Any Paradigm Persona 3f and GoldenEar Reference comparisons?

the 3f is super detailed, but I felt would get bright listening at louder volumes.  The 3f in my opinion needs a subwoofer for sure.  It's the more accurate speaker in terms of detail, air etc.

The reference is what it is.  It lacks a little detail, but can pound all day, will work with less expensive electronics really well (even a receiver) as it's not going to ever be too bright and doesn't needs gobs of power as the subs are powered.  

I would want a very detailed DAC and something like a very nice class A amp to drive the top of the reference if I owned them.  

When I compared the DynAudio Contour 60's to the reference, I prefered the Dyn's  - plenty of bass also, but tighter and more defined.  More detail on the top end, but not bright.  

That said, the reference is a rare speaker you could do Home Theater with and probably be just fine without subs.

The 3f lacks low end oomph for sure.  Two very, very different speakers.

It sounds like you heard a very poorly set up pair of 3F's.

That's one disadvantage of them -- they are not a set it and forget it speaker.   You have to be able to really place them in the room properly which takes time -- and obviously you can't have a horrible acoustic environment.

It's also one advantage of the Triton Reference.  Much more user friendly speaker, but there is no question the Persona is leagues ahead in every aspect except bass extension only.  The persona bass QUALITY is considerably better however.

Nice to hear how well the new Dynaudio Contour 60s compared to the Reference. Would also be curious if anyone has compared the Dyns to the Persona 5f or 7F.

Your responses are interesting. I don’t live in an area with a lot of brick & motar stores. One that I patronize carries Paradigm, Focal, and Goldenear. The staff strongly favors Focal (Electra, Kanto, Sopra) or the Personas, (not so much the Prestige). They are admittedly detail & openess oriented. This store is several hours away- I need to plan a decent comparison of the three brands. The other, more local store, (that I buy from) carry tthe Paradigm and Goldenear lines, but stop at the Triton 1 and the Prestige 95f- the staff there also favor the Paradigm.

Of course they do, there is probably more profit margin in that line.