jafant,
The Paradigms were mated with a big Anthem amp. Don’t know which one, but it was big! I first listened to some vinyl (I don’t know what record player) and then I listened to my own burned CD demo tracks (I think it might have been a Bryston CD player, but not sure).
I paid no attention to cables, sorry ;-)
My feeling is that I’d prefer the Paradigms on tubes, like my CJ amps. I found the Paradigms a bit relentless to listen to after a while. Though I’d be a bit wary about the bass control if they weren’t paired well with the right tube amp, just because even with the Anthem they were just edging into the "rich, round bass" territory and I don’t know if they’d edge over into loose bass. Thought not against the back wall, they were closer than I’d want ideally so I heard a little bass lift (even though the Paradigm’s downward facing port is supposed to make them less sensitive in terms of placement). As usual I took various seating positions, close and far, to take the room out of the equation to some degree.
The main impression is very open, airy - giving a very live realism - and very clean and clear.
In comparison I've dialed in my Thiels to achieve a sound I prefer, which is an almost ideal (to my tastes) combination of clarity, energy and warmth. They are completely unfatiguing. The Paradigms tended to emphasize the artificial nature of recordings, with harder sibilance and a slight hi-lighting of singers breath over the actual vocal tone of the note, the slightly icy, chalky character of bow on string emphasized vs the deeper string tones. Singers always sounded very clear in a "hi-fi" manner, but never particularly warm and real.
In comparison, my Thiels/CJ combo has more warmth, and less emphasis on the lower treble area, for a slightly darker sound, but to my ears less artificial and electronic.
The Paradigms were often captivating, though. They have a big, full sound - so you get really nice scale for the size - I woudn't need any bigger (though I think I get even bigger scale from the 3.7s when they are set up).
In terms of clarity and realism, the Paradigms gave one of the most impressive playbacks of Herbie Hancock's song Chameleon that I've ever heard!
