Question for Paradigm Studio 100 owners ...

I have also expierenced a lack of bass out of my Studio 100s. After swapping out everything, I narrowed it down to my Monster bi-wire speaker cables being the weakest link. I made up some new cables using some inwall 14/4 and it was a huge improvement. I even have replaced an old Denon CD player with a new Jolida JD100 with little improvement compared to the cable swap. Strange. Any suggestions on cables for good bass output with the 100's? I was considering DH Labs Q10. Please let us now how it works out.

Getting more bass from any speaker in any room does not always mean siting it close to the wall behind it. The room mode that reinforces bass is where the speaker (and yourself) needs to be. This will take some patience and legwork on your part to find out where it is. In my room it is 6-7 ft. from the front wall, with me approx. 10 ft. from the plane of the speakers. Putting the speakers 2-3 ft. from the wall results in LESS bass. Before you start doing the "equipment shuffle", you need to play around with placement. And don't be afraid to go against conventional wisdom.

Oz

Let me go on the record that I have never heard the 100v2s sound good close to the walls.The bass was always sloppy and boomy. This it with the use of at least 6 different amplifiers and several different preamps and sources.Also setup up in 4 different rooms. They sounded best 3 to 6 ft from the wall. This didn't increase the bass it made it more controlled and decreased the bloat.

My definition of better bass is no overhang,being able to follow a solo double bassist through from beginning to end without blurring or drawn out overhang(not easy for most speakers).So my definition of better bass may differ from others.Sources used were a Cary 308,Quad 99 CDP,Rega Planet,Sony DVP 7700,Arcam FMJ DV27, Denon 2900,Denon 3910 and Denon 1710.

Out of all the amplifiers that were hooked to the 100v2 that I've heard. The Cary V12 sounded the most controlled and musical... surprisingly.When used with a Cary tubed preamp the sound became too soft and indistinct.A Linn Control solid state preamp was much better at transients and bass.I've also heard them on a Rotel RMB-1095, McIntosh 7106,McIntosh 206,Adcom limited edition 585(monster),Adcom 5802,Adcom 5503, Adcom 5500 modified by Musical Designs and a 200 wpc Optical Class A Denon.

The big 585 Adcom had the best bass control. The Macs had better control than the rest but the Cary still got the bass under control with the lowest wattage while staying musical.The 5503 and 5500 had very sloppy bass on this speaker pulled 4 to 5 feet in the room. Pushing them close to the walls only made things worse.It isn't easy to get good bass(my definition of good bass) from this speaker as a whole. Now if your looking for boom that's a different story.

Also I'm not trying to put the speakers down.When setup right with the proper gear they are fun to listen to.
It's just more work than I want to deal with.;-)

I agree with Gmood1 about the positioning further out into the room. I've only ever heard them with the Anthem MCA-20 amp and bass is pretty decent but not what it would be with a better amp. I found one of the things that improved bass greatly in my system was the addition of aftermarket power cords - I'm using Virtual Dynamics Audition series on amp, pre, & CD. BTW I keep my speakers about 4 to 5 feet out into the room. In addition to improving bass quality it improves imaging.

I too have the Studio 100's v.2 and I've been please with them - never forgetting their strengths (and their weaknesses). I run mine via a Parasound HCA-2200 (I use my Yamaha RX-Z1 as a pre-amp for the parasound). 250wpc - Parasound / 130wpc - RX-Z1. My listening room is 19x23x9. The 100's are 5.5 ft from the back and side walls. I sound treated throughout - especially the back 1/2 of the room. Between my 2 power sources, I noticed the more power, the more refined the bass. I also ran the 100's from a Yamaha M-80 - with good result, more analytical than the Parasound, but still acceptable. Do you by chance have a speaker size selector? IE: Small/Large? Are your speakers set to large? Have you applied any sound treatment(s)? Are you biwiring? Is there power going to both sets of cables (if so). Are your straps in tact if not? Is your bass control NOT turned down? These are just basics. I believe in starting simple, then gradually getting more technical.
For me though, volume is necessary for the studio 100's to come alive. Not so much 'loud,' but instead, turned-up (a pretty good thump!). 2nd, I've noticed the 100's need SPACE to breath. Without it, they can disappointing (IMHO). Power - running solely from the RX-Z1, they didn't sound as dynamic (the Yamaha too made them sound fantastic, but the parasound gave them the . . . punch!) - Then again, my mind may have been telling me that, being that I knew consciously, the Parasound was disconnected. :) In closing:
Power
Space
Volume
Connected properly
Operable bass control
Sound treatmet (of some sort - nothing fancy required)

Hope this helps