PS good reviews can be bought by companies just for advertising in their magazine. And you can see paradigm ads everywhere.Notice monitor audio doesn't splash ads everywhere to get good reviews.
April 2017 review of the Paradigm Persona 9H A home run for Paradigm!
I have been following all the contested threads about the new Paradigm Persona line of speakers and it seems that many people are having difficulties in believing that Paradigm, a company well respected for value loudspeakers could produce a product that can rival the best exotic loudspeakers on the market.
The review came out today in the Absolute Sound April 2017 issue and what my ears have told me is true, is true.
John Atkinson, compared the Pardigm 9H $35k to the Magico S7MK 2 $58k and found that Personas to be in the same class as these highly thought of prestigious loudspeakers. I think I read on one of the threads that a Magico owner was saying that wasn't possible!
I am not an expert, on loudspeakers, I do know what sounds real to me, and when I heard these speakers my jaw hit the floor. Stunning realism. I could almost reach out and touch the Beatles, and Miles Davis. Huge sound stage, totally transparent, and smooth, with dynamite bass.
At this point I am torn between the Legacy Audio Signatures and The Paradigm Persona 3F which shares the same driver technology of the 9H but costs $10k, I am lucky to be working with a dealer that represents both of these awesome lines of loudspeakers.
It seems to me that many audiophiles need to open their minds and stop being so brand loyal to the point of obsession, and start looking at the sound, and only the sound. I know for me as a professional photographer, I have gone back and forth between Canon and Nikons, and I love them both but am wedded to neither. Why in the audio world do people have such furvor over what they buy with the belief that their product and only their product is the best? In the camera world it seems much more fluid with people changing camera brands without ever starting a written riot if someone dares to bring up another brand or question their choice.
The review came out today in the Absolute Sound April 2017 issue and what my ears have told me is true, is true.
John Atkinson, compared the Pardigm 9H $35k to the Magico S7MK 2 $58k and found that Personas to be in the same class as these highly thought of prestigious loudspeakers. I think I read on one of the threads that a Magico owner was saying that wasn't possible!
I am not an expert, on loudspeakers, I do know what sounds real to me, and when I heard these speakers my jaw hit the floor. Stunning realism. I could almost reach out and touch the Beatles, and Miles Davis. Huge sound stage, totally transparent, and smooth, with dynamite bass.
At this point I am torn between the Legacy Audio Signatures and The Paradigm Persona 3F which shares the same driver technology of the 9H but costs $10k, I am lucky to be working with a dealer that represents both of these awesome lines of loudspeakers.
It seems to me that many audiophiles need to open their minds and stop being so brand loyal to the point of obsession, and start looking at the sound, and only the sound. I know for me as a professional photographer, I have gone back and forth between Canon and Nikons, and I love them both but am wedded to neither. Why in the audio world do people have such furvor over what they buy with the belief that their product and only their product is the best? In the camera world it seems much more fluid with people changing camera brands without ever starting a written riot if someone dares to bring up another brand or question their choice.
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Guys, reviewers for major mags are never going to pan a product. IT's not politically correct and if they did, designers wouldn't want to share their gear. I love reading reviews and mags etc, but never to chose what to purchase. I'd rather listen adn figure that out myself. It's probably why I don't own what the main stream tells everyone what's best (I guess Vandersteen's are popular, but not as popular as Magico, B&W, Wilson etc..) As for Paradigm being mid fi, I would agree with that also. Much of the mid fi has brighter highs in order to be 'heard' and sold in stores. Much of the high end is also a bit bright to MY ears too and I think it's the same reason. They want to stand out in the store. I liken it to turning up the OLED TV's on the floor of box stores as bright as possible so they stand out in the florescent lighting. If that's what folks wants and call high end, that's fine as that's what they want. It's not a negative, but so many who like that seem to feel they have to justify it or say it's not so. The discussion on the will never change. It's a design decision. |
What is interesting for me on these A'Gon threads is that the Vandersteen threads usually have the same participants and other speaker threads tend to have a variety of participants. This thread for example has people who like the Personas and others who dislike them. I have heard various Vandersteen's demoed by the big man himself, maybe 4 or 5 times and I have never had the urge to buy them. Different strokes or maybe they are mid-fi. If I did not unexpectedly get rammed with a huge tax payment last week I would have bought a used year old Thiel 3.7 over a Vandersteen Treo CT that I recently heard. These 2 lines are supposed to be similar in design though I find they sound different. Again is one mid-fi or different strokes? |
@ctsooner is entirely correct. Imagine the attitude most companies would take to the reviewer who panned their product, and to the mag that published it. Are they going to be queuing up to lend other $$$ units for them to review? Likewise other companies, when a reviewer gets a reputation for publishing unfavorable commentary, how many companies are going to risk a review from that person? Reviewers, mags and companies are locked in a symbiotic relationship, wherein the companies provide, rent-free, long-term expensive loaners. How are they going to feel when that gets repaid in a certain way? BTW, that's why many (not all) reviewers also shy away from comparative reviews. Even if they like product A and B, if they say A is better, what does that do to B's sales? There's only a certain number of punters in the market for that item, and this kind of review can literally sink a product, and occasionally a company. Paradigm exemplifies a certain "modern" sound apparently aimed for by not a few current speaker companies, large and small, and which has little to do with the long-term, non-fatiguing enjoyment of music. Finally, even if those models by Thiel and Vandersteen are similar in design (are they?), I greatly doubt they sound anything like the same. |
There are quite few review sites that compare the products under review with other similar items. My favorite site is the very popular Soundstage.com. I like almost all the reviewers writing there and they also answer email. https://hometheaterhifi.com/ also does comparisons within a price range. Even Stereophile in the recent Bartok DAC was comparing it with a Mytek. I get the feeling that there are certain PUNTERS for brands on A’gon. What I hear and what people say on here about certain products do not match. Here are a couple of sites that pan products. Heck even Stereophile did that to the Bryston 7B-SST amp (Fremer) and yet Bryston still goes back to Stereophile. http://www.10audio.com/paradigm_persona-b.htm (Persona B) http://www.audiodrom.net/cs/ (KEF Blade test with a inadequate amp) I ain't too audio technical, but the Thiel and Vandersteen have the 1st order cross over and they have the sloped profile (for time alignment?). I do not keep track of these specs but there is commentary here on A'gon about the similarities in the design. Like I said above they do not sound the same and I prefer the Thiel. |
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