Excellent dynamics, very articulate/precise, very very nice soundstage.

None significant given their design (monitors/not full range)

I upgraded from a pair of Paradigm 9seMK3's for the front in my music & HT system. The Studio 40's are superior in every important way.Listening to Manhattan Transfer which has a lot of vocal harmony each voice is heard distinctively, superb imaging! Listening to accoustic guitar and piano; I now hear each string clearly even on very complex passages; female and male vocals are extremely realistic. Manhattan Transfer again as an example - a variety of voices all come across accurately. I have these connected with a Servo-15 sub and the combination is absolutely unbeatable for anywhere even close to the price range. The Studio 40's reproduce the bass they're designed to reproduce very very well - tight, dynamic, NO BOOM. Coupled with the Servo-15 sub, the music (and HT) is phenomenal! Each day I notice some new aspect of improved performance. Highly recommended all around.

Similar Products Used:

Various Paradigm speakers.

Incredible speaker. Simply one of the best imaging speakers that I have ever heard. The sounds are so deep and wide that its almost like listening to a pair of maggies. I really like the way that they look now--rounded edges and a soft, modern look. For the money, you're cheating yourself if you dont give these a listen.

Clarity, overall sound quality, construction, price. Perfect matching with other Paradigm products. Price is excellent...you could spend much more and get a product not nearly as good as this. Female vocals...WOW!

None as of yet. Break-in period, as per all Paradigm speakers I have used, is very noticeable. Dont judge these speakers before you give them a decent break-in period. They mellow substancially. I have actually learned to like the break-in for Paradigm products, because I KNOW that every hour it will sound better and better, for quite some time. Out of the box they were great. 40hrs of use later they are even better. I hear at least 80 hrs is needed for them to break in! Can't wait.

Simply sensational sound.

As highlighted above, female vocals are just something to listen to in awe. I have just bought several mostly female vocal CD's (not my usual music) just because it sounds soooo good.

I was surprised, even though I knew (from extended home tests, not ownership) the Paradigm Studio range are always good. Dont underestimate these speakers because they are smaller than the floorstanding models: they may not hit the deep notes quite as well which is to be expected, but in every other way they are sensational. They will fill even a large room with wonderful sound. By themselves, set up right they have enough bass to satisfy most people in rooms of the appropriate size. Set them up the correct distance from the wall and the rear ports really help the bass. Perhaps not enough bass for room-shaking home theatre though. Link them with the right subby and you can easily overcome any deficiency in that area, in any size room.

The construction is as solid as any speaker I have ever seen. Absolutely seemless joins. I bought a pair with a light cherry wood finish. I bought them for the equivalent of US$900 which is pretty good considering I'm on the other end of the Earth. I dont know what the Light Cherry finish sells for in the US, but I doubt its much less than what I paid.

Heavy, solid....this speaker is another example of the no-compromise approach of Paradigm. It just reeks of quality and attention to detail. You can tell this company is proud of what it does. A refreshing thing to see in these days of cost-cutting and compromise.

I have found that for all types of music, it has a clarity that is just eye opening. Poor recordings are noticeable, but you should get that with poor recording quality!

Several times I have looked up or come in from the next room whilst listening to a CD I know backwards, thinking "what on earth is that?", only to find its literally an instrument or other significant detail I had never even heard before. It surprised me because I have heard the same CD's on other comparable quality speaker brands. I bi-wired them last night and that improved things even more. I plan on experimenting with various cable set-ups, from the dreaded-to-make hand-braided 54-pair CAT5 cables to just about anything else I find.

They have an excellent sound stage. The accuracy and detail is something some more expensive speakers cant even match. Shut your eyes and make out each individual voice in a full choir. Pick one guitar as being just a little to the right of the other, one drum in the drum kit being to the left of the next. Amazing. Music comes alive. Home theatre is delightfully accurate.

The Paradigm PS-1200 I bought 2 weeks ago is a perfect compliment to these speakers. Its adjustable cut-off lets it be perfectly blended to match the 40's, more than making up for any lack of bass.
Next week I plan to buy a Studio CC centre channel, if an audition of it proves its as good as the amazing reviews on this site. (28 reviews, every one saying it is pretty much perfect!)

I am just so impressed with this company in my relatively brief experience with them. The local supplier (being way down here in Australia, it's not an easy to find brand) now knows Ive been bitten by the Paradigm bug. Slowly but surely it is taking over my home music/theatre system. Out with the old, in with the new. Subby first. Mains second (these Studio 40 v2's) and since my suspicions of awesome quality were proven, they will eventually be relegated to my rears (probably overkill but hey!) and Studio 60's, 80's or 100's as the mains. Ive been bitten and Im loving it!


System:

Onkyo TX-DS575 DTS AV Receiver
Onkyo DV-S535 DVD/CD Player
Paradigm Reference Studio 40 v2's (mains)
Bose AM5 surrounds (Will soon morph into something with Paradigm written on it, thats for sure)
No Center (next week!)
Sony Wega KV-XF29-M35 TV
Sony SLV-X837AS VCR

Similar Products Used:

Too many to list. Includes Paradigm Reference Studio 60's, various Bose speakers.

I purchased the Studio 40's about 2 weeks ago and had to wait a week for them to arrive. I already had a Studio CC, Studio ADP's, and Servo 15. Let me first say one thing - I was skeptical about bi-wiring and the cost versus benefit factor. I lived with them for one week with 12 ga. Monster Cable XP. They sounded pretty darn good but lacked something that was hard to put your finger on. The soundstage seemed a little flat to me. I purchased a pair of Apature Accusound BL-16 silver bi-wire cables (www.apature.com) and the difference almost made me weep. There was now an 'air' around each individual instrument and the bass sounded so much more musical. I can definitely say that if you do not bi-wire these speakers, you will never realize their full potential. All that said, try to avoid bumping the subwoofer level up too high and you'll be as happy as you can be in this price range - IMHO.

I HAVE BEEN LISTENING TO A GREAT DEAL OF MUSIC FOR MANY YEARS,OVER 800 CD'S BUT NEVER HAD A DECENT STEREO I RECENTLY PURCHASED ONE.AT FIRST WHEN I WENT OUT SHOPPING I WENT TO A NEAR BY STEREO SHOP (DIST....AUDIO HIGH END SHOP)REAL AUDIOPHLIE PRO'S(REAL NICE GUYS) BUT THIS WAS A LITTLE TO MUCH FOR ME I LISTEN TO A STEREO WHEN I WALK IN 45000.00 DOLLARS AND THIS WAS NOT THERE BEST I FELT WHATHEVER I BOUGHT WAS NEVER GOING TO BE GOOD ENOUGHT.WITH A 5 TO 7000. RANGE IWENT TO LOTS OF STORES AND FINALY BOUGH AT DEWARD AUDIO BECAUSE OF THE UPGRADING PROGRAMROTEL POW AMP 991
ROTEL PRE AMP 972
ROTEL CD 971
ROTEL TUN 935
GOT BACK HOME TO A 15 YEAR OLD PAIR OF SPK TANNOY T-185 WITCH STILL SOUND VERY GOOD COULD NOT BELIVE THE DIFF IN SOUND DEFF AND SOUND STAGE
AFTER A TWO WEEK PERIOD I KNEW I HAD TO BUY SPK TO GET THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THE NEW STEREO WENT SHOPPING LISTEN TO A LOT OF BRANDS READ LOTS OF CRITICTS ON AUDIO REVIEW (THANKS A LOT FOR BEING THERE)AND DECIDE ON A GOOD OLD MADE IN CANADA SPEAKER (KNEW I WAS GETTING MY MONEYS WORTH)
PARADIGM STUDIO'S
I WAS DECIDE ON THE 100'S AND FINALY BOUGHT THE FORTY'S IN THE VENER WOOD FIN.
THESE SPEAKERS ARE EXTREMELY WELL FINISHED'SOLID AND SOUND FANTASTIC
HIGHS ARE CLEAR NOT AGRESSIVE'MID ARE PERFECT AND BASE IS TIGHT LACK OF DEEP BASE BUT WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FOR THE SIZE AND PRICE. I THINK FOR THE PRICE THEY ARE UNBEATABLE .GREAT SOUND PERFECT BUILT. THANK YOU PARADIGM

I recently just bought the Reference 40's and I'm very impressed with it's value. The sound quality is just great and it really gives crispy clear sounds. The cross overs are so great that when listen to songs using normal CD's, you'll hear the "bzz...bzzz" sounds from the tweeters.

Similar Products Used:

Carver

Fills a very, very tough room surprisingly evenly

Just a tiny bit directional (but still fussing
with placement in a tough room)

I was really stuck on the high end
"bookshelf" vs. big speaker sound.
Listened to "best of" models for
NHT, B&W, Infiniti, Dynaudio
and similar but my ears
didn't really perk up to my
Little Village CD. Even with a pretty
decent Velodyne helping things out.

Wandered over to the tower section
of a few stores for DynAudio, BP 2004
and the like - bigger sound but not quite
as clean on the low end as I was hoping
for. My ears did tell me to buy a
really high end electrostat (a weakness of mine)
but my wife didn't!

Then I listened to the Paradigms
with a their nicely matching Servo 15.
While I'm not full of adjectives these
had the most even range to me. The
various frequency ranges seemed to be at the
most realistic levels for the variety of
music we listen to. The goldilocks just right
sort feeling across quite a few styles
of music told me to buy. The other bookshelves
seemed to come with there own "flavoring" of
the sound.

I've been tinkering with wire and Silver
Sonics biwired work for me. It really does
make a difference but I couldn't explain it.
Well I'll try anyway - now I clearly need the
to get the back ordered X30 crossover for the
Servo. It's apparant a little tighter
control on the low end of things. Before,
with Audioquest F-14, it was close enough.

Another reviewer's ears had "too bright"
with a tube amp - how does that work?
And another about not "rocking",
ummm... no problems here.

Since my GAS Son of Ampzillas and
Dahlquists went belly up I'm trying
the HT thing (OK - but different) with:

40s, Paradigm CC, 350 ADPs, Servo 15
DH Labs Silver Sonic
Sony DVP-550D
Yammie RX-V995 (The Mrs. liked the nobs)
Ariston Q Deck

Similar Products Used:

B&W, NHT, Infinity, and other usual suspects I don't care
to admit.

Clear highs, smooth mids, surprisingly robust bass

None at pricepiont

This is my second review.

Just an update. My previous review was written using a single run of Monster XP cables. My speakers have over 250 hours on 'em and are probably totally run in. I recently biwired my 'dimes with Silver Sonic T-14 cable with banana connectors. WOW!

1. The bass has really deepened and is tighter than before.
2. The highs are more pronounced/clearer.
3. The soundstage is wider and more dynamic.

I'm not kidding, these speakers sound totally different--my wife even noticed the difference immediately (and she was skeptical--these cables cost $215). The best way to describe the difference is that there's 'more information' coming from my speakers and they sound more agile, that is to say there is more 'space' between sounds. It's hard to describe but it's truly amazing.

I highly reccomend biwiring the Paradigm 40s with Silver Sonic T-14 cables. You won't hear the full potential of these wonderful speakers until you do.

My stuff:
Paradigm Studio 40 v2
Silver Sonic T-14 (10' pair w/ bananas)
Yamaha RX-V795a
Yamaha CDC-775
Monster XP digital interconnect

Similar Products Used:

B&W, NHT, Paradigm Monitors

Crisp,bright treble. Slight mid-bass warmth, with a smooth roll off. Plays loud. Attractive finish. Bi-wire/Bi-ampable.

Still has an ordinary box look to it. Can intially be very bright sounding.( Break-in period helps!)Plastic around tweeter, could be replaced with Carbon fiber for a more technical look! Just a suggestion! Must have sufficient space between the speakers, and the rear wall, due to the rear mounted port.

Well I have been on a quest for a good two channel set-up for my bedroom.(Yes I said my bedroom/office!)So I have auditioned speakers within my budget of $1000.00-$1,500.00. My search was some what difficult due to an abundance of good quality speakers fitting my budget. So as the story goes, I was pretty much set on the NHT 2.5i a floorstanding speaker till the dealer showed me a set of Paradigm reference speakers he just recieved. The speaker was the reference 40 in a Light Cherry veneer. A very handsome looking speaker indeed! So with a joyfull smile I played the Paradigm with a selection of discs covering my musical taste. I first tried with vocals, so on goes the Holy Cole Trio, the selection I chose was "So And So". The sound was definitely there. The only way that I can describe it, is that the speakers engulfed me in music. The Paradigm just sounded much more open than the NHT's, and since I already happened to own a powered subwoofer. I really wouldn't miss much from the NHT's 8" side-firing woofer. So then I tried a couple of alternative music selections, ranging from Rage Against the machine to Zebrahead, and limpbizkit. Way Cool! I was just amazed at how versatile the Paradigms were! Very snap & pop (Crisp)sounding, and very good bass roll off. I was sold! So now at home, I connected the Paradigms to a Parasound HCA-1500A amplifier (using an HK AVR65 as a pre-amp). Awesome sound, I was definitely very happy,I called my buddy to come over, which he did bringing along his B&W 602s2's in order to do a comparison. Man the Paradigms just blew them away! When the Paradigms are connected to my Velodyne FSR-12 sub, the sound that's produced is just hard to beat! For the money Paradigm is value! My speakers retail for $1100.00 with a laminate finish, and for the veneer you're looking at $1300.00. I got mine in the Light Cherry VENEER for $880.00 + tax ! Even though Paradigm is advertised everywhere.(Have you checked out Sound & Vision lately?)It's still a great product! My bedroom set up: Sony 32" Wega flatscreen TV. Harmon Kardon AVR-65 pre-amp/reciever. Harmon Kardon DVD-5 DVD player. Atlantic Technologies Compact theater 2. Parasound HCA-1500A Amplifier Parasound CDP 1000 CD Player/Transport Paradigm Reference 40 speakers. Kimber Cable & XLO Pro speaker cables. Plus Tributaries interconnects. Lovan A/V furniture, and speaker stands.

Similar Products Used:

NHT 1.5, Polk Audio RT-55, B&W Nautilus 805&602S2, Monitor Audio PMC702.

Great sound at a very reasonable price

Like anything else in audio, you'll always want more and better.

When I bought these speakers, it was my first excursion into high end audio. I really loved the clarity and precision that these speakers brought to my listening experience. But they whetted my appetite for more and better sound reproduction at home. It's not that they are inadequate in any way. But I started driving to work in the mornings, fantasising about the system that I dream of owning one day where it would be as real as if the musicians were sitting in my living room and playing exclusively for me. I started to imagine nights filled with romance where Pavorotti would sing "che gelida manina" for my girlfriend and me as we dined on linguine and clam sauce and consumed vast quantities of pinot grigio. Then (for real) I started to spend huge sums of money on amplifiers, cd players, and cables. Do I think that the Studio 40 is a good speaker? YES I DO. And even though I don't think they will be my final stop in the quest to discover audio nirvana, I'll tell you this; they have given me so much pleasure in the last half year that now I'm hooked. I will love high-end audio the rest of my days!