf sized speaker. They go a bit lower than others I have demoed, but they are rear ported, which means the base goes *very* wrong when they are within 12" of a wall. Plugging the ports diminishes the muddiness at the cost of base response. You must put these on stands. Unfortunately, I am not permitted to do so, and therefore I am investing more in a better subwoofer so that the sub can handle the mid base duty. I think the Studio 40''s are a small but noticeable upgrade over the 20''s starting from base response and going all the way up through the ferquency spectrum. I have zero complaints about the 20''s though at this price point.

Bottom end Midrange clarity

None for the price

I have used this speaker in two different rooms and with completely different electronics and have been happy with the outcome of both situations. The bottom end is excellent with this speaker. A lot better than most monitors I''ve played with. I do agree with others about the break in time. You have to give them a chance to break in. Once I did, I was happy to hang on to them. I had these for a while and then traded them for B&W CM-2''s. An almost identical speaker. The B&W couldn''t rock like the studio 20 can. I promptly traded back for the studio 20''s. Here is my current setup: NAD T550 DVD player Parasound ST 200 Tuner Anthem INT 2 integrated (tubed preamp section with solid state amp section used to power the mid bass driver) Parasound HCA-500 used to power the tweeter Various Straightwire interconnects and speaker cable

Similar Products Used:

B&W CM-2

huge soundstage, great bass, best insane highs

none really... some may find them bright.

Cant really add anything profound to what has already been said so I''''ll make it short. GET THE 20''''s!

Detail, clarity, smoothness, bass response, build quality, finish

None that I have encountered so far

This review is for the version 2 with the wood finish. I have had these for a little over a month now I they sound as good as they look. I have the dark cherry finish and it looks very nice. The sound that these speakers are able to reproduce is stunning and very detailed. I did a review of the version 1 of the speakers a couple of months ago and I even like these a little better. The bass is very solid and a good sub really helps out with the overall range. I have mine birwired with DH Labs Silver Sonic T-14 speaker cable from Value Audio and I think biwiring them has helped tighten up the bass and bring out the best in these speakers. HT and music both sound great with these and they are good for small to medium size rooms. Good stands are a must too. I may get separate external amp later on.

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm Ref.20 v1, Studio CC, PS-1000 sub

Detail, clarity, smoothness, bass response, build quality, finish

None that I have encountered so far

This review is for the version 2 with the wood finish. I have had these for a little over a month now I they sound as good as they look. I have the dark cherry finish and it looks very nice. The sound that these speakers are able to reproduce is stunning and very detailed. I did a review of the version 1 of the speakers a couple of months ago and I even like these a little better. The bass is very solid and a good sub really helps out with the overall range. I have mine birwired with DH Labs Silver Sonic T-14 speaker cable from Value Audio and I think biwiring them has helped tighten up the bass and bring out the best in these speakers. HT and music both sound great with these and they are good for small to medium size rooms. Good stands are a must too. I may get separate external amp later on.

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm Ref.20 v1, Studio CC, PS-1000 sub

Build quality,sound quality

none for price and size

I've had the 20s for about one week now,and have played them many hours each day to break them in.They sound a little disapointing at first so dont be put off by this,they find their voice after a few hours.Early this morning in a quiet empty house I gave them a serious listen,the Miles davis masterpiece Kind of Blue was played when the last track Flamenco sketches reached the solos by Coletrane and Cannonball the sound and spirit of the group entered the listening room, chills ran down my spine and the hair on my neck stood up! this is the highest complement I can give a loudspeaker system forget the audiophile jargon.BUY WITH CONFIDENCE

Similar Products Used:

b&w 6o1

Crisp highs, excellent imaging, great value.

mids slightly laid back, bass can be boomy if placed too near walls/corners

I had the opportunity to bring home a pair of Studio 20's that had been used quite extensively at the local audio retailer. This was lucky for me as I will explain later. I got them home and placed them on 28 inch stands about 12 inches from the wall, toed in slightly. This resulted in a slightly boomy midbass, and a compressed image. I proceeded to move them farther from the wall, and reduce the toe in to a minimal amount. This really opened up the image, making a realistic, enveloping soundstage, and clearing the air in the midrange. This really helped on discs like Jeff Buckley's Grace where the vocals can sound horrendous when the mids are cloudy or honky. The highs were never in doubt with this speaker, as with most high quality metal dome tweets, the sound was crisp and detailed, however I was surprised at how easy they were to listen to even at high volumes. They were less fatiguing than some I have heard on MB Quart, Definitive Technology, and Polk Audio speakers in a similar price range. They also managed to add some body and realism to some discs I previously found totally sterile such as Eric Clapton's Journeyman, and Depeche Mode's Ultra. Performance on DVD's was also great, showing a wide soundstage on effects, and some excellent dynamics. I mated them with a Velodyne f-1200 sub, and this resulted in a greatly dynamic and exciting duo on DVD's like The Fifth Element and Crimson Tide. After listening to these for several weeks, I returned to the store to pick up a new pair to have and to hold. I had never given a whole lot of creedence to companies saying their speakers required some serious burn-in time, like 50 hours to sound their best...most others I have had have matured after several days of listening to various DVD's and CD's at relatively high volumes, however these speakers do need several weeks of serious use to sound as sweet as the demonstrators I had. If you are patient enough to put up with some below-par sound for a bit, you will be rewarded by a great sounding, affordable monitor.

System Components:
Paradigm CC-450 center
Definitive Technology BP2x surrounds
Sony DVP S-500 DVD Player
Rotel RTC 970 Preamp w/ Dolby Digital Adapter
Rotel RB 985 THX Power amp
Velodyne f-1200 Servo sub
Monster Cables
Panamax Line Conditioner

Similar Products Used:

numerous bookshelf monitors

Seem to be well constructed. Good overall tone.

Not really any glaring weaknesses, just no high points

I don't want to get flamed, BUT....
I really wanted to like thes speakers after reading the reviews. They sounded like just what I was looking for.
Nothing about the speakers was bad, but nothing was really good either. They sounded lazy. The lows (I know they are a bookshelf) sounded like they were all beyond the range of the speaker slightly....a little on the "fuzzy" side. The mids seemed to just drone together with the highs.
I'm not trying to slam Paridigm, maybe thay just are not for me. After extensively comparing these to several other speakers, they were eliminated quickly. I ended up with a set of Boston VR-M50's which to my ear were clearer with good bass and are a very well rounded speaker.
My value is base on the fact that several speakers (some Paridigm) sounded better for far less. Just listen around a little before you plunk down some cabbage.

Similar Products Used:

Polk, Boston Acoustics, Def Techs, PSB, Mirage, NHT, Klipsch......etc.

Incredible sound stage. Excellent reproduction of all instruments. Very accurate bass

Really needs to be bi-wired for best results

I use two gauges of wire (12&14) in a passive bi-wiring. I notice a significant difference by switching the wires to emphasize bass or mid-range.
My amp is just a low-end Onkyo 100W/channel, but it does the job if you don't go past 10:00, then it gets harsh.

My main reason for writing is the price issue.
I visit Canada often. I have seen these speakers sold in Montreal for $540(CAN). Last January, in Vancouver, they were being sold for $240(CAN). Maybe the price was per speaker it was so low.

Given the exchange rate, however, the typical US price of $650 is ridiculous. The speakers are worth it relative to the market, but there is some price-fixing going on. The retailer in Vancouver told me he sells hundreds of these speakers to resellers in the States. He laughed knowingly when I told him the average price. Brian in Ottawa is an idiot.

Great all round performer except in bass, but the bass they have is tight and tuneful. Very nice.

None at this price.

These speakers simply excel in nearly all areas except bass. Dave made some good points in his review below, but he should've given the associated components the speakers were hooked-up to. Mine are hooked up to Musical Fidelity A3 Integrated, with an MSB link DAC, and a Rega Planet transport. Everything is wired with Kimber except for the Canare Digiflex Gold digital coax cable (8TC in biwire configuration and silver streak interconnects). I find the speakers to be very open. They really have a sense of pace and just let the music go. I love em. The only speakers that I would get to upgrade from these is MAYBE the new Dynaudio Audience 50s. After that Magnepans are the way to go (1.6QR). These Paradigms have zero competition at this low price. The Audience 50s are around $900 and only marginally better.

Happy listening

Similar Products Used:

PSB Stratus Mini, KEF, NHT 1.5 and Super One, Paradigm Mini Monitors, Paradigm Atoms, Acoustic Energy Aegis 1