Good value for the money; midtones need work
Written: Jun 18 '01
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Pros: Gentle and crisp highs
Reasonable bass for the size
Cons: Odd crossover
So-so midtones, esp for classical music
The Bottom Line: Very good for the money. Clear sound, efficient but not grating. Excellent highs; needs a subwoofer for lows.
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| hologon's Full Review: Paradigm MONITOR 3 Speaker |
I bought these on the recommendation of a friend and this list.
I'm impressed and also disappointed. The sound is really quite good for the size and the price. Unfortunately, I've heard better, especially from my old Infinity floorstandings (had to leave them with my parents as I was moving.)
Music I'm playing through them: Classical violin, hardcore drum and bass, modern jazz, home theatre.
In essence, they're great. The highs are non-fatiguing and very crisp, and yet not painful or squealing (diametrically opposed to the Klipsch-horn). The bass is filled in pretty well, but it really needs a subwoofer for real bass.
Unfortunately, the midtones leave something to be desired. Simply not too tight; a little loose, not very well defined.
Also, the crossover is very odd. I only noticed this while listening to Perlman's recording of the Bruch Violin Concerto (no.1; EMI Red Line) -- on Track 4, at 4min 50s through 5min 20s, the violin plays through a contiguous range from low to high. If you listen closely for the transition from the woofer to the tweeter, the tonality of the sound breaks sharply. The woofer simply is not very good at handling midtones. When I closed my eyes and listened, the sound seemed to change from muffled to absolutely wonderful as the violin crossed the break/crossover.
I listened to the same track with Sennheiser HD580's and did not hear the same break.
Caveat: I've been listening to classical music in a live setting for my entire life, and I'm particularly picky. My girlfriend thinks it sounds normal.
Listening to any other music, including techno (Crystal Method), drum and bass (Metalheadz, Dieselboy), or jazz, the volume is excellent, the crispness right on.
For Home Theatre, I've got no complaints at all, except that they need to be mated with a decent subwoofer if you're watching anything with LFE.
Powered by: Technics SA-DA8
Compared with: B&W bookshelves, Infinity Reference floorstandings, Klipsch Promedia v2-400 and Quintets
Bottom line: great value and size, but I've heard better in similar-priced floorstanding speakers. Recommended for pop/rock/folk/jazz, so-so for classical. Needs a subwoofer for techno (but for mid/highs are great)
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 400/pr
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Epinions.com ID:
hologon
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Reviews written: 3
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