Paradigm Persona series

Contuzzi,

I feel strongly that you are way off base.  We all hear differently and therefore enjoy different speakers and gear.  

I get sick of hearing about terrible sets up, poor sounding rooms etc... I've heard them set up in very good to poor rooms and always with good gear from all of the top manufacturers.  I hear a fatiguing speaker as do many listeners and lot's of them don't ever post on Internet boards.  Even a few of their dealers feel the same way privately, but Paradigm is a larger company who does extensive marketing so they sell a lot of it.  

I'm also not competing with anything or anyone.  When the grandiose claims kept being made by a dealer who posts on anything he sells (the boards are his main source of advertising), I called him out.  I then even went to said dealers home where he sells his gear and hear the same sound.  He made claims of his gear not being set up properly, because of a photo shoot the night before.  Maybe it was, or maybe not.  Either way the other guy I was with disliked them more than I did for the same reasons most of us have shared.   Sorry, not an industry guy as I'm friends with many and that includes some folks at Paradigm.

No one is looking for, nor needing your pity.  We've heard them set up properly and they aren't our cup of tea.  Nothing wrong with that and it's not even a knock on them.

BTW, I have owned JM Lab speakers back in the day and just sold them a few years ago.  I also have owned a few pair of Paradigm speakers and subs over the years.  One set is with my daughter and they are perfect for what she uses them for.  I got my brother to purchase a full audio/video surround set up with the older Paradigm's.  I've helped many of my friends set up system with them as they like them.  Maybe that makes me a Paradigm home or 'industry' guy.  I just don't like the new offerings for MY ears.  

I second the above. I’ve heard the Persona two separate times, in different rooms, one with my solid state amplifier and another with a beastly Plinius SA-103 in pure Class A. Both times they sounded immediately impressive, but became grating and annoying after 5-10 minutes. Awesome resolution, but not worth the trade offs.

That Plinius is by far the best amp I’ve heard, and I’ve heard it on at least two other pairs of speakers to great effect. Resolving, relaxing and powerful. 

I can also confirm that I’ve spoken with someone who sells Paradigm and has a pair of Personas at home. They said they are usually done listening to them after a record or two. They are not the kind of speaker you can listen to for hours and relax. This person was probably around 60 years old and I’m in my early 30s. 

I own Paradigm Studio 100 V5 speakers and have had significant time with the Persona 9H’s. To me they are anything but fatiguing. In fact, just the opposite. They are smooth and the drivers are seamlessly integrated. There are a lot of great speakers in the $17k range and I’d put these up against any of them. Also, they are pretty easy to drive. I heard them well set up at Axpona 2018 with Anthem electronics and it was one of the best presentations of the show. 

Very interesting Rionvondale, that a guy who sells Paradigm, bought a pair of speakers that he  feels sound fatiguing and can only play a few albums. 

Could it be that the speakers are showing weaknesses in his system, could it be his cartridge is tipped up, or he may need a better phono stage,  or that his current line up of gear isn't working for the Paradigms.

Many times when you add one new component you must re-balance the system to keep the good new things and minimize the things that you are not liking. 

We tested five or six lines of amplifiers before we found the electronics that really made our Persona 9H come alive all of these amplifiers were fantastic pieces from great companies, it is called synergy.

So just because this person has a warm sounding SA 103 doesn't mean that the rest of his components were working with the speakers vs the previous set he was using. 

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ Persona dealers