B W vs. Paradigm

Whether you buy the B&Ws or the Paradigms, you are in for a treat. I have a seven year old set of B&W DM 630s that I use for two channel listening, and like the comments above, they are detailed and present a great sound stage. Vocals are clear and crisp. I find with the two eight inch drivers I don't need a subwoofer with this system because as long as it is not pushed to ear splitting levels the bass comes through. For my theater I am using Paradigm mini monitors, center channel, and a Definitive 15 inch powered sub. I agree again with the above. These speakers are a little warmer than the B&Ws, but I still love watching movies with them. I second the subwoofer recommendation from above. If you're going to watch movies, you need one. I don't like them for music, too many people turn the crossovers and volume to far up, but if you're watching Arnold Schwarzneger, you gotta have one. Another speaker in you're category is NHT. I just listened to the 2.9s today. They sound great, but not good enough to make me want to trade my B&Ws in yet. Have fun.

DJh

what are the characteristics of your room?

bright and reflective or absorbing and mellow?

the B&W's which are very forward may be a bit bright in a very reflective room

the Paradigm's which are a little warmer work better in a highly reflective room

THe B&W's are a slight bit more revealing

have you listened to the Van Schwiekert VR 4's?

I would position the speakers along the long dimension of the room if possible (I have a 15 by 27 room myself)

When I went searching for loudspeakers I auditioned several B&W and Paradigm loudspeakers; I also auditioned a few other brands. My requirements where, and still are, 70% music and 30% movies. While I found that the Paradigm Monitor line was colored and had a muddied presentation the Paradigm Reference line was anything but. In fact, I chose the Reference 60's over anything in the B&W line I had listened to (well, except the Nautilus 801's or 802's :)).

I disagree with Avdcreations assertion that you can't listen to DD/DTS with the Paradigms set to full-range without "weak" or "flabby" bass. Though I admit if you expect bone-crushing, skin peeling, wall-shaking bass then unpowered woofers probably do sound pretty weak. It also depends to some extent on the size of your room. In my system I run the Paradigm's full-range with a Hsu Research VTF-2 powered sub for frequencies below 60 Hz.

As always, try before you buy. I would even go so far as to recommend that you take it slowly. Buy the B&W's or the Paradigms and watch a bunch of movies with them set to full-range and then "small" over the course of several weeks, or even months. Then go audition subwoofers. It is easier to know the difference a new component makes if you are very familiar with how your system performs under a variety of conditions.

WHY ARE YOU SHOUTING? Notice how everyone else took the time and effort to type in the lower case? Much more considerate and easier on everyone's eyes.

Considering the 804s vs. the 100s for a home theater application seems a little silly unless you have an extra $1000 burning a hole in your pocket. As others noted, the bass capabilities of the 100s swamp that of the 804s, which when combined with the cost savings makes a hard argument for the 804s in a home theater application. I agree with others that the 9NT is a much more appropriate contender.

You might also consider the Axiom speakers(see reviews on Soundstage!.com) that will likely acquit themselves very well vs. the others in a home theater system and save you a ton of dough. Best of luck.

Tim