Residential Systems
6th October 2011
‘From whisper-quiet to downright raucous, the 100s and especially the 200s exhibit the sort of wonderfully consistent, open, neutral frequency response you’d expect from much larger, much pricier speakers’
We are organizing UK reviews of these fabulous entry level speakers at the moment, but we thought we would give you a glimpse of what they are saying in Paradigm’s home market of North America.
Reviewed by Dennis Burger
On the market:
‘But in the more affordable sub-$2,000-per-system territory, it’s tougher to stand out. Some do it with the aforementioned exotic driver technology. Some do it with ludicrous marketing budgets. But how do you and I make what on paper looks like a fairly regular, affordable speaker sound exciting?… One can’t help but take in the sum total of the new Cinema speakers’ presentation–as sexy as they are–and think, with a hint of ennui,“Sure they’ll sound good. They’re Paradigm. But ho hum.” ‘
Dennis comments on their performance:
‘And THEN you hear them.
And the first thing you can’t help but notice is how incredibly dynamic they are. Even if you’ve heard a multitude of speakers in this size and price range that sound surprisingly good (and there are plenty), try to find another speaker system in this class that sounds so yummy across such a wide volume range and you’ve got your work cut out for you. The subtlest of sounds sashay into the listening space with a subtle confidence that’s impossible not to love. I’m hard pressed to think of another speaker I’ve heard of this size that sounds so wonderful at such low volumes…. with no significant loss of detail at low volumes and no real loss of clarity even far past the point where your four-legged family members are evacuating the room.’
On the Cinema Sub:
‘Don’t let the numbers fool you. Even though it doesn’t try to extend to the deepest of subsonic depths, the little Cinema Sub fills my mid-sized secondary listening room handily, and I’m not merely talking about loudness. This is the first sub of its size that I’ve had in this room in the history of ever that didn’t leave me wanting for a second sub just to even the sound out a bit.’
Dennis summarizes:
‘Combine the Cinema Sub with three Cinema 200s and a pair (or quartet) of Cinema 100s (or a full set of 100s for smaller rooms), throw in an Anthem MRX receiver, and you’ve got the makings of a truly audiophile system that sounds as sumptuous with stereo material as with surround music and movies, all for less than 35-hundred bucks.’
(That’s less than £2,500, here in the UK)