Paradigm Studio Series 60 vs 100 (Music vs. HT)

[Quickley17]

I spend most of my time in the family room watching movies/tv/listening to music casually, and far less time listening to music critically. As such, I am curious about the differences between speakers like the Studio 60 and the Studio 100 (B&W 684 vs. 683 and Polk RTiA7 vs. RTiA9 being similar sitations I would think).

A dealer here in the DC area told me that if I am going to be mostly watching movies and tv with the speakers that I do not need the extra (or larger) low end drivers that some of the flagship models of a series (100) provide over the mid-level (60) speakers in the series. Is this true? His argument was that if I am going to be using a subwoofer for those low-end sounds, the crossover will limit the output from those extra and/or larger drivers on the higher priced models.

It makes sense that I would be missing out on some of the low frequency sounds when I'm not using a subwoofer, but what other potential sacrifices might I see by going with the mid-level speaker as opposed to the highest-level speaker in that series? Do speakers within the same series generally use the same quality of components? Should the high-frequency and mid-range sound fairly similar with two speakers in the same series?

 

[fredk]

Do speakers within the same series generally use the same quality of components? Should the high-frequency and mid-range sound fairly similar with two speakers in the same series?

I would think so. My experience is with Axiom, where I was able to do a switched a/b comparison of the M60 and M80.

Even though the drivers used were the same, the configuration and crossover were a little different giving the M80 a little bit more detail and openness through the midrange and treble. The biggest difference between the two was in the bass, with the midrange and upper end being slightly different. Looking back, if I had not been able to compare them directly, may not have noticed the difference.

I also had a chance to compare the M22 bookshelf and a sub to both the M80 and the M60 (both without sub). The bottom end on the bookself + sub was better in both cases. For the Flagship M80 is was only noticeable on music with content below 40Hz (things like synth and pipe organ).

If you are trying to decide between the Studio 100 and 60, but will be getting a sub, I would get a dealer to set up a comparison between the two setups to see if you can notice a difference.

 

[popotoys]

I have Studio 100's v.2's and run them as small all the time with the crossover set to 100hz. Sounds fine. Personally, if I did it again, I would have purchased the Studio 60's and 2 subs but at the time I was caught up with having to have tower size speakers. IMO, in this day and age, you are farther ahead to spend more on you sub woofer choices (or room treatments) and let them do what they are designed to do.

 

[fredk]

I have Studio 100's v.2's and run them as small all the time with the crossover set to 100hz. Sounds fine. Personally, if I did it again, I would have purchased the Studio 60's and 2 subs but at the time I was caught up with having to have tower size speakers. IMO, in this day and age, you are farther ahead to spend more on you sub woofer choices (or room treatments) and let them do what they are designed to do.

For the most part, I think you are right. Going in to the buying process, I wanted the best for music listening and was looking forward to some improvement over 2.0 cheapo speakers for movie watching.

I was totally blown away by how much better the movie experience became with a good HT setup. I lust after a second, and better, sub to make that experience even better.

I made the right choice for me, but if your focus is more casual music and movies, spend the money on multiple or better subs.

 

[Warpdrv]

My take on the diff is that the 60's with the smaller drivers will have less output or SPL then the 100's... so it comes down to how loud you like to listen... 60's for a smaller more compact room size, 100's for a medium larger type room. Your dealer is correct with the suggestion about coupling with a sub, it will take some of the strain off the speakers not having to reproduce those low fr notes.

Secondly, the 60's are a 2 1/2 way designed speaker and the 100's are a 3 way speaker... you should listen to both and see if there is a diff to you... some say that the mid range is a bit better in the 3 way 100... up to you to decide.

I have Sig S4's which are 2 1/2 way, and 100's which are a 3 way, both are spectacular to me, and I don't find a fault in either design.

The entire line should be able to be mixed and matched as they are voiced pretty much the same...

Not sure how much diff one would tell in the bass dept here...

Freq Response of 100's

Low-Frequency Extension* 25 Hz (DIN)
Frequency Response:
On-Axis ±2 dB from 44 Hz - 22 kHz

Freq Response of the 60's

Low-Frequency Extension* 29 Hz (DIN)
Frequency Response:
On-Axis ±2 dB from 45 Hz - 22 kHz

You can see they are measuring very very close...

 

[Quickley17]

Cool, thanks for the help everybody. Can you explain to me how 2 1/2 way works? Do a couple of the drivers share a greater than normal portion of the freqency range?

 

[trailmug]

Cool, thanks for the help everybody. Can you explain to me how 2 1/2 way works? Do a couple of the drivers share a greater than normal portion of the freqency range?

I hate to bump a two year old thread, but I found this answer hard to come across when I was shopping.. 2 1/2 way speakers like the Studio 60 use a "mid/bass driver" which is driven with the bass frequencies as well as the midrange. So the bass drivers handle from deep bass up to the 500Hz crossover, and the mid/bass handles from deep bass up to the 2.0kHz crossover.

I would also offer an opinion after comparing the 60 and 100 side by side that the sound is very, very similar. The 100 is probably most useful to fill a large listening space without a sub. The 100s, as I noticed in the demo room, though listed with greater sensitivity, seem to require a higher amplifier gain to reach the same perceived volume. The salesman also cautioned that my 85W/ch Yamaha receiver may not be sufficient to drive the 100s. They're listed as an "8-ohm compatible" load, but even the 60s bottom at 3.6ohm@185Hz as tested by Stereophile.