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.