paradigm studio 60's

I've had a pair of studio 60's (version 1)for about a two years. I've been very happy with them. With a big solid state amp the bass is excellent. I switched to a smaller tube amp a year ago, and of course lost some of the low end. But they throw a nice sound stage and are faily detailed. My only real complaint is the it's a 2 1/2 way design. If I remember correctly it crosses over right in the middle of the midband. That makes it tough biamping with two different amps. Fit and finish is great for the price. Mine are finished in the dark cherry veneer, they are very attractive. Overall I've been very pleased with them.

Was looking at a set today. I didn't have time to give them a thorough demo but was initially impressed. For $800 I'm trying to find other speakers in their category to compare them to.

I've had a pair for almost a year. When I started looking for loudspeakers my budget was around $1200. In that range I auditioned both mini-monitors and full-range speakers from B&W, Vandersteen, Sound Dynamics, and Paradigm. As an all-around speaker I thought the Paradigm Studio 60s were the best of the bunch. And since I bought a pair used for $600 they were even better! The Vandersteen 1C was better at chamber music and jazz. For imaging the Sound Dynamics RTS-9 blew them all away. But, the sound was too edgy and I couldn't listen to them for more them a song or two before listener fatigue set in. As for the rest, I thought the Paradigm Studio 60s were better in every way; though I'm sure B&W owners would disagree. They got even better when I bi-wired them. Complaints? Well, I don't think they have the best imaging when it comes to classical. And the highs can be a little brittle sometimes. All-in-all I haven't felt a need to replace them.

I currently have Titans and I recently did a back to back comparison with the Titans and the Studio 60's. What I did is I got to the dealer I use to setup the receiver I have (Marantz SR-7000) and Marantz DVD player and some speakers cables with banana plugs. I then sat down and repeatedly played two tracks from a favourite CD on the Titans and then switched to the Studio 60's and did the same. The main control factor I focused on in this test was to be very carefully about keeping the same volume setting with both sets of speakers. What I noticed is that the differences between these two speakers were relatively subtle. Or what I should try and communicate is that the differences were not extremely obvious. As you can see I'm having trouble articulating my observations. What I am struggling with now is the decision on whether the differences span the $1000 price difference between these two speakers. As I progress further through my hobby of music listening I've found that I can't truly assess a speaker until I live with it for a while. In the end, I would give a very positive rating for the studio 60's but I am also becoming more familiar with the very subjective nature of assessing speakers.