Disappointing visit to an Audio Store

[ivseenbetter]

I finally had a chance to make a trip to an Audio store today. I was excited. Finally, I can start auditioning speakers. Well, I was sorely mistaken. This place only carried one brand of speaker...Paradigm. Well, I had heard their name thrown around so I figured I would go ahead and take a look. They only had a few floorstanding speakers there and I wanted the smallest footprint so I choose to look at the Monitor 7. Well, if that is the coveted Paradigm sound then I am pretty disappointed. I really felt that the speakers were just too much in my face with the highs. The mid-base was terrific though. After only a few minutes I had already heard enough from these speakers. Granted, it seemed to have a good soundstage, and the speaker itself did seem to disappear, but the highs were killing me. Well, I can scratch paradigm off my list. Maybe it is those titanium tweeters that were making difficult to like them. I don't know, but there aren't a whole lot of places around here for me to audition speakers so I was pretty disappointed that they only carried one brand.

Oh well, just venting.

 

[rnatalli]

Don't despair and keep auditioning. Your visit was quite useful. You don't like the Paradigms because you felt they were in-your-face. That eliminates a whole bunch of speakers like Klipsch, Axiom, and several others. See if you can find a PSB and Monitor Audio dealer nearby. Also, you may like av123 and Ascend speakers as they're much more laid back.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

I wouldnt judge Paradigm by the monitor series. This brand startes to shine at the Studio series. Make ceratin you put B&W and PSB on you list and DA if you can afford them.

By the way, I found MA's to be much brighter and harsh in the highs but hey, that's just me.

 

[Sheep]

Don't tell me you didn't poke around with the settings? Did you take a look around to see how the room was setup? They could have very well set those up like that to usher you towards the more expensive speakers.

I wouldn't go back there, but I would not scratch paradigm off the list.

SheepStar

 

[John Bailey]

I would agree you shouldn't scratch Paradigm because of the Monitor sound. I found them to be a little bright also. The Studios were better when I auditioned them, but still too bright for my tastes. I would give them a try if I were you though.

PSB Image series, the Monitor Audio Bronze series and the B&W 600 series may be more to your tastes and are, approximately, in the same price range.

John

 

[ShaunH]

Don't tell me you didn't poke around with the settings? Did you take a look around to see how the room was setup? They could have very well set those up like that to usher you towards the more expensive speakers.

I wouldn't go back there, but I would not scratch paradigm off the list.

SheepStar

Not trying to be agurmentive but I found most shops get a little annoyed you start playing with stuff. Personally I've given up adutioning in store not enough options and not enough time to get a really good idea of what a pair of speakers sound like.

 

[Sheep]

Not trying to be agurmentive but I found most shops get a little annoyed you start playing with stuff. Personally I've given up adutioning in store not enough options and not enough time to get a really good idea of what a pair of speakers sound like.

If so then don't buy from them. If they literally say "NO", instead of assisting you, they're more then likely hiding something.

SheepStar

 

[mazersteven]

"In your face" with the highs? Complete opposite of my auditions. I thought they where muffled, and lifeless. No highs at all. Like Greg said you should have auditioned the Studio's also. But if you don't like Paradigms, and think they where bright. Rnatalli was right. Check out the AV123 Rocket series. You can audition the Rocket bookshelf speaker Risk Free.

 

[Davemcc]

I had the same experience as the OP with the Paradigm Studio Series. Very bright, almost painful. One of the best affordable speakers I've heard is the upcoming Emotiva speakers. They seemed to me very neutral, tight and realistic sounding. When these start shipping, give them an in-home demo.

 

[TLS Guy]

I finally had a chance to make a trip to an Audio store today. I was excited. Finally, I can start auditioning speakers. Well, I was sorely mistaken. This place only carried one brand of speaker...Paradigm. Well, I had heard their name thrown around so I figured I would go ahead and take a look. They only had a few floorstanding speakers there and I wanted the smallest footprint so I choose to look at the Monitor 7. Well, if that is the coveted Paradigm sound then I am pretty disappointed. I really felt that the speakers were just too much in my face with the highs. The mid-base was terrific though. After only a few minutes I had already heard enough from these speakers. Granted, it seemed to have a good soundstage, and the speaker itself did seem to disappear, but the highs were killing me. Well, I can scratch paradigm off my list. Maybe it is those titanium tweeters that were making difficult to like them. I don't know, but there aren't a whole lot of places around here for me to audition speakers so I was pretty disappointed that they only carried one brand. Oh well, just venting.

You have good ears my friend. Don't blame the tweeters. I'm certain you were listening to midrange shout. A very large number of speakers discussed on the forums have it and it's horrible.

 

[gus6464]

From what I took about your likes you might like the MA sound. Take a listen to the Silver line as I found them not in your face, not bright, and overall just right. Not the most exciting speaker but everything blends right.

BTW you don't happen to live in Austin, TX do you? The only paradigm dealer in the city is A&B TV but they kind of suck. The sales guys seem to have that mentality that Paradigm is just the best speaker even and if you don't like it then there's something wrong with you.

 

[ivseenbetter]

I didn't play around with the settings too much. I did try different placement and I did try different types of material all the way from hard rock to easy listening...and even "sounds of nature". I didn't listen to the studio's at all though. The guy was explaining to me that those speakers would be too much for my 16.5' X 16.5' room. I figured if the salesman isn't trying to push me to a more expensive product then there really isn't much of a reason to believe it would be different. He did have the mentality that the Paradigm brand was the best thing since sliced bread.

I appreciate the suggestions for other speakers. I will go ahead and look around to see if I can find any dealers for them around here. It seems like quality speakers are hard to come by around here. I guess everybody just goes to best buy or circuit city...and they don't have the sound that I am looking for. I'll keep looking and try to post my impressions (nothing like most of the user reviews since I am pretty new at this kind of stuff) as I go (this could take awhile as I have to find time to audition even if I can find dealers).

I won't cross Paradigm off of my list as of yet. If I get a chance to listen to the studio's I will. But they do already have one strike against them.

 

[ivseenbetter]

You have good ears my friend. Don't blame the tweeters. I'm certain you were listening to midrange shout. A very large number of speakers discussed on the forums have it and it's horrible.

What is midrange shout? Is there a way to definitely identify this to make sure it isn't the tweeter...or perhaps make adjustments to remove it?

Thanks

 

[gus6464]

Once you listen to some Studio 40's, you are going to want a piece of them.

 

[3db]

I didn't play around with the settings too much. I did try different placement and I did try different types of material all the way from hard rock to easy listening...and even "sounds of nature". I didn't listen to the studio's at all though. The guy was explaining to me that those speakers would be too much for my 16.5' X 16.5' room. I figured if the salesman isn't trying to push me to a more expensive product then there really isn't much of a reason to believe it would be different. He did have the mentality that the Paradigm brand was the best thing since sliced bread.

I appreciate the suggestions for other speakers. I will go ahead and look around to see if I can find any dealers for them around here. It seems like quality speakers are hard to come by around here. I guess everybody just goes to best buy or circuit city...and they don't have the sound that I am looking for. I'll keep looking and try to post my impressions (nothing like most of the user reviews since I am pretty new at this kind of stuff) as I go (this could take awhile as I have to find time to audition even if I can find dealers).

I won't cross Paradigm off of my list as of yet. If I get a chance to listen to the studio's I will. But they do already have one strike against them.

Thats sales person is a twit. Paradigms make monitors (book shelf size ) in the Studio series as well. I'm wondering how a tower in the Monitor series is not too much for your room and a tower in the Studio series is too much for your room. He certainly doesn't know his speaker brand very well.

I've never been inpressed with Paradigm's Monitor series. I've auditioned them and pitted them against the PSB Image series and I now own a complete 5.1 system built around the Image series. I also use my HT for 50% music and my Image T45s never fail me there. I picked them becuase of their ability to music really well. If a speaker can do music really wel, than it can do HT but the reverse is not often true. So choose your speakersthat they can perform well with music.

Other brands to audition are Energy, and Totem. Porblem with Totem is that alot of their speakers are 4 ohms and low sensitivity so you need something with a good solid amplifier to make them sing. I've heard them mated to NAD and they sound very very good.

 

[fmw]

The other problem is that the room acoustics have more affect on sound than the brand and model of speaker when it comes to mids and highs. Whatever you hear at the dealer's showroom will sound different at home. The speakers that sounded bright to you might sound quite different in your listening room and would certainly sound different if you supported them with a powered sub.

I don't go listen to speakers in dealer showrooms any more. I buy based on specifications and measurements. That is just as useful for me as hearing speakers in someone else's room.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

I am not trying to be a fanboy or anything but the studios are nice. There is pretty much no such thing as too much for your room. My little bitty 40's are in a 8,000 cubic foot room and they keep up pretty well. I have also put them in my spare bedroom (1680 cubic feet) and they sounded amazing in there.

The bottom line is you have to audition everything you can find and then make certain you can bring them back as they will sound different in your room. Make certain you audition B&W, PSB, DA and MA before you get anything.

I didn't play around with the settings too much. I did try different placement and I did try different types of material all the way from hard rock to easy listening...and even "sounds of nature". I didn't listen to the studio's at all though. The guy was explaining to me that those speakers would be too much for my 16.5' X 16.5' room. I figured if the salesman isn't trying to push me to a more expensive product then there really isn't much of a reason to believe it would be different. He did have the mentality that the Paradigm brand was the best thing since sliced bread.

I appreciate the suggestions for other speakers. I will go ahead and look around to see if I can find any dealers for them around here. It seems like quality speakers are hard to come by around here. I guess everybody just goes to best buy or circuit city...and they don't have the sound that I am looking for. I'll keep looking and try to post my impressions (nothing like most of the user reviews since I am pretty new at this kind of stuff) as I go (this could take awhile as I have to find time to audition even if I can find dealers).

I won't cross Paradigm off of my list as of yet. If I get a chance to listen to the studio's I will. But they do already have one strike against them.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

If you live anywhere near me feel free to come by. I will erase that strike in about 5 minutes of you listenig to the 40's.

I won't cross Paradigm off of my list as of yet. If I get a chance to listen to the studio's I will. But they do already have one strike against them.

 

[Warpdrv]

You are right Greg... in a proper environment, the studio's sound excellent.... Im not trying to sell the OP on these speakers, as there are so many out there to choose from, ya have to get out and listen, its fun to sample different brands... whats not so much fun is listening to the salesmans CR@P...

I think that was the worst part of my auditioning.... walking in the door, and wondering what kind of blubbering idiot I will meet next... Even my dealer is such a B&W fanboy, I had a hard time with his condescending attitude towards anything else...

 

[ParadigmDawg]

I guess I am lucky that I have such a good dealer, I guess that is why his store has been in FTW for 60 years...huh...

The first time I walked in there he showed me how to switch between speakers, subs and AVRs, made certain I had good auditioning material, offered me some more and said take your time, walked out and closed the door behind him. He checked on me 30 minutes later, gave me a diet coke and told me not to be afraid to crank it all up. He left again and didnt come back until I went and got him. He is also a big B&W guy and that's what he has in his house but he told me that at my price range he couldnt get me into B&Ws that would sound as good as the Paradigms. I told him I was also looking at the MA RS-6 and he got on his cell, called his MA guy and had him bring some in. I dont mind paying a little extra for service like he offers but all in all, I have done well price wise.

The only mistake I may of made was not getting a pair of SIG S4's he offered me at a killer price (not much more than the 40's) they were the Birdseye maple and he said nobody wanted them and he wanted them out the door. I could never imagine having to pay for the center to match and he didnt have it at the deep discount...ouch...