UPDATE: I hate to do this ...but

[ParadigmDawg]

Well...the fun has started. I did my final comparison this weekend between the Monitor Audio RS6 and the Paradigm Studio 40’s. I ended up but the 40’s; they just seemed to have smoother and more natural sound compared to everything else I listened to. The MA’s seemed a little “bright” or “harsh” when I compared the two. Since my room is so open and all hard surfaces I was afraid this would just be compounded. My plan was to just purchase the mains and an AVR but I walked out with a center channel and some nice stands. I am very pleased with the prices I got all this for; the dealer really worked with me.

Earlier in the day a lady in the store knocked a Paradigm Studio CC-570 off the stand; it fell and broke her foot, the grill and nicked the corner of the speaker. I bought it for $300 off the price. With a dap of paint and the placement that I have the speaker; you can’t tell anything ever happened to it.

I am still using some cheap Sony’s for the surround speaker and don’t have my sub yet. I will probably have to wait a couple of months to get the SVS PB12-Plus/2 and I am thinking about using in-ceilings for the surrounds. If any one wants to loan me a sub for awhile… (If not I am thinking of trying to find a cheap sub to add a little bass until I can get the SVS)

I ended up just going for the Yamaha RX 659; it seems to power everything just fine.

I spent most of yesterday morning listening to music and trying to adjust everything; the system sounds great and I am appreciating good jazz again. I watched the game last night and it sounded pretty good. I then watched “Finding Nemo” and was blown away by the center channel and the mains. I did miss not having a sub.

Thanks for all that helped me narrow down my choices; it was not an easy process!

 

[Warpdrv]

Well congrats there buddy....

I hope your ugrade path serves you well.. If your not in a hurry, instead of the Plus/2 sub, you might wait to see the results of the Ultra 13 they are coming out with soon... If I could have waited I would have looked into that thought..

Glad to see you got the matching CC..

I hope the rest of your upgrades go well...

 

[jcPanny]

Speakers

Greg,
Nice speaker setup. With the Studio's up font, it might be hard to scrafice performance with in-celing speakers. They have the dipoles that hang on the side walls. Also, those Studio 20's seem small compared to the 40's.

How low to the 40's play? I little Onix X-sub or 2 might be able to hold you over for a while, but don't expect much below 30 Hz.

 

[j_garcia]

Congrats. The 40s are my favorite in the line. The 40s are actually good to about the mid 30s, so an X-sub will help a little with output but won't provide much more extension. 20s will be perfectly fine with the 40s. I'm not a fan of the ADPs unless you have a room that will allow you to make good use of them (proper side/rear walls for bouncing sound).

While the 659 is supposed to be able to handle 4 Ohm loads decently, I would expect it isn't quite enough to really make a full set of Studios shine. I'd pick up a 2ch amp for the 40s at least.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Warpdrv- Maybe we can work out a deal where you get the new sub and I take yours.

JC- I heard the in-ceilings and thought it sounded pretty good. Are there not some decent ones out there? The WAF is dictating them at this point but if they will sacrifice sound I will talk her out of it.

Garcia- Are you telling me I didn’t get a powerful enough AVR? She will kill me if I tell her this! I played some pretty dang loud jazz last night and it sounded great.

All- so would I be wasting money on a little cheap sub just to get a little more bass until the big dog comes along?

 

[jcPanny]

In-ceiling

There are some high end in-celing speakers from manufacturers like spakercraft and triad, but they tend to cost more than comparable bookshelf speakers.

Set your Studio 40's to full range and save up for a good 12" sub from SVS, HSU, or Onix. AV123 has a 15" ported model comming out for $600 in a couple months.

 

[Nick250]

I think the Yamaha should work just fine for the 40's. Once you get your sub even more so. I don't know if I would do this or not, but getting the Onix X-sub for two hundred to hold you over for a while is hard to argue against. You could then set the 40's to small and give the Yamaha even less of a load. I suspect you could then sell the Onix X-sub for $150 if you wanted to.

Nick

 

[j_garcia]

Garcia- Are you telling me I didn’t get a powerful enough AVR? She will kill me if I tell her this! I played some pretty dang loud jazz last night and it sounded great.

The AH review of it was very positive, however I know the Studios can be a demanding load. See how it goes. The good news is, you can just add an amp as I mentioned, if it seems to be an issue. It really depends on a number of things like room size, how loud you listen, etc...

All- so would I be wasting money on a little cheap sub just to get a little more bass until the big dog comes along?

No, you wouldn't be wasting your money, but you would probably be better off just waiting and getting a better sub, if it won't be that long. Nick is right, a sub will at least allow you to off load some work to the sub, but if it doesn't go much lower than the 40s, then the benefit isn't so great.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

What would an amp like this cost. Would I be better off upgrading to a higher powered AVR while I can still return the 659?

 

[Warpdrv]

Warpdrv- Maybe we can work out a deal where you get the new sub and I take yours.

All- so would I be wasting money on a little cheap sub just to get a little more bass until the big dog comes along?

Greg - Too funny... Thread Chaser... all the way to a different forum no less...

This might be a good opertunity to go to a local shop and buy a few subs, and try them out, and get a feel for what your after integrating them into your system, and trying out different crossover points... Best Buy or something similar, and buy the top of the line.. see how they perform, you can always take them back.

Just a suggestion...

 

[j_garcia]

Amps are easy to find used fairly cheap and you can also look at something like the Berhinger A500 for ~$180. Like I said though, try it out and see how it sounds for now. IMO, if you like the sound and features of the 659, stick with it and get an amp down the road. You'd have to step up the food chain a few levels to achieve the same results as that unit with an amp.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Warpdrv,

I am just an admirer of your fine system. I wish I could figure out a way to set up my living room similar to yours. I had to place my plasma above the fireplace and it hurts my neck and my center channel blocks the fireplace and makes the dialog come from people’s feet when you watch a movie. At least I live in Texas so I don’t need the fireplace but I am concerned that my S.O. will get mad at me one day and use the center channel as a log and light it up!

Our house is setup so we can’t really change the layout of the furniture and gain access to a blank wall so I can place a TV stand and my system there.