Distortion free bass, cost

none really

I decided to replace the passive subwoofer that came with my home theater with a powered one. After auditioning a half dozen other subs, the Paradigm was the second best sounding and second cheapest. Only Velodyne's 100 watt sub sounded better, but was also the most expensive.

With the volume on this baby cranked all the way up, plus the bass boost from my reciever, I couldn't hear any noticable distortion. The only problem is my door rattles with that much bass being pumped out. I've played it with DVD movies like the Matrix and Saving Private Ryan and it just sounds great.

All in all, I'm very happy with this sub. Much better than my old passive one, that's for sure.

Similar Products Used:

JBL, Velodyne, Yamaha, Infinity

solid room-filling bass, compact size

none

I bought this sub from richer sounds for £150 to complete my HT set-up (TDL RTL3's-front, Paradigm CC350-centre, TDL Nucleus 2's-rear, Sony STRDB-930-receiver). It easily fills my room (21ftx14ft) with deep tight low level bass and is equally good for both music and films. I have the crossover set at about 85Hz and the level at 6. i found that placement was best in line with my front speakers ( about 2m away from the listening position) and not too much into a corner ( i have it to the left of my front left speaker down by the side of an armchair). A excellent tip from a reviewer lower down is to try changing the polarity of the speaker, as this sub has no phase control - i found that swapping the black and red wires in the back of the sub gave a slightly tighter and cleaner bass sound.
This sub does just what i wanted - gunshots in films are now felt as well as heard, and gives an added depth and prescence to music - obviously this sub wont sound as good as say something like a REL, but we all havent got £500 and want another coffee table in the front room! - this sub gives excellent bass for the money and is compact enough to not look oversized and ugly and have to hide it - if you are looking for a sub on a budget then buy this one - you wont be disappointed!

quality of bass, performance/price ration

grill can not be removed

Initially, I wanted PDR-12, unforunately, I just do not have speace for a PDR-12, so I have to get PDR-10. PDR-10 generates decent amount of bass, more than enough for my apartment. My only placement for PDR-10 is under a desk. The bass is very clean and tight. Although BU-120 I used to owned makes more bass, the bass from BU-120 is much muddy and slopy. My PDR-10 works just fine with my Mini Monitors at front. With my Yamaha 595a receiver, I set volume at 4.5 to match my Mini. With my previous Pioneer VSX-d508, I had to set around 8 for similar amount of bass.

I got PDR-10 from my local Paradigm dealer, my price is among the lowest of previous reviewers.

Similar Products Used:

Infinity BU-120

Deep, powerful, accurate bass.

Nothing more than a slight compression over about 108db spl!

This is the only sub I know in this price range that combines deep bass extension with very good pitch definition and high sound pressure levels. I was previously running the sub with my main speakers running full range but I decided to free up my main speakers of bass and let the sub do its job. What a difference! Not only was the bass much more accurate but the midrange and treble clarity was greatly improved as well as a more focused soundstage and a greater sense of effortlessness in the presentation. In Madonna's single CD "Frozen" there is an attack and decay of very low frequency information in about the middle of the song in the 29 to 32 hz range that even at low to moderate volumes gives an incredible sense of authority and impact. I give this sub five full stars.

Similar Products Used:

velodyne ct80

Price, clean tight bass,

none

I upgraded my HT last summer and a friend recommended Paradigm products. Took his advice and couldn't be happier with my purchase. The JBL is was using was okay but I felt that it didn't give me the low end punch that I was looking for. The PDR-10 changed all that. It's amazing what a difference this piece makes. The Matrix and Saving Private Ryan almost shake the pictures off the wall. Now that my HT is complete, I rarely go out to the movies as my system sounds and looks better than what I experience in the theater.
Anyone in the market for a sub in this price range should check out the PDR-10. You won't be dissapointed.

My HT System consists of:
Sony 35V68 35" TV
Denon AVR-85 DD Reciever
Pioneer DV-525
Front Speakers: Paradigm Monitor 3's
Center: CC-170
Surrounds: Paradigm ADP-70
Sub: Paradigm PDR-10

Before committing to any speaker brand, give Paradigm a listen. They sound great and you'll save a ton of money.

Similar Products Used:

JBL PSW-1000

Great value on for the money

Grill can't be removed, weak plastic foot step (not strong enough), mono LFE in (better if stereo), auto on/off is too long (about 30 minutes after no input signal)

I bought the sub for about 2 weeks. Actually i want Solid PB-1000 (B&W), because I love the sound and design, but I miss it, so I look around to another. I found PDR-10 with the price below PB-1000. The sub can produce very deep and tight and it has great money. With the same price compare with Yamaha (YST... i forgot)...PDR-10 is much great. I bought it for about U$270 (1U$=Rp.8.500,-) while the price of ASW500 is about U$340. PDR-10 is great...
My sistem :
-Adcom GFA-2535
-Adcom GCD-600
-Adcom GTP-400
-Sony Speakers

Similar Products Used:

none

Good price, exellent performer considering price.
generally well built. can vibrate pictures on walls two rooms away!

better with movies than with music - can lose its grip on hard dance tunes at volume and sound unfocused.
horrible plastic feet.
no phase switch.

I'll start by saying that i've only had the sub for a few days, so any problems I have may just be down to position, fine tuning and the fact the sub hasnt really been broken in yet.

When i first powered it up, it took about 10 mins to roughly set up the volume and crossover, and I was pretty impressed. It realy gives that extra depth to music that makes listening so much better. The pdr 10 goes surprisingly loud aswell, and now the sub has been ajusted a bit better to the main speakers (Tannoy M3), sounds quite amazing with most music.

The first film I saw with the sub, was a startrek film.
It was absolutly outstanding, sitting quietly, and having no problems pounding and exploding into life whenever the sound track required.
The in-film orchestral music sequences are equally as good.

the only complaint I can think of is that it could be a bit faster and focused on certain music, but for general music/dvd use, its exellent, and at £150, highly recomended.

Similar Products Used:

only car subwoofers.

Value, sound

non-removable front grille (I don't know why they do this!)

This was my first subwoofer, and to be honest, when I first hooked it up I was less than impressed. I thought that this sub would be more than enough for my space, but upon initial listening I really thought I should have bought the PDR-12. Well, after a while I decided it was time to get a new receiver. Upon installing the receiver, I realized that there was nothing wrong with the sub, just that my old receiver was a piece of $#|%. Now I am more than happy with this subwoofer, it sounds great when listening to CDs or watching DVDs. Like all Paradigm speakers, what you get for your money is remarkable. I fully recommend this sub.

Speaker setup:
Front: 2 Paradigm Phantoms
Rear: 2 Paradigm Atoms
Centre: 1 Paradigm CC-170
Sub: 1 Paradigm PDR-10

Very tight bass,

this sub can really kick but at the same time it handles classical and jazz extreamly well. This sub is certainly compatable with both small books self speakers like mine as well as larger tower type speakers. It certainly performs up and above many of the PSB,HECO and Yamaha subs and I personally think that it is in line with many 800-1000 doaller subs.

Solid build, Strong tight sound

front grille not removable

This is a fantastic deal!!!
You get a lot for your money, this sub is very well built and finished. The sound is amazing but as with every sub it needs adjustment, the location is very important and it can
make a difference between boomy and tight sound as I found out in my case.
I use this sub with my mission 702 front speakers and it compliments them very nicely, it gives a good depth to the overall sound.
After playing around with the location, level and crossover settings for couple of days I can say that this is very good unit and it does exactly what I was looking for.
Energy XLs-10 doesn't have the same built quality and it seems to be less powerfull.
I would recommend the PDR-10 to anybody looking for a good quality sub who don't want to spend a fortune.
I think this is the best in its class

Similar Products Used:

Energy XLs10