Clear,clear and clear these speakers are some of the greatest speakers i have heard the speaker has excellent mid range and awsome highs and the bass is soooooo deep and tight.

None and i mean none.

let me say one thing and only one thing Buy these speakers you will thank yourself. You will get so much pleasure. it will seem like you stole these speakers from the dealer, they are really some awsome speakers.enough said

Similar Products Used:

studio 100 and Joseph audio speakers

Soundstage,Clear Crisp Sound

None

These speakers bring tears to my eyes. I have been listening to Polk rt-1000's for 3 years. I was very happy with the Polk's but sold them to my brother. My bro. brought the polks over for a head to head comparison last night and it was not even close!!!!! I was suprised at the difference. You do not need a powered sub with these speakers! I could not be happier!
Dennon 3300
Adcom 7500
Polk Center
Def tech rears
sony 333 super audio cd player

Similar Products Used:

Polk rt-1000

Balanced sound, transparnecy, detail, soundstaging. Nice bass.

NONE

These speakers are without peer, even if you spend another $1000.

I’ve had these speakers home for two days now and love them. I was going to wait until they were completely broken in to write this review, but they are already gems. And they’re only going to get better?!?! I actually returned a pair of B&W CDM 7 SEs after a week of hard listening for these. This review is a combination of what I heard when auditioning, and things apparent already at home. I will post a follow up in a few months when these have really broken in.

The thing that struck me immediately is how balanced and just flat out gorgeous the sound is. Nothing detracts from the music. No boxiness. I still can’t believe how transparent and utterly un-boxy these are. Bass, mids, and highs stream together in a realistic, organic whole. Bass is tight on rap, yet lyrical, snappy and fluid when the bass is a stand-up. This alone speaks to the 80s incredible versatility. It can handle ANY kind of music gracefully and/or forcefully. (This was a prime reason I got rid of the B&Ws. They’re nice, but really limited bass at times—40 Hz extension compared to 27Hz here.)

Mids are awesome. They add a nice airiness to vocalists like Diana Krall and are the slightest bit "forward". Clapton unplugged, Coltrane’s "A Love Supreme" and D’Angelo’s "Brown Sugar" blew me away in the demo. Nothing feels compressed or flat (unlike the B&Ws), and as a result, soundstaging is among the best I’ve heard, even against some speakers in $3000+ range. The airiness and space isn’t quite up to top-line Thiels, but then again that’s Thiels specialty (IMHO).

I found the highs not at all harsh or remotely grainy, even right out of the box. In fact, these speakers are performing very well already. I broke down and tested them last night with Barber’s "Adagio For Strings" (Bernstein). Imaging was good but not quite what I know it will be when broken in, but wow! These speakers really help draw you in emotionally. Strings were well-defined, dynamic and sweet.

BTW, the gentleman, Raj J, 2/16/99, (in the first Studio 80 board) writes "They are not for average sized rooms, in that case the studio 60s would be preferred." Frankly, the measurements he suggests as a minimum for the 80s are ridiculous. ("The Studio 80s perform well in rooms measuring width=30ft, length=50ft, height=35ft at least for optimal efficiency.") Come on, how many people have a 35 ft ceiling?? Take this very misleading review with a grain of salt. Unless you live in a Manhattan shoebox or tighter budget, I think these are great for even a medium-sized living room. (Don't get me wrong. 60s are a fantastic speaker, particularly for the price.) They CAN get boomy/rumbly in the bass if placed too closely to the wall (about my only criticism thus far) in a very live room, but the solidity of cabinet construction at this size really adds detail and a bit of warmth. But they will fill a hall easily with the right amp.

I’ve noticed these speakers are SLIGHTLY more forgiving of poor recordings than the hyper-accurate and clean B&Ws, probably because of their subtle warmth, which I think is a good thing. They do still need great components, however. DO bi-wire these (with great cable, of course). On the B&Ws bi-wiring made a negligible difference. The 80s are perfectly serviceable straight-wired, but you do get a perceptible added clarity overall, and power and detail in the bass.

A few reviewers have commented about color choice. I say go black. Very classic and modern, yet unassuming. Would not look out of place in a rustic setting or a city loft. I love the surprise of beautiful music coming from their seemingly plain faces. The cherry is fine, but for me looks a bit like it’s trying hard to blend in and be decorative. Let them be what they are. Just MHO.

That’s it for now. I absolutely recommend these speakers without hesitation. They are an incredible bargain, even at list ($1500) and will make you in fall in love with music all over. If you are considering the B&W CDM 7 SE, you must give this a listen. (See my review.) A+.

System:
Rotel RB 981
Rotel RC 972
Rotel RCD 950
NAD 515
Audioquest Jade IC (moving up to Topaz)
Tara Labs Prism 2+2 bi-wire.

Used same components in demo, except CD was RCD 991 w/balanced inputs.

Similar Products Used:

Thiel CS .5. Polk RT2000p. B&W CDM 7 SE. Kef Refernce 2. Dynaudio. Paradigm Studio 60

Incredible sound for the $. Match my hardwood floors perfectly.

NONE!!

I bought these in the real wood light cherry. They even match my hardwood floors and ent. center perfectly. WAF is very high with these. When the wife saw them she said, "YES! Now those are nice speakers". All she cares about are the looks.

i care about the sound and they sound beautiful. Deep controlled bass, life-like midrange and sweet but detailed highs. I compared these to much more expensive speakers. including the 100's, but preferred these over all others both for looks and sound, music and home theater.

Do yourselves a favor and give these an audition.

Additional equipment:

paradigm Reference CC
Paradigm Reference in-walls
Definitive Tech. 12" Sub (for HT only)
Denon 3801 receiver
Proton AA2120 amp for the 80's
Toshiba DVD/CD player
Audioquest cables all-around

Similar Products Used:

too many to list

Good Value, soundstage

Can sound congested on some tracks

These speakers replaced monitor 9s in my home theater system. The Studio 80s are a big step up from the M9s, but not as big a step up as i had hoped.The 80s have excellent soundstage, but sound much darker in my sytem than did the M9s. i think that these speakers are an excellent value, especially in home theater.

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm M9s

beautiful beautiful sound

very big

I liked my Monitor 7s. I LOVE my Studio 80s. With well-recorded CDs, the singers and musicians are in the room with you. Fantastic sound, imaging, etc. I cannot say enough good things about these speakers.

I use my system for about 80% music, 20% movies. One reason I chose the Studio 80s was so I could get rid of my sub. I like the room to shake when dinosaurs and tanks thunder by. However, I found I was always tweaking my sub, and that it just took up too much room in our living room. With Studio 80s or 100s, you don't need a sub. For home theater, the Studio 80s seem to go as low as my former PDR-10, but are much more refined when it comes to music.

There's really no comparison between the Studio 80s and the Monitor line. I lived with the Monitor 7s for a year and greatly enjoyed them. I've demo'd the Monitor 9s in the store many times. The Studio series is in a completely different league. I would have probably preferred a speaker the size of the Studio 60. However, its bass doesn't extend as far as the Studio 80's. Couldn't afford the Studio 100s this time around. The Studio 80s had everything I wanted, and for the right price ($1200 new with wood veneer).

Source: Ah! Tjoeb 4000 with Siemens 7308 tubes
Receiver: Yamaha RX-V800
Sp Cable: DH Labs Q-10
IC Cable: DH Labs BL-1 II

Similar Products Used:

Monitor 7 & 9, Studio 60, B&W, Energy

Pretty much everything...

PLEASE!!!!!

There really isn't much I can say that hasn't already been sent. I am in my breakin period and after 40 hrs they are only getting better and better. They were a bit bright out of the box but slowly fading. Also maybe my frontend, who knows. At any rate i am more than pleased with these speakers. The accuracy is incredible. If you have the means I highly recomend these speakers. They play very loud if you like that and are very sensitive not needing tons of power to push them.

Lexicon MC-1
Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature
Main: Studio 80's
Sides: studio 40's
Rears: studio 40's
Sub: 2-Servo 15's

Similar Products Used:

Polk RT2000

Excellent high, Excellent Midrange, tight bass,very very clear and natural.One of the best speakers money can buy.

Please! see above.

Let me say one thing, i brought these speakers at atlantic stereo in freehold New Jersey. A real gentleman name John helped me out go see him he's a real class guy. My speakers are real wood Rosenut these speakers look like they cost 5 grand. These are some of the best sounding speakers i ever heard, and the funny thing i only had these speakers for 3 weeks. People says you have to break in these speakers.How will they sound when they are broken in? My gosh i can't even imagine,

Similar Products Used:

all top of the line speakers.

After listening to many speaker systems we decided to go with the Paradigm studio 80 v 2 for the mains, 40 v 2 for the rears and the cc450 v2 for the center channel. The 80's offer great looks in black ash. The bass is tight and well defined, the midrange is warm and clear, and the tweeter is crisp without being bright. The detail and clarity of these speakers was greater than many others that were far more expensive. Personally I liked them better than the Paridigm 100 v 2. If you are looking, give these a listen.

Price - Clean clear sound- Low frequency response

Grills are unsightly and in the way of the music

I had tried all of the speakers mentioned above but all
were lacking big time in some area. The klipsch were too
bright. They made Garth Brooks sound like Tammy Wynette.
The Tannoys were nice and they just stayed "nice" though
they never made a mistake. The Vandersteens were ok but
to get the soundstage right, the placement was too critical.
I had tried other Paradigms and thought they were ok but
most seemed to be lacking in the bass department. I finally
took a pair of these Studio 80 v2's home for a try and fell
in love with them. I realize that the taste in speakers is
just that, but these speakers really performed. I could
for the first time hear all of the music. The highs and lows
were both really defined nicely. The imaging was like none
I had ever heard. I swear that when I listened to any band
music, I could pick out exactly where that person was sitting in the band. Each instrument seemed to have its
place in the soundstage. Wow! I was convinced that these
were the speakers for me so I purchased a pair.
Now I have to say that after reading how great these
sounded right out of the box, when I first listened to
mine, I was greatly dissapointed. It was like listening to
a transistor radio instead of $1500 speakers. I was so
dissapointed that I almost returned them. Then after about
20 hrs. of breaking in they begined to perform and sound
better each day. I now have about 50 - 60 hours on them
and they sound every bit as good as the demo pair and
seem to continue to get better each day. I highly reccomend
these to anyone!
to perform

Similar Products Used:

klipsch klf20, tannoy s8 & vandersteen 2ce sig., Paradigm
monitor 9