The cosmetic changes themselves should not be dismissed too lightly. My impression of Paradigm's speakers has been that they may offer good sound for the money, but the look is pretty utilitarian. The Studio/100 v.2, and other speakers in the new Reference Series, change that. Although you couldn't mistake the Studio/100 v.2's wood finish (rosenut…
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Despite all these changes, which represent substantial costs in development time as well as materials, the price of the Studio/100 v.2 is only $100 higher than its predecessor's—a testament to Paradigm's vertical integration of manufacturing.
The Studio/100 v.2's bass performance was also first-rate: extended and powerful, the quality of the bass approaching that of the $7995/pair Dunlavy SC-IV/A, which has dual 10" woofers in a much larger cabinet. The Studio/100 v.2 had no trouble coping with my usual bass test pieces. The synthesizer note at the beginning of track 7 of Mickey Hart's Planet Drum (Rykodisc RC-10206) energized the air most convincingly, and bass drums had proper weight.
My listening room's acoustics seem to interact in unpredictable ways with speakers that have extended bass response: with some (eg, the…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way, four-driver, floorstanding, reflex-loaded loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" aluminum-dome tweeter, 6.5" mica-polymer-dome midrange, two 8.5" filled polypropylene-cone woofers. Crossover frequencies (slopes): 250Hz (second-order), 2kHz (third-order). Frequency response: 39Hz-22kHz, ±2dB on-axis; 39Hz-20kHz, ±2dB, 30 degrees off-axis. Low-frequency extension (DIN): 25Hz. Sensitivity: 88dB/2.83V/m anechoic, 91dB in-room. Impedance: 8 ohms compatible. Recommended amplifier power: 15-350W. Maximum input power: 210W (typical program source, clipping…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog source: Linn LP12 turntable (fully updated), Ittok tonearm, AudioQuest AQ-7000nsx cartridge.
Digital source: PS Audio Lambda II transport, Muse Two Ninety-Six digital processor, Illuminati Orchid digital link.
Preamplifier: Convergent Audio Technology SL-1 Ultimate.
Power amplifiers: Bryston 9B-ST, Thule PA250B, Balanced Audio Technology VK-60.
Cables: Interconnects: Nordost Quattro Fil, TARA Labs The Two. Speaker cables: Nordost S.P.M. Reference, TARA Labs The Two. AC cord: TARA Labs Decade.
Accessories: Argent RoomLenses (5), PS…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The big Paradigm's sensitivity weighed in at 89.5dB(B)/2.83V/m, 1dB more sensitive than the earlier version we reviewed three years ago. This is within the margin of error of the older speaker but is still almost 3dB higher than average. The impedance, however, drops below 4 ohms between 55Hz and 210Hz, with a minimum value of 3 ohms at 90Hz (fig.1). A good 4 ohm-rated amplifier should be used with the speaker. The glitch at 26kHz in this graph's traces indicates the frequency of the metal-dome tweeter's ultrasonic resonance, but the graph is otherwise free from…
The woofers cross over to the midrange unit at about 200Hz, with symmetrical third-order acoustic slopes. Their general output is a little higher than the reference level—this will be due partly to the nearfield measurement technique, which assumes a 2pi environment for the radiating surfaces—but the drivers are well-behaved above their passband. The midrange and low-treble regions are smooth on-axis, but the tweeter is a little "hot" in its top octave.
Fig.4 shows the response of the 1997 sample of the Studio/100, averaged across a 30 degrees window on the tweeter axis and spliced to…
In the time domain, the tweeter and midrange outputs are in negative polarity, as can be seen from the step response (fig.8). The lazy positive-going part of the trace at 4.5ms is due to the positive-polarity woofers. Note that the crossover and the time delay ensure that each drive-unit hands over smoothly to the next lower in frequency in this graph, which correlates with a smooth, flat frequency response. The cumulative spectral-decay plot (fig.9) is very clean, other than some low-level delayed energy at the top of the midrange unit's passband.
Fig.8 Paradigm Studio/100 v.2,…
"BRIDGE WILL BE RAISED AT 1:45 PM," said the road sign. I looked at my watch. 1:35. I sighed and let my right foot become even more leaden.
I was driving back to New York from North Carolina, chasing a winter storm northward. I wanted to get to Peter Breuninger's place in Philadelphia before the roads froze over, to drop off a pair of vintage AR3a speakers for him to review, as well as pick up an antique EICO HF81 integrated amp for measurement. The last thing I needed was to be stuck in stalled traffic on the Washington Beltway.
North Carolina? Raleigh, to be specific, where I'd…
Canadian speakers from such companies as Mirage, PSB, and Paradigm have acquired international reputations for offering good sound at more-than-competitive prices. The latest Canadian speaker manufacturer to hit the big time might well be Energy, which has actually been around for about 15 years, but has only recently introduced a flagship speaker. Energy's $6000/pair Veritas v2.8 earned Tom Norton's commendation for having produced one of the best sounds at the 1993 Las Vegas WCES. [TJN's review appears in this issue.—Ed.]
Energy and Mirage have quite a bit in common: both are divisions…
Tchilinguirian: Yes, because it's like a loop: Once you find out or get closer to finding out, it helps you the next time around.
Deutsch: Give me an example of something that happened, perhaps during the development of the Veritas, where you found out something in the listening test and went back to analyze it technically.
Tchilinguirian: One was the diffraction effects from cabinets, and how they degraded the dispersion characteristics. A long time ago—way back with the Energy 22 Connoisseur—one of the things that made that speaker special was its spaciousness, transparency,…