Today I gave the Monitor 7 and 9 a hefty audition to upgrade from my Studio Monitor 5s. On a VERY HIGH quality system, the Monitor 7's come off with a rating of FAIR and no better than that. The smallish 5.5 inch double woofer set up doesn't move much air. The midrange detail and lower high frequencies were WEAK, bordering on anemic and the highs presentation were FAIR only. The good news is the MONITOR 9 impressed, easily outperforming the MONITOR 7. Vocals, highs and midrange detail came off with high marks. The lower midrange to mid-bass was strong. While I wasnt' able to re-position the speakers for best bass response in a showroom, I'll bet except for the LARGEST rooms, lowest bass extension will be very fine for a $900 speaker. Overall tonality, soundstaging, instrument placement and timbre came off as very good - and I noted the carpet spikes WERE not installed - had they been I think this would have tidied up the focus of the soundstage and given the highs a little more sheen. Midrange string detail, male voice accuracy and piano was quite fine for $900. The cabinets are sturdy, but not BRICK solid or totally inert. Firm recommendation for this new speaker from Paradigm.
sounds to me like these speakers were not broken-in. Re-evaluate after they've got at least 50 hours on them. I am in the middle of a 100 hour break-in on some new Era Design 5's
The trustable sales person and I covered the topic of "speaker break in" and it's definitely performance issues with the 7's and the 9's are just fine. I'll get the next pair that arrives in Light Cherry.
The Monitor 7's are one of my favorite speakers in that price range (the old series). I have never heard a paradigm speaker, at any cost, sound like you described.
I personally believe they still aren't broken in.
I guess I will just have to listen to the new series to find out for myself.
This audition was for the new V5 series. They sound as I described because I have a very good ear. The salesperson I've known for many years remarked they had left the new V5 speakers on for nearly 11 days (continuous) to eliminate any break-in issues. If you need to be convinced try auditioning the new Monitor 7's. Personally, I was totally jazzed about the new MOnitor 7 to replace my V3 Monitor 5's. I was anxious to hear the speaker given it's newness and compact dimensions. Sonically, it was abysmal. The 9 BLOWS it away, and is worth the extra $250. But to each their own -- but I have NO REASON to mis-report what I hear.
Gavin as you well know many things can play into why a speaker doesn't sound good in a given environment including the fact that the speaker may not be very good. I believe that is probably not the case here but I will have plenty of opportunity to find out as 2 of my friends are Paradigm dealers.
CB I don't think that Gavin is calling your ear into question. We all listen differently and have different preferences. Gavin may like the sound of the 7 and hate the 9, that wouldn't make him wrong just different. Just as he nor I are saying that you are wrong.
Yeah Art, I was wondering what was driving them, and the source. etc. etc. etc.
And actually, I have always preferred the sound of the 7 to the 9. To my ears (and many others), the 9 sounded boomy and mushy, whereas the 7 had the bass balance more correct.
Oh it seems like my previous post disappeared. Well anyway, durign my auditions the CD source was the Integra NAS Audio Server with Integra amplification and Kimber Kables. To make clear I am referring to the NEW V5 not the previous models; are we all discussing the same speaker? In the previous post I made mention that I only post advisories so that others would audition to avoid ending up with undesirable speakers.
I would disagree Integra hasn't in the past has the current to make sense of the difficult to drive Paradigm speaker line. The new Monitor series promises to be easier to drive, still I would want to haer them with something better than Integra.
I believe that folks should do all the auditioning that they feel is necessary to buy speakers that they want rather take someones recommendation as to speakers they don't want. As I said earlier speakers that you find undesireable some else may find to be just the ticket.
This debating, which is great consumerism, outlines the point of how subjective loudspeaker auditioning is and can be. But I still want to caution, those NEW Paradigm 7's with the 2 5.5 inch woofers, don't move much air. BUT, as a moderating comment, I shouldn't have such high expectations for a $650 speaker. The INTEGRA amp has fully sufficient power to drive the Paradigms; that isn't the issue. As a stereophile fully capable of giving a speaker a competent audition, with specifically chosen CD's, I found the 9 to fully outperform the 7. But that's not to say the 7 wouldn't be someone's cup of tea - this is a free country.
I listened to the v5 7s. I have the v2 7s and by comparison, the v5 were thinner than the v2 model. Unfortunately, the sales guy failed to mention that the 7s are a replacement to the 5s so my comparison was not really valid. I'm using my v2s model 7s with a pair of Manley Mahis w/ a Shrimp pre-amp. Man is that sweet. Since I "borrowed" my V2s out of my theater, I need to replace them. I was going to get a Studio model, but I think I'll save the cash.