I have had a pair of Paradigm Studio 20's now for about a month, and I am still amazed by the quality of music that I am hearing. They have brought the listening experience to life in a way that I have never heard before. I decided to upgrade from my old Polk 10's, because they were just too big and I wanted to go to a more space accomodating sub/sat system (not home theater, although I do have the new speaker hooked up with the tv monitor/vcr). I purchased a Pinnacle Digital Sub 350 which is an isobarik, twin 12 inch, 350 watt sub with great musicality and very capable for movies. (Check out review in Widescreen Review, Issue 26) Initially I purchased a pair of Pinnacle AC500 bookshelf's for the satellites. I really loved the sweet, silky midrange and detailed high end of those little speakers, but I decided to try the next step up, Pinnacle Classic Gold Mini-Monitors. They were much more revealing in the high end, but they were so bright, that the silky midrange was lost, and I couldn't do anything to tame the m. They were just too hard to listen to. So I took them back and bought the Paradigm Studio 20's. Boy am I glad I did. The high end is wonderfully revealing, clear. Seems like I hear everything. The midrange is smooth and real. Since I have the sub, I really am not that concerned about the low end, but it is exceptional for a 6/12 " driver. Jazz is fabulous. Sometimes the high end can be a touch hot (like with classical strings), so if I'm in a laid back mood I will turn the treble back a few db, and I get a super mellow, sweet high end that is really nice. I like having the capability of having all the top end I could want, or a slightly subdued high end. Best of both worlds. The soundstage is one of the most amazing things about these speakers. The more power you give them, the larger and more real it becomes. As you crank the volume, the speakers never become harsh, but seem to be able to handle everything you throw at them. I'm having a great time with these speakers and would not hesitate to give them five stars for performance and value. (Check out the review in the February 98 issue of Stereophile.

I auditioned the Studio 20 when I was looking for a new bookshelf speaker. As with most speakers in this price range and size you make certain trade-offs. I found the Paradigms to be very dynamic with decent imaging and soundstaging. However in the room I auditioned them in, althought they provided a good subjective sense of bass weight, the bass seemed rather uncontrolled and boomy. The highs also seemed to be over bright and slightly edgy, this was particularly noticable on sibilants and with recordings of brass instruments.

I've only had these for a short time, but I'm a believer! Absolutely the best vocals I've ever had. I live in a condo, so a subwoofer would get me lynched (or evicted) but the bass on these little guys is remarkably good and a fine match for my environment. I use them in my den which is 12' x 15' and they provide a wide and deep soundstage. With better recordings you forget about the equipment and just listen to the music.
I drive them with a Sony CDP-X1AES CD player, an Adcom GTP-450, and an Adcom GFA-535 II. The sense of three dimensional soundstage is just incredible. I think the dual mono construction of the 535 helps, but the speakers have to take most of the credit. The 535 didn't help the last pair all that much. I have the speakers on 26" Wood Technology stands about 7" on centers on the 12" wall, flanking the fireplace, and set with the speakers about 2-3" from the back wall and toed in about 10-15 degrees. Speaker cable is some 12 gauge rope lay, fine strand stuff, about 25' long. We haven't tried bi-wiring yet, there hasen't been time.

Stereophile reviewed these speakers and John Atkinson's test data show a peak at about 150 Hz. I heard that in the shop when I auditioned them (Cat Stevens' voice got chesty). I brought my EQ to the shop with my CD's for the auditioning, and found I needed -3dB at 125 Hz to clean up the low end. I was prepared to EQ the peak, but when I got them home, there was no audible trace of the peak in my small room and I found I could add about 2 dB of bass boost. They were superior in the store, but much better when I got them home. If you have a medium to small room, this is THE speaker. Some reviews have talked about a slightly bright high end. I don't hear it, but the Adcom 535 tends to the warm side. Over the last 40 years of my hi-fi hobby, I have had something like 30 pairs of speakers. Overall, this is THE BEST I've had.

I've had these speakers for 6 months now and I think their great.These speakers aren't the best but their ok. Their the best speakers for the price defenately.

I just bought these speakers to upgrade my system from the Paradigm Titans I had used as my main speakers (now moved to surround duties). These are great sounding speakers for the $550 CDN I paid for them. I've noticed that bi-wiring them seems to tighten the bass a bit more and they sound even better. I've had these speakers for a month now and they are breaking in nicely. The midrange is extrememly clear and natural, the trebble is softer than the harsher Titans and the bass extension is unbelievable in my room. When a recording really drops down low (Titanic Soundtrack), the entire floor shakes and that's running at 9:00 volume level on my Yamaha RXV-590 amp. I'm running an old Sony CDP-335 and will be upgrading this next (ie: Denon DCM-460, Marantz 67SE, or Arcam Alpha 7/8)

I brought these home after being blown away by them in the stores listening room. They sounded terrible in my house.The bass so overwhelmed the treble and mid as to be unlistenable. When played at very high volumes they sounded great again but this gets fatiging after awhile. They are rear ported so they need to have lots of room behind them or the bass distorts and gets boomy. The store let me exchange them . In the right room I'll bet they sound great but shop at a store that lets you return and/or exchange. With my experience i can only give them a 3.

Heard these pair through a Theta front end, Audio Research Pre-Amp, Amp and MIT cables. The speakers were clear with lots of detail and good focus. The soundstage was wide and with relatively good depth(for this price point). Bass was hard to describe. Female vocals were very holographic. Overall, I liked what I was hearing... however... I just could not describe these speakers as musical. I thought I may have been tired so I went home and listened to the same tracks though my Spica Angelus. Ah... MUCH more musical. Much more warmth and rhythm. I cant really fault these speakers much except that despite all of these incredible upstream electronics driving them... they were not very musical.

Still breaking mine in. Very impressive speaker. I live in a small apartment, and the listening room isn't that large, so the Ref. 20's are ideal. Good soundstage, excellent imaging, and effortless in handling even the toughest of pieces, ie. Grieg's "Hall of the Mountain King", and Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition". Very able speaker. I don't have mine biwired. I don't think it's that important. I'm using Kimber Kable 4TC cable, a SUMO Nine amp, Nak preamp, and a Marantz 63MkII cd player, and Rotel turntable. All interconnects (except on the turntable) are PBJ. The sound is priceless. This is a very enjoyable system, and the Ref. 20's work very well. I'm happy with them, and for the price these are truly unbeatable.

I recently upgraded from paradigm mini moniters to the paradigm studio 20s. These speakers sound way too good for the money I paid for them. The mini monitors sounded great for the price, but the studio 20s beat it in every way. The bass is probably the biggest improvement over the mini. Gone is the overly boomy bass. The bass is much tighter and more defined. The tweeters are also far better than I thought they would be. Cymbals sound as if they are crashing in your room. They are very natural sounding. Imaging and mid range are also excellent. there is also an air around the instruments that most other speakers in this price range lack. I compared them to the $800 b & w cdm 2s and They were near the reference 20 quality. However, vocals, especially female vocals sounded harsh when compared to the studio 20s. The studio 20s ($650) sound great alone, but sound even better when matched with the paradigm sub ps1000. This set up cant be beat unless your planning on spending at least twice the money. I could go on and on about these speakers but i dont want to bore you. these speakers easily deserve 5 stars. You wont believe yours when it is matched with the above mentioned or higher paradigm sub.

Great bookshelf speakers