From: ichong@oracle.com (Ivan Chong)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Quest for speakers lead to Paradigm
Date: 11 Jan 93 18:29:19 GMT
Distribution: rec.audio
Organization: Oracle Corporation, Redwood Shores, CA
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              at Oracle Corporation.  The opinions expressed are those
              of the user and not necessarily those of Oracle.



I posted a while back asking for suggestions on Subwoofer-Satellite
3 piece systems and I got some great feedback.  Polk Audio RM3000, Boston
Accoustics SubSatSix, Altec Lansing, MK, Infinity MicroII, 
Celestion-1/Yamaha-sub combination were among the suggestions.

The systems that I managed to find in the stores and listen to were
the Polks, Bostons, and the Infinity's.  Of the 3, I preferred the Polk
system.  The RM3000 sounded the cleanest IMHO.  The Boston's reproduced
the sound very accurately, but seemingly without depth (like every
instrument were coming from the exact same distance away IMO).  The
Infinity MicroII's were slightly better but seemed to include too much
detail -- I grew tired of listening to them after 20 minutes. 

I quickly realized, however, that since I was putting together a
surround setup and had to buy 3 additional speakers (for the center and
rear channels), these front speakers were costing more than I could afford.
The approximate street prices were ~680 for the Polk system, ~700 for
the Infinity's, and ~450 for the SubSatSix system.

Since I had discovered that my speaker tastes favored Polk Audio, I 
decided to get some Polks.  However, one store that I went to had some
Paradigms that sounded pretty much like what I wanted.  So I decided to
get the following set of speakers for a surround setup:

Front:	Paradigm 5se	$250/pair
Rear:	Paradigm Titans	$178/pair
Center: Yamaha C60	$99
Store:	Sound Goods	Mtn. View, CA

If anyone knows of better prices, I would definitely be interested.
Any and all comments are welcome on these speakers.  I can return
these up until Jan 17.

So far, after two days of listening (3 surround-sound movies, 11 CD's)
I've found these speakers to be pretty enjoyable.  I've listened to
piano instrumentals and the 5se's have done a great job in reproducing
the sound.  It's neat to hear the resonance of the piano strings after
a dramatic chord has been struck on a concert grand piano.  I also 
enjoy listening to Kenny G.  His sax generally tends to give speakers some 
noticeable problems, but the Paradigms I got seem to handle it fairly
cleanly.

The only disappointment so far is the Yamaha Center Channel.  The
hissing on S- sounds during movie dialogs almost drove me nuts.  I
actually preferred using the Pro-Logic Phantom Center channel mode
after a while.  The sales lady claims that Paradigm does not make a
Center Channel yet, but will release one this summer.  I can't wait to
upgrade.

Has anyone heard the Center Channel made my Paradigm?  Any place I 
can get one now? what's the street price?

Thanks to all those who responded to my earlier post.  Even though
I didn't wind up purchasing a 3 piece system, I learned a lot about
my listening tastes (and my budget) in the process.  I hope this
note can also contribute to the collective rec.audio net-knowledge.

-Ivan Chong
 ichong@oracle.com
Newsgroups: rec.audio