Yes, let's get back to the original post. Steelheart specifically asked for pros and cons of owning Paradigm Monitor series speakers and for any opinions on Sapphire speakers.
I can't comment on Sapphires - never heard them and don't know anything about the company.
As a Paradigm product owner and as someone who has heard several Monitor line speakers, I can comment. Pros: A few negative comments in this thread notwithstanding, Paradigm is a well respected speaker manufacturer that makes speakers in many price ranges. As you may know, their Monitor line is the third from the top, after their Signature line and their Reference line. It's a good bang for the buck speaker.
In a professional review of a Paradigm's speaker (Reference Studio 20) Doug Schneider, a professional reviewer said the following about Paradigm as a company: "Paradigm has created and maintained an enviable reputation for making great-sounding speakers. However, in recent years, mostly as a result of the Reference products, the company is gaining an equally warranted reputation for great-sounding speakers regardless of price -- even if they still don’t cost all that much compared to other speakers on the market."
That review is found in soundstage.com. By the way, you can go to soundstage.com and look for any advertisements for Paradigm products but you won't find any.
In the Monitor line I liked the Monitor 5's and the Mini Monitors the best. I'm not too keen on floorstanders per se, but I understand that among the Monitor floorstanders, the Monitor 11's sound pretty good.
The cons: For cons, consult with the naysayers; I can't think of any.
With respect to comments to the effect that certain speakers "beat out" Paradigm speakers in tonal and harmonic balance and accuracy: First, that's painting all Paradigm speakers with a pretty broad brush. I'm not familiar with most of the speakers cornelius recommends over the Paradigms, though I have never read anything bad about Dynaudio; they are seemingly universally well respected. But let me again offer a quote from the previously mentioned review:
"While the Studio 20 v.3s didn’t quite have the velvety texture of the FS-788s when reproducing male vocals, they most certainly had similar clarity along with ideal tonal balance and freedom from chestiness or other such nastiness." So, here's a professional reviewer who feels that at least this Paradigm speaker's tonal balance is "ideal."
Here's a couple of other quotes:
"The top end is stunning. It's clear and wonderfully extended, with ease and purity that I normally associate with higher-priced speakers -- much higher-priced."
"Its effortless treble will better that of like-priced competitors, not to mention the treble of some very expensive speakers."
"And at the Montreal Son & Image show, some companies were playing speakers costing thousands of dollars that didn’t sound as clean and effortless as the Studio 20 v.3 in its upper reaches. To get topnotch high-frequency performance like the Studio 20 v.3 gives you for hundreds of dollars, not thousands, is something to rave about."
"Equally impressive is the Studio 20 v.3’s midrange, which is clean, clear, detailed, and devoid of colorations such as chestiness and wooliness. Male voice was rich, full-bodied, and quite present (present as in there), while female voice was silky smooth. Throughout Gone, Keelor’s voice is close-miked and has the kind of detail and presence that makes audiophiles swoon. Sarah McLachlan also appears on this album, and her angelic backing vocals have ease and clarity without grain or edge. The Studio 20 v.3 is a clean, smooth performer, and it preserves all that the very best speakers do."
Now, all that having been said, I cannot disagree with cornelius' suggestion regarding auditioning other speakers. As you can tell, I like Paradigm speakers, but they're not the only speakers I like. And, as you can see, not everyone likes them as well as I do. You would be doing yourself a favor by taking the time to audition many speakers. You may find others within your budget that you like even more.
Good luck and have fun in the hunt!
