Paradigm Speakers Honolulu HI

SRP: $4020

Paradigm
MPO Box 2410
Niagara Falls, NY 14302
(905) 564-1994 (voice)
(905) 696-9479 (fax)

System includes:
1 pr Paradigm Monitor 9 Fronts
40.25" x 7.5" x 13.25" (HxWxD); 44 lbs each; 93 dB anechoic/96 dB in room sensitivity; 2.5-way system; 1" tweeter; 6.5" bass/mid; 2- 6.5" bass drivers; 5-year warranty; $1000 pair.

1 ea Paradigm CC-290 Center
7-13/16" x 26.75" x 11-7/16"; 32 lbs each; 91 dB anechoic/94 dB in room sensitivity; 3-way system; 1" tweeter; 4.5" midrange; 2- 6.5" bass drivers; 5-year warranty; $520 each.

1 pr Paradigm ADP-390 Surrounds
9-11/16 x 14 x 6 13/16; 13 lbs each; 87 dB anechoic/90 dB in room sensitivity; 3-way system; 2- 1" tweeters; 2- 4.5" midranges; 7.5" bass driver; 5-year warranty; $450 each.

1 ea Paradigm Ultracube 12 Subwoofer
15" x 14" x 14"; 36 lbs each; 1500 watts peak power/650 watts RMS power; 12" bass driver; 2- 10" passive radiators; adjustable cut-off from 40 Hz - 150 Hz; Phase adjustment from 0 to 180 degrees; 3-year warranty; $1200 each.

1 pr Paradigm J-29 Speaker Stands
29" stands; $400 pair.

Associated Equipment

Arcam AVR-350 Surround Receiver; Marantz BD7003 Blu-ray Player; Rotel RCC-1055 CD Changer; Audioquest cables.

Setup

Fronts.  I first unpacked the Monitor 9s.  They come with side supports that help to keep the speaker balanced and allow for a slight height increase.  Spikes that come along with the package thread into these supports and the manual states that they will improve the sound of the speaker.  I would have liked to have some threaded soft rubber feet (or pads), but there were none.  Aesthetically, the supports give the speaker a less boxy look although it makes them a bit wider (requiring more floor space).  The top, sides and back of the speaker are in a simulated wood finish (Wenge, Cherry, Rosenut, or Black Ash).  Unfortunately, you don't really see much of this when seated right in front of them as the (black) grill covers 95% of the speaker.  It also sticks up slightly over the top and obscures the view of the top of the speaker.  The bottom is blocked by a black rounded plastic piece.  Paradigm should shorten the grill, remove the plastic piece (that makes the speaker look cheap) and show some wood!  If you want you can always remove the grill as long as foreign objects don't strike the drivers.  (The tweeter is already somewhat covered by a plastic cover.)

After unpacking a component I always resist the urge to hook it up right away and take out the manual for a quick read-through.  The manual that came...

System  SRP: $799

 

When it comes to complete 5.1 speaker systems in a single box (better known as Home Theater in a Box), much is left to be desired. Most of these systems have cheap drivers and poorly designed cabinets. Often the result is greatly compromised sound quality. Having this in mind, we were quite happy to see that the new Paradigm Cinema™ 110 CT (Compact Theater) v.3 System did not fall into this trap. Instead, Paradigm created a reasonably priced 5.1 speaker system with quality one might expect from a more expensive home theater system. For example, Paradigm designed the mid/bass drivers using high power ICP™ (Injection-Molded Co-Polymer) cones with rubber surrounds instead of drivers with cheap paper cones and foam surrounds. Sure, some may say big deal, but years from now you won't be replacing the surround material due to deterioration. The front and rear channel cabinets are indeed plastic, but have an internal ribbed cabinet that helps reduce resonances that result in sonic colorations. The subwoofer is a compact design with solid build quality and controls for level, phase and crossover frequency.

 

The Cinema™ 110 CT v.3 system came well packaged with four layers of Styrofoam separating and padding the satellite speakers and subwoofer. The system includes two Cinema™ 110 L/R and one Cinema™ 110 C, each comprised of a pair of 4.5" bass/midrange drives and a 1" tweeter. The Cinema™ 110 ADP rear channels each include two 3.5" bass/midrange drivers and two tweeters. Finally, the Cinema™ 110 CT subwoofer packs a 10" driver with a 150 watts RMS amplifier. Amazingly all five channels and the subwoofer were packaged into one box weighing nearly 70 pounds. The powered subwoofer alone weighs almost 40 pounds with each of the front channels weighing 6.4 pounds. The rear ADP surround channels weigh just under 4 pounds each, making them manageable with most wall mounting hardware. The Cinema™ 110 CT system is available in silver, white or black finish to match virtually any decor.

 

The Cinema™ 110 L/R v.3 and Cinema™ 110 C v.3 have the same speaker configuration and cabinet dimensions. The only difference is the center speaker is typically placed horizontally in most applications. The 3-Driver, 2-Way acoustic suspension design uses a mineral-filled polymer enclosure and incorporates Paradigm's MagneShield™ to prevent stray magnetic fields from affecting CRT-based displays. The rear binding posts can accommodate bare wire, lugs or banana plugs. We usually like to use banana plugs for convenience, but we decided to use some bulk Tributaries 14-gauge wire for the review. We noticed that the binding post could easily accommodate wire as large as 12-gauge if desired.

Our review system also include...