Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Paradigm v. Axiom

Heh, Heh. I'm back. I know you're all glad to see me.

This won't send nearly as many of you into apopleptic fits.

My neighbor bought a pair of Paradigm bookshelf's last year, Monitor Series, I believe, large ones on floor stands. Anyway, the guy who sold them to him said they were the SHIZIT! My neighbor let me audition them; meaning he bragged about them and showed them off to me.

Initially, I was very impressed. The upper range was very clear. Some might call it too bright, but it was very detailed. I liked it. He put in "Big Love" by Fleetwood Mac and cranked it. It sounded awesome, especially the acoustic guitar. Very good musicality. Very detailed upper range without sounding harsh.

So when I house sat for him this year, I was excited to hear his system again. This time the experience was totally different. I popped in my new Audioslave CD and was prepared to rock. Didn't happen. The upper range clarity was gone. So was the musicality. I cranked up the volume hoping for better tonality and didn't find it. The upper range now sounded both muddled AND harsh at the same time! I didn't know that was possible. The bass was inadequate, even though he has a sub. The mid-range seemed harsh too, and almost absent. Too much upper-range. Overall, it was a very fatiguing sound quality. I tried different CD's, but that didn't help.

The upper range sounded so muddled and harsh, I thought he had turned down the treble on his Onkyo tuner real low. It had no knobs, and I didn't know how to adjust it, so I just left it alone. I don't know if he screwed with the tuner or not since I last heard it or if the speakers are now broken in and this is their real, permanent sound. Either way, it sucked.

The guy has a lousy ear for sound (he was into Bose) and I think he has hearing loss from cranking his music WAY too loud. So he might have messed with his tuner settings and just doesn't know how bad it sounds now. Anyway, if I say this to him, he'll get pissed off, so I can't.

Paradigm has an impressive selection in its new Monitor Series, especially towers like its passive Monitor 9 & 11 and powered Monitor 90P. I want towers to anchor my surround system. Bookshelf's all around just don't cut it for me. Not enough tonal range. So I've been giving Paradigm a lot of consideration, but the last listening experience I had with them was so awful that I'd be hesitant to buy them. If their upper-range tonality degrades that noticeably after break-in, I don't want them.

Is the Paradigm phenomenon for real, or is it mostly hype? Are they a good value or overrated? Does their upper-range tonality degrade noticeably after break-in? Do they suck, or just my neighbor? Did he play them too loud and fried the tweeters?

So put on you asbestos Underoo's and compare Axiom with Paradigm in terms of sound quality AFTER break-in.

If you dare.

pmbuko had Monitor 9s (series 2, I believe) before he got M22s. The M22s blew the 9s out of the water. I heard both, but didn't compare back to back. He did. I'll let him speak for himself.

I can also confirm that the M22's blew the Monitor 9's out of the water. The only thing the Paradigms did better was bass.

Not to say that the Paradigms are trash - they are good speakers, it's just that the Axioms are clearly better.

These guys are speaking the truth. Paradigm DOES make a good speaker. Like Axiom, they use the anechoic chamber at the NRC in Canada to accurately measure their speaker's frequency responses and they use that data to help design better speakers.

Like the guys above said, I used to own Paradigm Monitor 9s, which were their largest unpowered speaker in their Monitor line (one step down from Reference). I really liked the sound of the 9s. They were crisp, but not bright and had a clear midrange. They also handled bass well enough that I didn't bother buying a subwoofer.

Then the M22s came into the picture. I bought them because my wife wanted to have smaller speakers in the living room. At first I thought I would have to downgrade in sound to satisfy the speaker size requirements, but boy was I wrong. Before I sold the Monitor 9s, I was able to do some back-to-back listening tests. About the only thing I the Paradigms did better than the Axioms was bass -- but that's a no-brainer due to the size differences.

The M22s played so much more cleanly and sounded so much more life-like. I couldn't believe my ears. Switching to the Monitors made the soundstage immediately collapse in on itself.

Needless to say, I am a very happy camper, especially since I have a great sub (SVS PB1-ISD) to fill in the M22's lacking lower end.

MarkB
I'm really surprised that you would ask a bunch of beer loveing, bbq eating liars such as ourselves, anything about audio equipment.
I thought that you were totally sold on streem speakers.
Sooooo why ????????
Just curious.

Bray, everybody deserves a second chance. Let it rest, please.

Not trying to be nasty, just TRULY wondering why.
I was just totally confused after reading the post.

I had Studio 100's and M80's at the same time but I have a fear of posting in this thread............as some might not like what I have to say................and I may be forced to post as someone else! lol

Just kidding. By the way MarkB, I never got the chance to tell you this but Cabin really is my buddy. I don't need to justify my claims by posting as someone else! With that being said, I just posted in another thread about the M80's and the Studio 100's. Some think they sound alike. I thought they sounded nothing alike. Keep in mind here that I'm talking about the 80's and the 100's only. The 100's had much, much better bass and are a little more laid back then the 80's. The 80's are an in your face speaker. Is Paradigm for real? Darn right they are! They make some very nice stuff but dam they can be $$$$$ I have had 100's, 40's and 20's all version 2 and I thought they all kicked $ss. But again, $$$$$$$$$$ Way to much money.

To be real honest, I still want the Studio 40's v2. One of my all time favorite speakers!

I have some 9se's that were nice. I say were because I picked up the Axiom M60's and they blow the 9se's away. The 9's do beat the M22's I have but I like the footprint on the 22's so I go with them for music only. The 9's are a nice speaker but again they are "nice" where the M60's are great. I just picked up the M60's about two weeks ago so I do have recent experience. MarkB, since the Axiom's seem to be a no brainer why not just buy a pair and if you don't like them send them back. You seem to be asking about other speakers but you do not want to listen to the Axioms. I'm a little confused as to your path. Another good speaker that you should look into are the Rockets at av123.com. I've heard great things about them and they have a message board you can post on as well.

I'm not sold on anything until I put my money down.

Life is a series of trade-offs. You can't always get what you want for what you want to pay. I'm still trying to figure if I'd be happier in the long run with a more expensive system. I'm looking at everything out there.

And my experience with Paradigm has left me puzzled. Two completely different listening experiences from the same set of speakers. I'm trying to figure that out.