Paradigm Monitor 11 - Superior Sound... Superior Looks... Damn Great Job Canada!
Written: Dec 30 '03
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Ease of Use: |
 |
|
| Durability: |
|
|
| Flatness: |
|
|
| Imaging: |
|
|
| Overall Sound: |
|
|
|
Pros: Performance, Quality, Looks, Imaging, Clear Mids, Price
Cons: None!
The Bottom Line: The Paradigm Monitor 11 are a real bargain, and without doubt will amaze you.
|
|
|
| soupcraze's Full Review: Paradigm MONITOR 11 Speaker |
The Paradigm Monitor 11 speakers are the ones that proudly drive out the sound as my main speakers. I have owned these speakers for a long time already, and have always been excited to come home and turn on my sound system, and hear these beauties play. I'm running them on a Marantz SR-14EX and when both of these are combined, the sound I get is purely incredible. Here's what I found with the Paradigm Monitor 11 speakers.
-Price-
*The last time I went to an audio store, I saw Paradigm Monitor 11 speakers for around $1,000. Paradigm is known for making incredible quality speakers, and the Paradigm Monitor 11 is probably one of their finest. Really, if you hear these, I'm sure you'd be willing to pay a lot more money for them. The only other company that I was seriously considering at the time when I bought these speakers was Boston Acoustics with the Lynnfield VR950 speakers that were $700/pair. However, Boston no longer makes the VR940/950/965/975 speakers which I thought were quite comparable to Paradigm with the Monitor Series speakers. However, if you want to compare the Paradigm Monitor 11 to Boston Acoustics, you can look into the Boston Acoustics VR3 3-Way speakers which will cost you around $1,250 MSRP. I've heard the newer model lines from Boston, they do once again give you great sound for the buck, but Paradigm Monitor 11 speakers outperform them with better sound, sport better looks, and do cost less. For the amount of money that you pay for the Paradigm Monitor 11 speakers, you can't really do much better. Also, the Paradigm Monitor 11 aren't made in the United States, they are made in Canada, in case you're not a fan of American technology, ay?
-Looks & Styling-
*The Paradigm Monitor 11 are gorgeous speakers since they are tall, and have a beautiful wood finish. They however aren't anything out of the ordinary. The tall and slender design is what makes the Paradigm Monitor 11 so appealing, just like the Boston Acoustic Lynnfields were back in the day. If you're looking for speakers of this stature, then you should definitely look into the Paradigm Monitor 11.
-Sound Quality-
*The sound quality is where the Paradigm Monitor 11 speakers definitely shine. First off, all of the Monitor speakers are noted for their incredible performance, and the Paradigm Monitor 11 deliver that sound that you'd expect from a Paradigm Monitor series effectively, at all ends of the spectrum. First off, the high-range is mastered by the 1" dome tweeter which very effectively re-creates the high-frequencies with absolute clarity and precision. The Paradigm Monitor 11 is equiped with a large midrange driver, at 6.5", this driver delivers a great sounding midrange. When playing music or anything else in stereo or without the center channel speaker, the Paradigm Monitor 11 speakers have a very clear midrange where the vocals, and even female vocals (More difficult to reproduce) are reproduced accurately. The Paradigm Monitor 11 also excels at hitting a pretty good amount of bass, thanks to three 6.5" bass drivers which can create a good amount of rumble, and the bass is very clean. They aren't actual subwoofers like the Monitor 90P has, but I wouldn't want subwoofers in my main speakers, I'd rather leave that to a subwoofer, and allow my mains to recreate all of the other parts of the spectrum, just like the Paradigm Monitor 11. Overall, the sound that comes out of these speakers is very full, clean, and beautiful. They definitely have that "wow" factor. If you're looking at other great value hi-fi equipment, the Boston Acoustics VR3 speakers sound great, and so do the VR965s which you can get used, but they still don't sound as great as the Paradigm Monitor 11 speakers from Paradigm. However, you should take a listen for yourself, listen to Paradigm, Boston Acoustics, or any other brand, and decide what you like better. But the hype that these speakers get is well-deserved.
-Specifications-
*1" dome tweeter
*Single 6.5" midrange driver
*Three 6.5" bass drivers
*Frequency response of 18Hz to 20kHz
*15-200 Watts of power
*94dB/91dB sensitivity
*8 oHm impendance
-The Verdict-
*The Paradigm Monitor 11 are probably some of the nicest speakers that you can buy for the money, and probably some of the greatest sounding in the world. aradigm is well-known for making great quality speakers, and the Paradigm Monitor 11 speakers live up to that credibility. There are so many speakers out there on the market, and so many in the same price range as these, but I doubt you're going to find anything that will deliver this kind of sound at this fairly low-price. If you're looking for the best possible performance at the ~$1,000 price range, look no further. These Canadians sure know their stuff, ay?
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1000
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
soupcraze
|
 - Top 50 |
|
Member: Soup Enthusiast
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Reviews written: 488
Trusted by: 185 members
About Me:
I enjoy many of life's passions... Music, medicine, people, and life itself.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.