I got an audition with Monitor Audio Silver 2's & Paradigm Studio 20's today.

[tdogroeder]

This was a side by side audition with music from a computer, CAYIN A-50T tube amp & campbridge audio dacmagic. I was only there about an hour and didn't listen to a lot of different music.

MA's were the better speakers imo, paradigm's were brighter and much more in price. The MA's were not perfect, it felt like there was something missing to pull the highs & lows together like to much separation between the two if that makes sense. Maybe it's the details I'm not use to hearing.

Sorry for the lack of details as that is not my strong suit since I'm not sure what words to use to express what I heard or didn't hear.

 

[Cos]

Interesting comparison, maybe the Paradigm doesn't do well with the tube amp. It is not a bright sounding speaker by any sense of the word.

http://www.stereophile.com/content/paradigm-reference-studio-20-v5-loudspeaker-measurements

 

[PENG]

Interesting comparison, maybe the Paradigm doesn't do well with the tube amp. It is not a bright sounding speaker by any sense of the word.

Paradigm Reference Studio 20 v5 loudspeaker Measurements | Stereophile.com

I read the review, on page 2 it said:

"Ultimately, I found the recording frustrating—the Paradigms excelled at revealing ambience, and Out of Nowhere has none. It didn't sound as if a trumpet was being played in a room—there was no room sound at all. A lesser speaker would not have revealed that."

That is one reason why I started the thread on high quality sound albums. It does not imply that a lesser speaker would somehow make any poor quality albums sounding better, but for critical comparison listening I think we must use high quality sound albums only and I am not sure if people always keep that in mind.

Base on the graphs though, the Studio 20 V5 has peaks in the >5kHz range, not sure if that could make it sound on the so call bright side. There is a good one by Gene on the topic of brightness.

Tips to Combat Loudspeaker & System Brightness | Audioholics

 

[tdogroeder]

Both speakers had very good detail, maybe the ma's were slightly laid back and the paradigm's slightly bright. I can only express what I thought my ears heard.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Both speakers had very good detail, maybe the ma's were slightly laid back and the paradigm's slightly bright. I can only express what I thought my ears heard.

Were they volume level-matched?

 

[tdogroeder]

Were they volume level-matched?

Probably not, he didn't make any changes to electronics that I noticed.

 

[JohnMichael]

I recently auditioned The Studio 20's latest version using Simaudio Moon electronics. I also own the Monitor Audio RS6's so I am familiar with the MA sound. The Studio 20's seemed dark in the lower half of the frequencies and really opened up in the tweeter range. I was listening with unfamiliar electronics but it has been a long time since I heard a speaker that was so different at different frequency ranges. I would not say the speaker spoke with one voice. The Monitor Audio RS6's did speak more with one voice. You did not hear any transitions across frequencies. The newer tweeter in the RS2's should sound better than the peakier tweeter in the RS6's. Good luck on your hunt.

 

[JohnnieB]

I recently sat down with Paradigm studio 100's and Klipsch RF-7 2's. As one might expect the Klipsh were very forward sounding due to the horn, but I did not consider them bright. I half expected a screaming banshee to come out of the tweet from what some people say about them. In comparison, the Paradigm sounded more well rounded with better bass. I also thought the Paradigm sounded more restrained, like they weren't getting the power they needed to really open up. Had either of these speakers been next to something else, maybe my perception would have been different. Happy hunting.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Probably not, he didn't make any changes to electronics that I noticed.

I would guess that most comparisons, especially at dealers, are not really fair comparisons because the speakers are not level-matched.

Also not fair if one speaker has more bass extension than another. When you get home, you will probably use subs, which sort of takes the bass out of the equation.