Paradigm Persona series

@steve59 Congrats that is a great speaker. You 360 amp is one that I have heard a few times and liked somewhat with the KEF Blade. However, I have heard the Persona 5F with an amp that sounds a bit like the Hegel 360, the neutral SimAudio 860A. I think the Sim is a bit better than the Hegel but I found that very long listening sessions with the Sim + Persona could be a little fatiguing. The short sessions with the Sim were amazing.

One reason I did not get the Persona 3F was that I wanted to buy the very neutral Benchmark electronics stack and I was assuming it would not be a good match with the Persona.

The Yamaha is still on my short list along with the blade and a couple others,but for now I'm just going to enjoy these.

The Blade + Meta is what I am looking at when I get the large living room for music. We will have to wait for the Blade + Meta future release. Covaid also needs to be managed so my kid goes back to school and I can use the living room (his playroom).

I will be buying a second AHB2 (maybe this week) and then the last item will be the NS5000 for my office. It should be good combo. I will do a home demo of the NS5000 with the Benchmark electronics (via Music Direct), so no risk. If it does not sound good the NS5000 will go back and I find something else for the Benchmark gear.

Looking forward to your comments on the Persona 7F. I am flipping back and forth between a big Persona or the Blade for the living room. Likely the Blade now with this Meta stuff.

I’ve only heard the Blades at axpona while ive had time to listen to the 7f with a variety of components. The R 107/2 and R105/3 had residence here, the 105’s for 25 years so I was ready for something different. There’s a few pair on my list including the blade is the VA ‘the musik and I’d like to hear the new magico A5, but these personas are really good and I have to sell them to move on. I just finished alice in chains unplugged and could play it again. Thats how it is with this system, the more time I spend with them the harder it is to walk away, fast, tight and dynamic bottom to top with a deep, wide soundstage. I get the impression the entire recording is laid bare, pretty cool. 3 weeks in.

As to cutting edge material, It was the main reason I was interested in the persona line and they can be amazing, but I still think everything is a compromise. When we hear details never before heard from a recording there has to be a reason and my initial impressions are instrument decay loses emphasis... it's a design choice to place hyper detail over lush midrange because both can't occupy the same space at the same time and both be heard. Whats unusual about the persona speakers is that choosing the components for the job these speakers will deliver the sound you prefer. My meridians are more on the lush, fat side of neutral with a full midrange and all the detail is there, it's just not highlighted making for a more natural, musical presentation. The personas with the right components for the room acoustics can be tuned for the sound desired. This I know because I've heard it happen swapping out gear.