I think I've go my first system picked out...

[Panhandler801]

Panasonic 42" 1080 Plasma (TH-42PZ85U) - Already purchased, pls don't bash
Yamaha RX-V663 (already purchased, as well)
Paradigm Monitor 9s V.5
Paradigm CC390
Paradigm AMS100Rs (ceiling)
SVS PC-Ultra


Never thought I'd drop this much coin on a system, but what the heck. Not married yet, and about to move into new place. If I didn't do it now, when would I, right? Got back from bank yesterday and closing isn't going to be quite as expensive as I thought, and I completely forgot about approximately $1,000 that I having coming to me in rebates from the gas company for installing gas range, heat, water, dryer.

Given that the receiver is already purchased, how does the rest of that look?

As much music as movies. Is that too much sub for those Paradigms? It's a big room, huge in fact, so it's probably needed, but spending $1,500 is a tough pill for me to swallow. Have had a very hard time on the sub front. But from what I can tell, it doesn't look like you can go wrong with this one. Seems real big.

To those of you that have it... will it still do music well?

Pretty much sold on the paradigms, although, I'm getting the sense that the paradigms aren't anything much more than a glorified big box brand. Like they have some elitist follwing / performance, but may not have the pedigree to back it up.

Any truth to this, or do they just lack the internet that some of the ID companies have fostered during the blog / forum craze of the past decade?

What do yall think?

Thanks.

 

[Pyrrho]

Panasonic 42" 1080 Plasma (TH-42PZ85U) - Already purchased, pls don't bash
Yamaha RX-V663 (already purchased, as well)
Paradigm Monitor 9s V.5
Paradigm CC390
Paradigm AMS100Rs (ceiling)
SVS PC-Ultra


Never thought I'd drop this much coin on a system, but what the heck. Not married yet, and about to move into new place. If I didn't do it now, when would I, right? Got back from bank yesterday and closing isn't going to be quite as expensive as I thought, and I completely forgot about approximately $1,000 that I having coming to me in rebates from the gas company for installing gas range, heat, water, dryer.

Given that the receiver is already purchased, how does the rest of that look?

As much music as movies. Is that too much sub for those Paradigms?

No, it is impossible to have "too much sub" for anything, other than one's budget or space. I would probably buy that sub if I were buying one today and if it was about what I had to spend. (I own two of the older, CS-Ultra subwoofers from SVS, and I am very happy with them.)

It's a big room, huge in fact, so it's probably needed, but spending $1,500 is a tough pill for me to swallow. Have had a very hard time on the sub front. But from what I can tell, it doesn't look like you can go wrong with this one. Seems real big.

To those of you that have it... will it still do music well?

Pretty much sold on the paradigms, although, I'm getting the sense that the paradigms aren't anything much more than a glorified big box brand. Like they have some elitist follwing / performance, but may not have the pedigree to back it up.

Any truth to this, or do they just lack the internet that some of the ID companies have fostered during the blog / forum craze of the past decade?

What do yall think?

Thanks.

For your speakers, I will give you the advice I give everyone. Listen to as many models as you can stand to listen to, and listen to as many types of speakers (ribbons, horns, etc.) as you can. Then you decide which one suits you best. There is no perfect speaker, and you must decide which set of virtues and vices you can live with.

 

[Adam]

First, I'd like to take this chance to bash the Panny. Oh, wait. That thing will look fantastic. Never mind.

Two things that I'd like to mention:

First, I own the PC-Ultra and have no (none, zero) regrets about putting down the cash for it. It is awesome. I don't really listen to much music anymore, so I can't answer your question about that. For movies, though, I'm very happy. Customer service at SVS has exceeded all of my expectations (in a good way). Those guys are great. Getting an e-mail response on a weekend...even a long one from one of the founders...is nothing abnormal. Keep in mind that it's a cylinder wrapped in cloth, so it doesn't have the fit and finish of their box subs. However, I think that it looks quite nice (nicer than the photos would imply) and like how it fits in with my system.

Second, listen to those Paradigms before you buy them, if you haven't already. When I was shopping for speakers 10 years ago (wow, now I feel old), I auditioned some because I had heard nothing but great things about that brand. I absolutely hated them. Like nails on a chalkboard. The moral is simply to audition speakers first and/or buy them from someplace that will let you return them after you get to try them at home. You might love them, but better safe than sorry.

Adam

EDIT: Looks like Pyrrho hit all the highlights while I was typing my response, so I'll just second his advice!

 

[ChunkyDark]

You've probably read this before but it’s worth repeating; is their sound worth 1500$ to you? You can really only determine this if you have listened to a variety of speakers across the price spectrum. This doesn’t have to be work. Load some favorite songs on a mp3 player or burn a CD and go out and explore some stores and see what you find.

In ceiling speakers don’t generally make the best surrounds, but you have to make due with what you have (architecturally speaking).

EDIT: Put my slowa$$ typing self down as a third a guess lol

 

[markw]

Have you heard them?

Then have some faith in your own taste. If you like their sound (many do and many don't), then they are excellent speakers.

If you're gonna let everything you read here sway and over-ride your personal feelings you're in for a heckuva ride. Things change regularly and today's darling may be tomorrows bum.

Remember, you can't listen overt the internet. You have to get 'em home to nmake that determination and, in most cases, virtually any decent speaker you buy will satisfy you once it's been in your home for a few days.

But, Paradigm is still a contenda and at a reasonable price to boot.

You may want to delete that duplicate post.

edit: make that "you SHOULD"

 

[Panhandler801]

Yeah, they sounded good to me.

Problem that I'm up against is that I only have one store here locally other than big boxes. And the only affordable brand that they cary (at least affordable to me) is Paradigm.

THanks for the advice on listening. I guess my reason for posting is that I find other people's insight on indivudal models helpful. I'm not relying on it exclusively, but I kind of equate it to a wine tasting. Until the last three or four years, I thought all wines pretty much tasted the same, good, but the same. After having tried many, and often in the company of those who can help describe the tastes with words, I've come to more keenly appreciate wine in general. Decent analogy? I don't know....

Anway, that being said.... "Some like em, some don't," re: Paradigms. I've heard that some people find them too bright and lacking in the mid range. I didn't experience that, but when I go to listed again, I'll keep that in mind.

I've also heard that the V5s were supposed to alleviate some of that issue. I've also "heard" that today's 11s are the old 9s, and todays 9s are the old 7s. I don't know if that's the case, but it seem that folks are bigger on the old 9s than they are the new ones.

Doesn't seem like anybody thinks much of the 7s at all.

I'm not so much interested in WHAT people think, as I am WHY they think it, and of course I'll let my ear be the final judge, but I do appreciate everyone eles' input. There's 1,000s upon 1,000s, upon 1,000s of demo experience here on this forum; I have but a few hours under my belt, so I'm open to suggestions.

In regards to the sub, if ANYONE has dealt with it much in the music field, I'd love to know how you like it.

All in all, I'm excited about my new toys that will be here sooner than later. I'll be sure to let everyone know what I went with and I'll post a pic.

Thanks all.

PH80

 

[Panhandler801]

You may want to delete that duplicate post.

edit: make that "you SHOULD"

Oops. Didn't know I'd done that. I went back, before posting the reply above, and tried to delete it. There was no option that I could find that would allow me to do so.

My bad.

 

[mazersteven]

IMO I would rather go with a Studio series bookshelf then a Monitor series floorstander.

 

[Davemcc]

IMO I would rather go with a Studio series bookshelf then a Monitor series floorstander.

Good advice, especially when you are going to have a killer sub to handle the low frequencies. I am an advocate of sub/bookshelf systems, especially when you can move up a model line in the process.

 

[Pyrrho]

IMO I would rather go with a Studio series bookshelf then a Monitor series floorstander.

It is a good idea to go with a superior bookshelf speaker when one is going to have a subwoofer take care of the deep bass anyway. That way, one is not paying for bass response one does not need in the main speakers, and concentrates the money on the frequencies that will matter. In fact, one should probably get the best speakers one can for, say, about 80 Hz on up, and not worry about the lower frequencies. Typically, to be completely flat down to 80 Hz, of course, the -3 dB point should be somewhat below it. Probably, 60 Hz or so would be quite good for the -3 dB point, so that if one sets the crossover for 80 Hz, the bookshelf speakers will not be stressed on the lower end of what they are asked to reproduce.

I have put my money where my mouth is, so to speak. The current version (I own the original U.S. version, not the "Signature" version) of what I am using is:

http://www.kellsieavdesign.com/products/Leisure2SE.htm

I use them for all channels, so I have a perfect match across the front and front to back. However, they are probably a bit out of the price range of Panhandler801. Still, one could ask what a set of three or four pair would cost if purchased all at once.

I did not spend extra to get deeper bass from the main speakers since I am using a subwoofer anyway (actually, two subwoofers, but let us not quibble). I am so satisfied with these speakers used in conjunction with a pair of SVS CS-Ultra subwoofers that I do not plan on ever upgrading. It seems strange after all these years to actually be pretty much completely satisfied with my system. Most of my life, I dreamt of better speakers, but I don't any more.

 

[Panhandler801]

Upgrading from big floor standers to book shelves because of sub's presence... got it. That makes sense, and I'll look into it.

Next question then... what about when it's time for music? Seems that the bigger floor standers, which would more than likely have an additional 4 mid-sized drivers in large cabinet, would be better suited for higher volumes of mid-range plain ol' music when attempting to fill the large room. This make any sense? I figured during this application, I'd take the sub down a notch or two, and just crank some tunes... at which point I would be reyling on my fronts to get a little bit lower than your typical bookshelves.

Eh?

 

[mazersteven]

Upgrading from big floor standers to book shelves because of sub's presence... got it. That makes sense, and I'll look into it.

Next question then... what about when it's time for music? Seems that the bigger floor standers, which would more than likely have an additional 4 mid-sized drivers in large cabinet, would be better suited for higher volumes of mid-range plain ol' music when attempting to fill the large room. This make any sense? I figured during this application, I'd take the sub down a notch or two, and just crank some tunes... at which point I would be reyling on my fronts to get a little bit lower than your typical bookshelves.

Eh?

I recommended the Studio series bookshelf speakers over the Monitor series tower speaker because of the difference in sound quality. Who cares how many drivers the speaker has.

 

[Panhandler801]

Understood. It just seemed (to me, a novice), that the additional speakers would make more sound, thereby more completly filling the extremely large room.

Not the case?

If I went with studio bookshelfs, then what about the center channel? Could I stick with the CC390 from the Monitor line, or would it be best to upgrade there as well? I've got to draw a line on the $$ front at some point. Heck, I've gone from a $500 sub to a $1,500 one. Yikes.

 

[mazersteven]

If I went with studio bookshelfs, then what about the center channel? Could I stick with the CC390 from the Monitor line, or would it be best to upgrade there as well? I've got to draw a line on the $$ front at some point.

Without a doubt go with a Studio series center channel. If you have to wait until funds are available then do so. But don't settle and purchase a Monitor center.

 

[jcPanny]

Paradigm Studio

For a good deal on some lightly used paradigm studios, check out audiogon.com. If you can get a good deal also consider the dipole surround speakers.

 

[codexp3]

I'm a fellow Paradigm owner. I ended up with signatures, but I loved the Studios! Dollar for dollar one of the best speakers.

 

[Panhandler801]

Okay,

I'm now leaning hard towards Studio 60s, and CC690. Sucks that I won't have any real surrounds (putting AMS100Rs in the ceiling), but at least with those two Studio 60s up front to play when it comes time to listen to just music.

Where's a good place online to buy cables?

 

[Panhandler801]

I'm thinking Studio 60s, CC690 and............ SVS 20-39 PC-Plus........... That comes in at $1,000. The ultra would be $1,600 after freight. As cool as the Ultra would be, it's just a lot of money.

I can get the Paradigm Ultracube 12 for about the same price. For music, it might be just as good, would it not?

 

[AVRat]

The SVS PC will eat the cube for an appetizer!

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Step down one to the Studio 40's and get the 590 center and the SVS ultra, throw any old cheap surrounds in there and get ready for Heaven. I use the 40's in a 8,000 cubic foot room and they sound as good for music as they do for movies. Way later down the line you can upgrade the surrounds if needed.