Paradigm Persona B Loudspeakers Professional Review


I met Jerry Seigel at the RMAF this past October and had a quite lengthy discussion with him on audio reviewing in general. He was very nice in person and not what I expected. I never mentioned this to him, but I always felt he liked everything he auditioned.

Not so for the Paradigm Persona B loudspeakers. I won’t bore you with the specifics of the review as you can read it online, but he summed it up as he couldn’t wait for the audition to be over. The words bright and brittle kept being mentioned in the review and he gave it 2 LP’s out of 10. I have never heard these particular speakers, but I have always felt that Beryllium speakers were too bright for my taste and that is what he seems to say in the review. I am looking forward to what The Audio Doctor has to say about this as he always seems to be pushing their top of the line Persona speakers in these pages.

Has anyone heard the Persona B speakers and what do you think about them? I was actually thinking of a 3rd system in the spare bedroom with some kind of stand mounted speakers. I believe these speakers will be off my review list.
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Mzkmcx,

You miss many of the points that are raised. The NRC measurements are not necessarily the same as the response that Paradigm engineered into the speakers. Unless you talk to the developement engineers you have no idea of what kind of response that they were striving for when used in a real room.

Also you can see that the on axis response is different than the off axis ones, perhaps that is why we find the speakers to work well with toe in. 

Paradigm has their own Anchoic chamber and again spent $4 million dollars developing these speakers, so do you honestly think that  Paradigm doesn't know what they are doing and a tiny gnat of a company that nearly no ones knows about has managed to out engineer one of the largest speaker manufacturers in North America?

There is no compromise in the Beryillium midrange drivers, Paradigm can afford to develop one and it is a superior to a Ceramic one. We have heard many speakers with Ceramic midrange drivers and invariably that have a somewhat artifical quality in the midrange. 

A set of Persona B with a good subwoofer willl challange a lot of true reference speakers, which is their value. 

As per holding their own vs Kef, we have the Ref 1 and in many ways the Persona B have an even more natural midrange. 

As per your last comment: Not trying to sound like a prick, but I just don’t like it when people spend a lot of money and don’t get the best for the money (like buying a car made by GM instead of an Asian or German one).

Please tell the forum in what way is a GM Cadillac or a Corvette not a remarkable performer for the money, The brand new Corvette is heads and shoulders in build quality vs their older models.  The CTS models have many fans even compared to Mercedes and BMW. 

Our Persona 9H are remarkable loudspeakers that can challange any expensive reference speaker, many reviewers have gone on the record to extoll just how remarkable the new Persona series is even compared to the best reference loudspeakers.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ



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I think a small company with 1 or 2 good designers that have total control over the finished product can be a good thing if they have the expertise, experience and a good ear. I'm sure many of you understand how the bureaucracy of a larger company can get in the way of making good decisions, progress, or the ability to innovate.  Ever heard the phrase too many cooks in the kitchen? Never heard the Ascends.
mofojo
  
I’m pretty sure they go to some audio shows, check them out if you can, the speakers I mentioned (their flagship) are really good. I know Salk and Philharmonic (other well respected ID brands) go to many shows, and I’ve heard many people tell me they were usually one of the best sounding rooms in the entire show.
Comparing a 2-way bookshelf to a 3-way tower is really apples and and oranges. Harman Audio's research indicates 30% of a speaker's preference bass performance, and a bookshelf isn't going to keep up with a tower there.

A two-way can be used nearfield for instance which a 3-way tower can't at all, as you typically need to be at least three meters away for all the drivers to align their output properly.