Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Paradigm Studio 100 vs. Axioms

I missed the edit window and realized I screwed up the first sentence of my response.

It should read "My friend has owned a Paradigm system (Studio 100's,ADP's,CC570)for years." He still does own them.

Well, I have just finished shopping for my new HT setup, and I decided to go with Paradigm Reference for my mains and center. The reasons for doing so were simply that these were the best sounding speakers to my ear that I have ever heard. They are rich, full yet still very detailed. One thing to consider too is that these new v3's have a significantly upgraded tweeter which I think adds a lot to their clarity. I have never heard the old v2's, so I can't say how much they are improved. I can only attest to how great they sound to me. Now, the 100's were overkill for my new listening area, so I went with the Ref 60's and CC470. Like Mr. KC though, I found the QS8's to be superior to the ADP's, and also a better bargain to boot. Plus they look way better wall mounted in my opinion. Based on a few posts on this forum and a few elsewhere, I am going with the QS8's with my Paradigm setup, as I've heard timbre matching is very close.


Alas, I am waiting on my Paradigm mains to complete my HT setup (should arrive at my dealer today), so I can't comment on how they mesh with the QS8's.

The Axiom tech phone guy also talked me in to giving the EP500 a crack too. I will have it all setup and calibrated this weekend. I will post next week to attest to how this mix of Paradigm and Axiom works out.

Hey congrats.....I find my mix of paradigm and axiom to sound great. I never did get too wrapped up in the whole timbre matching stuff. To me you get too much of a certain sound with a room full of the same speakers and end up getting a headache (at least I did)

I find the subtle difference adds to the realism. Ask yourself how often you have ever heard the same timbre all around you in real life (timbre describes those characteristics of sound which allow the ear to distinguish sounds which have the same pitch and loudness)

I can answer that one for you…….never; your environment is filled with vastly diverse sounds.

Enjoy your new speakers!

Now you are going to make me want to come over and hear it once you get it all setup. I'd like to checkout the new Axiom sub. I'll let you get settled in with it for a while first.

FYI for everyone else, Bretsky came to my place to listen to the M22/VP150/QS8 setup with the VTF-2.

Good for you Bretsky! I hope someday to be able to hear the Paradigms somewhere. I look forward to your thoughts on mixing and matching.

Yup Zarak, you are welcome to come listen once I get it all set up. And your audition is what convinced me of the QS8's too.

Thanks Ajax and Genetic Drift, I will let you all know how it turns out.

FYI, the rest of my system setup consists of Pioneer Elite 56Txi, Pioneer Elite 59-avi and Sony VPL-HS51 projector.

I found that the studio 100’s (vrs III) sound is very akin to the M80’s. General impression I got, is that the 80’s have a tighter mid range, very similar base and a tad more detailed. I used the Pink Floyd DSOM disk when comparing. I do like the look of the 100’s better than Axiom, but not a $1000 worth. I should also mention that I heard the 100’s in a sound room and they were being driven by some pretty high end McIntosh gear and a CD player that I didn’t pay much attention to when I saw the $3500 price tag on it. Even with this gear driving them, I still think my set up sounds every bit as good (better with the addition of the sub). But to summarize all this babbling, the 100’s do sound very much like the M80’s. If you like the 100 sound, you’ll like the M80’s. Spend the $1000 you save on a good sub.

I dunno how you feel about buying used speakers but there is a pair for sale at my local high end audio shop in the used section.
http://www.targethifi.com/used.html
Its near the bottom of the list for 700 bucks CDN.
I am NOT using this forum to sell merchandise because that sure as hell is not my store, although I would kill for a set of VonSchweikert VR4 Jr. speakers they sell there...

Let Amie know that when you order so I get credit

Sorry guys, I had to leave for a couple of days and just got back. Great opinions so far. One thing I definitely did not think of is combining the Studio 100s with Axiom surrounds. That seems like a great idea. I am quite happy with the surrounds from Axiom and would not mind buying them again. I have to admit that I am not happy with the Center channel (VP150), though. I feel that that is the weak link in my current system. I will likely get the Paradigm CC.

In regards to price, yes it is always a factor but if the difference is relatively small, then it may be worth spending that extra money. Again, if got directly from Canada, the Studio 100s can be had for approx 2000 a pair (I have not personally confirmed this, but this includes the duty money you get back at the border, etc.) That is not all that much difference compared to M80s.

I have to check out the used speaker deal. Thanks for the link.

Ravi