All, Apologise if this has been discussed before as I couldn't find it in the thread. I was wondering has anyone here ever listened to both Quad 22L and Studio100? Can you share the difference between the two?
While Quad22L has been raved up in some reviews as the best speakers ever made, it sells at significant discount to Studio100. So the question is, can Studio100 really justify its premium when compare to Quad22L?
Barry, My vote goes to Quad 22L. I owned both and to me Paradigm doesn't sound as transparent as Quad. I have two HT rooms, one with a full Paradigm reference range consists of Studio100 (front), Studio40(rear) + sub + center. In the other room I have Quad22L (front), Quad12L (rear) + sub + rear. I found myself using the Quad room more than the Paradigm room.
Barry, those are two different designs. Paradigm is a conventional dynamic driver design and the Quad is more of a phase coherant design. And V.Khilion is right, most people will be drawn into the phase/time coherant design. Paradigm builds a decent speaker, but when you start looking at really well designed phase aligned systems, there is no comparison. Music is just more enjoyable on phase and time aligned speakers. My opinion. YMMV
Paul & V, Thanks for your opinion. It just happened that Paradigm Studio100 is the only pair of speakers that I have auditioned, I must admit that I find the sound rather laid-back and plain, there's nothing that will make me wanna jump out of my chair and carry them home. I'm a newbie so it could just be my ignorance that I don't know how to audition speakers properly. The dealer of course is telling me all good things about Paradigm, it's reputation for giving more value for your bucks. Unconvinced, I still believe that I can find something that will sound better and at less than $2300.
Referring to your comment about the two different type of speaker designs, is it fair to said that while phase-coherent design sounds better, but it will tend to distort at higher volume? So the trade-off is really, if I want to play loud I should go for Paradigm?
Barry, Your knowledge for a so called newbie is impressive. You ask if the phase coherant design will distort at higher volumes. The answer is perhaps yes perhaps no. Depends on the drivers used. First off, to build a true phase and time alsigned speaker you have to use a first order crossover, or a gentle 6db/octave slope filter. Because of that shallow slope filter, both woofer and tweeter will be asked to play a broader range of frequencies. With me so far? It now becomes paramount that the designer use the best possible drivers, to avoid distorting at higher volumes. Common sense tells you if your asking the tweeter to play as low as 2khz loudly, your going to have to use one REAL GOOD tweeter, right? I have read several reviews on this type speaker and the good ones ( Gallo, Green Mountain Audio, etc) will play louder than most people can stand to listen with no audible distortion. The other thing is that they sound better at lower listening levels too. Cheaper units, or designers that scrimp on the drivers may in fact distort at less than ideal listening levels. And thats the main thing, in my opinion that keeps more designers from doing phase time aligned systems: cost of drivers. Best way to judge is to listen at a volume level you would listen to in your home. Personally don't think it's a problem with the better designers. Good luck.
Barry, trust your ears. If the Paradigms don't impress you now, they won't in the future, even if you learn more about audio. My vote would also be for the Quads, but try to listen to as many brands as you can.
I shall follow your advice, taking my time, listen to as many different speakers as I can
By the way, how can I find out whether a pair of speakers is using a good driver? Is there a specific brand or type of material that will make good driver?
Actually, the more I read up, the more I realise that audition speaker isn't as easy as I thought, too many things will affect the sound of a speaker and not all dealers know the right components to pair with the speakers to give the most optimum sound.
Hence, I foresee that this journey I'm embarking on, is going to be a long long one.
Hey Barry, depending on how "into it" you get, the search is part of the fun. Eventually, however you're going to bring SOMETHING home and hopefully enjoy it for a while.
I don't get too hung up on materials, although I do want the components to last. I did A LOT of searching before I settled on my current rig. The center of it (amp and speakers) I bought off of the web with an at home demo return policy. So I too got pretty overwhelmed with the listening process at the local stores.
Umboppa
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Quad, definitely Quad. I have the 21L and there is something quite magical about them once they have broken in (which takes quite a while). The Paradigms sound dull and uninvolving by comparison.