Paradigm Persona series

Ricred1 I think the point that Maplegrove is making is that there are a whole bunch of guys that jump on the "its too bright camp" while there are many others that don't make the same stink about a speaker which is rolled off and if you look at many of the measurements in Stereophile you can find many, many reference loudspeakers which have a recessed top end one really expensive loudspeaker had that and had a huge peak in the lower mid bass frequencies and that was a $125k set of loudspeakers.

We agree with you that there are a lot of great loudspeakers we sell the Kefs, the Legacys and the Dalis as our main loudspeakers lines and they are all excellent and suitable for different listeners. 

Our point about the Personas which would also apply to any of the uber high resoloution designs, like Rahido or Magico is that when you have this low a level of coloration or a driver that has uber clarity you are challenged with adding a bit of warmth somewhere in the chain.

Rivondale sounds like one of those guys who have never played with power cables or footers or tuning accessories which can alter the sound in ways that can be very beneficial in bringing out the things you are trying to accheive. 

Dep14 we apply a methodical method of tunning. We try many different brands of electronics, multiple digital front ends, cabling, power conditioners to the mix unti we get the sound we are looking for.

In the case of the Persona 3F that room has 54 different components in it is you took out the four pieces of surround sound gear and two headphone amps and a Zenith streamer that would leave you with 47 possible pieces of gear to play with from cheapie $1k integrated amplifiers up to a $30k Naim stack. we have high end intergrated amplifiers from NAD, Musical Fidelity, Micromega, Naim, Krell, Anthem, Sythesis,  as well as CJ, Cary, Anthem, Electrcompaniet and Coda separates, so we can create a very different sound depending on which particular set of gear is being played. 

For that reason alone we wanted to be able to play with some different gear for Mr. Hoffer.

You would be shocked to see how many stores just hookup what they have in one room to a set of speakers, meaning if they have ARC in that room which may sound great with a pair of  different speakers that are also in the room, that is what they play, you won't necessarily see sales guys saying we need to move in a pair of blank amplifiers from another room or change dacs or cables sometimes you do but many times you don't. 

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ

@pwhinson  I had a dream last night that I had the same room as you . Unfortunately I woke up and still stuck with a crappy room.

Have you every considered the KEF Blade 2 in your space? I don't think it is as revealing as the Persona, I have not heard the 9H, only 5F. I will buy the 3F for a small space.

I bring this up because I loved the Thiel CS 3.7 and in the past I owned the much lowered end Thiel SCS4's. I see you are a Thiel fan. The only speaker sound wise and cost wise that I have liked better than the Thiel CS 3.7 is the KEF Blade. You may have the same sound preferences as me.

Thanks @yyzsantabarbara.  I have a friend who also liked the Blade 2 but I don't have a dealer locally who can demo it.  Have you listened to the Magico's?  They also I think meet our preferences as well as far as being very incisive, quick and detailed.  There is a dealer here in Atlanta but he only has the S1's (nonstarter...no bottom end whatsoever) and as of last Friday the A3s.  I'll be hearing the A3's once they have them properly setup hopefully Tuesday.  I'd really like to hear the S3 and S5 but I may have to go out of town to do that.  There is some urgency right now as to whether the Paradigm will be the one or be ruled out (they have a 20% off manufacturer's sale going on right now and that plus the dealer discount is significant).

One of the biggest factors regarding a bright speaker and why many don't like them.

https://ehomerecordingstudio.com/fletcher-munson-curve/

Fletcher Munson Curve.  As I stated much earlier in this thread.  The Persona probably works better for a listener that likes low levels and likes female vocals and is more into really dissecting a recording or a speaker.

For those that like to listen louder, a bright speaker just becomes more and more bright in reality.  Because of the Fletcher-Munson curve... aka science.

Also, as you get tired / have a long listening session the perceived loudness to what you are listening to goes up... contributing to fatigue and that is why the highs stand out most.

Ultimately this is why a demo matters.  But in any system far and away your listening habits, volume you like, and room you are in, with the speaker are what matters most.

Some companies try to measure flat, pure and simple.  Some put in a more friendly listening curve.

Then - sources, amps etc.

If you desire to throw money... uber expensive cables, powercords, conditioners, etc.

I don't use zip cord, but I sure as hell wouldn't expect to transform a speaker with uber cables.  Put the money into a better speaker (for you).

There are far and away more of a difference in how a speaker sounds based on design than there is amps, pre-amps etc.  Sure, tubes etc can change the sound, by introducing different levels and types of distortion (which as we know is pleasing to the ear).

Get the speaker right, the rest will follow.  Get the wrong speaker and chase forever!

@pwhinson I have heard a ton of Magico speakers. They are rather popular out here in the West Coast. I have heard some costing $150K+ (maybe $200K+) to the A3.

I did a very long and fruitful audition of the Magico A3 with Mark Levinson gear and I was trying to figure out how to fit the A3 into my small office. During, this figuring out phase I started to look at DSP capable preamps to help fit a floor stander into a smaller space. If I could figure that out I would have bought the A3. 

However, during the DSP preamp search I stumbled onto the Persona 5F and realized that the tweeter and mid range integration was more to my style on the Persona vs the Magico A3. So I am now going to buy a Persona 3F and use with a DSP preamp.

I had not really been a fan of the Magico's, most likely related to the cost aspect of them.  I only went to listen to the A3 because I have heard the Magico S3MKII at an audio show, in 3 rooms, and I was so surprised because it was the first Magico speaker that I thought I should consider.  I also heard the Magico S5MKII at the same show with much more expensive gear than with the S3MKII and did not like it. I attributed that to the electronics. The S5MKII is supposed to just be a bigger version of the S3MKII. A few people have questioned my sanity when I said I liked the Persona over the Magico and their arguments were similar to what we are seeing on this thread.

Another speaker I was considering but had to drop it because I was told is too big for my space was the Yamaha NS5000. I spoke with a NS5000 owner in Australia who either owned the Magico S5 or his brother owned it. His feedback was that the best mid-range he has ever heard was on the Yamaha. He preferred it to the Magico. It is a shame that I cannot fit the Yamaha because it seems like a incredibly interesting speaker. All 3 drivers are made from the same material that is supposed to be faster and lighter than BE. If you want more info on this one just PM me and I will send you some contact info.