Paradigm Studio 20 vs. Studio 40

[speakerman39]

I will share my experience the Studio 20s. Six years ago after auditioning many speakers in my price range $500 - $700 for the mains I decided the Studio 20s (ver. 2) were the best to my ears. Also at the same time I purchased a big ugly Hsu VTF2. Every time I think about upgrading my speakers, I realized how much I like the sound of the 20s. At least in ver 2 the bass can be a bit boomy for my taste, but no matter, I run them small anyway. It surprises me because for most things I always want the latest and greatest, but I have absolutely no urge to go out and audition other speakers, even after six years.

Nick

Not sure of the exact changes between the v.2 and the v.3 versions BUT I will say that the Studio 20 v.3's are anything BUT boomy in the bass. I thought the Monitor Line was a bit on the boomy side and that is the main reason I ended up with preferring the Studio Line. Heck I believe that the all new Reference Studio v.4's are beginning to hit some dealers. Just curious to see as well as hear what are, if any, changes both cosmetically and acoustically speaking.

 

[mike c]

...Heck I believe that the all new Reference Studio v.4's are beginning to hit some dealers. Just curious to see as well as hear what are, if any, changes both cosmetically and acoustically speaking.

where did you hear this? (v4 news)
thats good news, I can either wait for the v4 or get a good price on the v3

 

[ht_addict]

htaddict, only the denon 4806 running the right? (whats the wpc of the 4806?)

Only the Denon running the show at 140w/per. Has no problem powering the Paradigms to insane levels.

 

[Nick250]

Not sure of the exact changes between the v.2 and the v.3 versions BUT I will say that the Studio 20 v.3's are anything BUT boomy in the bass. I thought the Monitor Line was a bit on the boomy side and that is the main reason I ended up with preferring the Studio Line. Heck I believe that the all new Reference Studio v.4's are beginning to hit some dealers. Just curious to see as well as hear what are, if any, changes both cosmetically and acoustically speaking.

I may have to check out vr 4 myself. If I had to nit pick I would say the ver 2s are a bit bright.

I am curious, has anybody heard both ver 2 and ver 3 of the 20s and can comment on the differences?

Nick

 

[speakerman39]

I may have to check out vr 4 myself. If I had to nit pick I would say the ver 2s are a bit bright.

I am curious, has anybody heard both ver 2 and ver 3 of the 20s and can comment on the differences?

Nick

Very good question. I can say that the Studio20 v.3's are not bright but may be a bit forward. After owning them for over 5 months they seem to be more relaxed so to speak. They just sound better and better-I grin from ear to ear when I hear them.

 

[j_garcia]

I didn't hear much difference between the two. They changed the crossover and slightly changed the tweeter (bringing the brightness down a touch), but they are basically the same speaker. Visually, the cabinets and grilles are different.

The 40s give you +2dB over the 20s. That's like adding 75% more power to your system... THAT is the difference between them. I found the 40s more effortless in filling the room (my room is fairly large) - the 20s can sort of do it, but they have to be cranked louder.

 

[eirepaul]

I didn't hear much difference between the two. They changed the crossover and slightly changed the tweeter (bringing the brightness down a touch), but they are basically the same speaker. Visually, the cabinets and grilles are different.

The 40s give you +2dB over the 20s. That's like adding 75% more power to your system... THAT is the difference between them. I found the 40s more effortless in filling the room (my room is fairly large) - the 20s can sort of do it, but they have to be cranked louder.

Getting back to my original thread subject - your thoughts are where I am right now. I currently have Mini-Monitors in the front of a large, vaulted ceiling listening room and while they sound good, I find that they struggle to fill the room with clean power, hence I am considering the Monitor 5 or 7. I have plenty of amplifier power in reserve, so that is not an issue. Is that additional +2dB efficiency really like adding 75% more power?? How do you figure that?

 

[cyberbri]

It takes 2x the watts to get 3 more dB of sound. If you want 6 more dB, it takes 4x the power, or 8x the power for 9 more dB.


So if a speaker is 3dB more efficient...

87dB sensitivity --> 1w = 87dB, 2w = 90dB, 4w = 93dB, 8w = 96dB, 16w = 99dB, 32w = 102dB, 64w = 105dB, 128w = 108dB

90dB sensitivity --> 1w = 90dB, 2w = 93dB, 4w = 96dB, 8w = 99dB, 16w = 102dB, 32w = 105dB, 64w = 108dB, 128w = 111dB


That's just one speaker, but in stereo you have two speakers. The sensitivity are rated at 1w/1m, so doubling the distance to 6 feet or so is basically evened out by having 2 speakers. Of course you'll have room interactions, but that works evenly with all speakers.

 

[speakerman39]

where did you hear this? (v4 news)
thats good news, I can either wait for the v4 or get a good price on the v3

A buddy of mine whom sells the Paradigm Speakers claims they should be rolling in soon. Some dealers may be getting them already. If you go to the Paradigm website there you can download the all new Reference v.4 catalog. Not really sure if there are very many changes BUT it does appear to have some slight cosmetic changes. At least that is the way it has been with respect to the Audition and Monitor series in which both have been in the v.4 versions for a while now.

 

[speakerman39]

I didn't hear much difference between the two. They changed the crossover and slightly changed the tweeter (bringing the brightness down a touch), but they are basically the same speaker. Visually, the cabinets and grilles are different.

The 40s give you +2dB over the 20s. That's like adding 75% more power to your system... THAT is the difference between them. I found the 40s more effortless in filling the room (my room is fairly large) - the 20s can sort of do it, but they have to be cranked louder.

Woocifer and Kex over at audioreview.com have commented several times about the v.2 being brighter than the v.2. So maybe then that is where most of the improvement was made.

 

[j_garcia]

Getting back to my original thread subject - your thoughts are where I am right now. I currently have Mini-Monitors in the front of a large, vaulted ceiling listening room and while they sound good, I find that they struggle to fill the room with clean power, hence I am considering the Monitor 5 or 7. I have plenty of amplifier power in reserve, so that is not an issue. Is that additional +2dB efficiency really like adding 75% more power?? How do you figure that?

A more sensitive speaker is able to play equally loud with less power and will also play louder with the same amount of power as a lower sensitivity speaker.

I had Minis and went to 5s - the difference in their ability to fill the room was noticable. I compared 20s to 40s and found the same thing. I used to have A/V-1s, which are the little brother of the A/V-2s (similar to 20s vs 40s) and again, the same results. Each time a calibration indicated exactly a 2dB adjustment. Each was an increase over the former, the reason is that simply adding another driver playing the same thing to any cabinet automatically gives you that +2dB. This will definitely be more noticable in a larger room. Now, the 7s for some reason are 93dB sensitive vs 92dB of the 5s, but both should be a noticable improvement from the Minis. The 20s are the same 90dB sensitive, but they can handle a ton more power than the Minis (and they like more power...) That's also why when I recommend the Ascends, I usually recommend the 340s for larger rooms over the 170s.

One of the additional reasons why I liked the 5s was that I could choose a stand to give me exactly the tweeter height I was after - not so simple with the 7s, though you can still shove things under them to raise the tweeter height. Without stands, the tweeters of the 7s were almost 8" lower than with the 5s on my stands.

 

[Spokanegolfer]

I love Paradigm Studio speakers! While the Studio 20 is wonderful, I prefer the 40! Very natural sound! The main problem that I have with my 20's is that they distort whenever much bass is played! They just bottom out and thump! Very annoying! My 40's have no problems! Perhaps there is something wrong with my 20's, not sure!