Paradigm Monitor 7 v.4 or Energy C5

[AmishElctrician]

I'll soon be moving into a new house where the "better half" has granted permission for a dedicated home theater room, so in the meantime I've been keeping an eye open for quality used components and I've come across 2 sets of speakers that seem to fit the bill.

The theater room dimensions will roughly be 19.5' x 12.5'. Audio components I already have are an Onkyo TX-SR606 and a set of Paradigm Atoms which I intend to use for the surrounds in the 5.1 setup.

The Paradigm Monitor 7 V.4 set appears to be in near mint condition and the guy wants $300 for them. If I were to go this way I would look for a smaller monitor for the center channel or perhaps a Titan?

The Energy set includes 2 C5 towers and 2 CC1 center channels for $700. I'm thinking I could sell the 2nd CC1 to recoup some cost.

Which would be the better buy?

 

[oppman99]

Have you listened to both models of speakers you are considering? If so, did you find you preferred the sound of one over the other? Buying any speakers without hearing them is a big gamble. You may or may not like the sound. I personally like Paradigm, but that's just my opinion. The price on the Monitors looks like it is $100 less than what is currently available on Audiogon. At the very least, I would try to listen to both models before making a decision.

 

[AmishElctrician]

No I haven't listened to either of them. However, I used to own a pair of Paradigm Mk9se's and liked them alot so I guess I have some history with Paradigm just not with this particular model.

I guess what I'm asking is, is either one of these a considerable better value than the other? I think both would work well in my planned theater room and I am planning on doing some acoustical treatment to tune the room.

 

[billy p]

No I haven't listened to either of them. However, I used to own a pair of Paradigm Mk9se's and liked them alot so I guess I have some history with Paradigm just not with this particular model.

I guess what I'm asking is, is either one of these a considerable better value than the other? I think both would work well in my planned theater room and I am planning on doing some acoustical treatment to tune the room.

Not that I'm comparing apples to apples but that Energy series is an older series but was considered IMO slightly higher than the Monitor's line. I'm not trying to imply that they were better but maybe a better value. However the digms have been allowed to really evolved and with each version it seems to get better and the v4 designed monitor's may in fact be a better speaker.

 

[Sheep]

The issue isn't either of the 2 speakers you've chosen, but mating them up with matching sets. Both lines are discontinued, and I will tell you right now, good luck finding a C-C1/C-C3 center to go with those towers. I'd stick with something current.

SheepStar

 

[ace0001a]

I can't really tell or found any specs on the Paradigm Monitor 7 V4s, but it looks like the V4s were the last to use 6.5" mid and bass drivers. It seems they shrunk their monitor line from V5 on to favor the trend towards smaller sized speakers these days. I had a pair on Monitor 7 V1s from 1997 and loved them, but decided after 12 years that it was time to upgrade. I looked at the Monitor 7 V6s (the current versions) and found out they have been shrunk. From V5 on up, the Monitor 7s now use 5.25" drivers. I ended up going for a pair of Monitor 9 V6s to stay with 6.5" mid and bass drivers and matched them up with a CC-290 V6. I got my CC-290 V6 first and decided to hook it up with my old Monitor 7s just for the heck of it. From my experience, you won't have too much trouble matching any series Monitors up. They've pretty much stuck with titanium tweeters through the years and really, that's all you need to match up the most (in my opinion). The CC-290 V6 matched up fine with my old Monitor 7 V1s and even made the front soundstage better due to the CC-290's 3-way design.

I'd say you can't go wrong with the Monitor 7 V4s, but I will also say to match them up with a good dedicated Monitor center channel. Paradigm's newer 3-way center channels really improve teh spaciousness of the front sound stage and so it would be great if you can get a deal on CC-290 V5/V6 or the beast of a center CC-390 V5/V6.

 

[Lordoftherings]

I would also pick the Paradigm Monitor 7 v.4 speakers.

There are many center speakers from Paradigm that will match them perfectly.