Paradigm

"It’s a solid, dependable speaker that, set up correctly, can give its owner a glimpse of true high-end sound for a mass-market price."

"Paradigm’s Monitor SE 3000F is easy to recommend to friends, or to anyone looking for an attractive, well-made, solid-sounding floorstander at a very reasonable price."

Sound & Vision TOP PICK "If your speaker budget tops out in the $2,000 range and you seek maximum bang for the buck, take note: Paradigm’s Monitor SE system delivers the home theater sound basics in a brilliant manner."

Soundstage! Network PRODUCT OF THE YEAR 2018 - Reviewers Choice "The company’s engineers no doubt fretted over where to allocate precious Canadian dollars and cents in its design, and surely had to make compromises somewhere. Yet the Atom’s sound is so well balanced that I’d find it difficult to close my eyes and conclude that I was hearing a pair of minimonitors retailing for under $300/pair. Its overachieving high end is every bit as impressive as its supple and articulate midrange. Then there’s that healthy dollop of bass extension down to about 50Hz. Nor does it look half bad, and its Gloss White finish is particularly tasty. Paradigm’s new Monitor SE Atom is all about maximizing sound quality and value -- a no-brainer that anyone can appreciate."

Homt Theater Review BEST OF 2018 AWARD "While there are many players in the sub-$1,000 floor-standing enthusiast speaker market, Paradigm's Monitor SE 6000F are without question a top contender. They have a dynamic, lively sound that is never harsh, yet packs the dynamics needed to rock out on the most challenging of music and keep up with the most bombastic of motion picture soundtracks. "

TONE Exceptional Value Award "These little Paradigms are high quality compact speakers. I dare you to find better. This is truly one of the most exciting products I’ve had the pleasure to review. Well done, Paradigm! "

AVS Forum RECOMMENDED 2018 "What’s outstanding about these speakers is the neutral presentation that’s cohesive and balanced. I didn’t sense any unnecessary exaggeration, nor anything that could be described as an egregious omission. This is the recipe that allows you to listen to the music, or the movie soundtrack, instead of listening to the speaker itself."

"I don’t know how they put their better speaker technology into these and yet kept them affordable, but Paradigm has designed the uncommon speaker system for the common man. Recommended! "

"Yes, they can rock and roll, but they deliver an inherent musicality that allows them to dig deeper into the heart of variety of genres with both confidence and sincerity. Add unexpected transparency, and a penchant for generous and detail-rich staging, and the result is an entertaining loudspeaker pair that provides a lot of musical bang for the buck."

"As with much of the gear that arrives here for measurements and/or photography, I had no plans of listening to the Monitor SE Atoms – there’s only so much time in a day, and I’d rather devote it to the products I’m reviewing. But when I unboxed them, I was so impressed with the apparent quality of their cabinets and parts that I couldn’t resist hearing them."

Sound & Vision TOP PICK "In short, the Defiance V12 lives up to its name, delivering solid performance with movies and music"

Hi-Fi News OUTSTANDING PRODUCT "They may be big, expensive and undeniable heavy, but Paradigm’s Persona 9H speakers are outstanding in every respect, from the superb quality of build and finish to their scintillating sound. Don’t be fooled by that modest power requirement and seemingly benign impendence: partner them with a high-quality, high power amplifier, and prepare to be dazzled by a design fully justifying its flagship status."

"There’s a lot to like about the Paradigm 800F floorstanders. First and foremost, they sound musically authentic, with a large, generous and inviting sound that does everything from classic symphonies to hard rockers full justice. But there’s also ample attention to detail, and plenty of insight, ensuring that the Paradigms are able to get under the skin of the music, and to extract more than just mere notes and rhythms. Add superb composure, and a tonal range broad enough to make those low notes come alive and upper trebles to glisten with truthfulness, and you have a musically talented, wholly entertaining speaker that can stand its ground against rivals costing a lot more. "

Audioholics PRODUCT OF THE YEAR 2018 "For me, their chief attribute is their high sound quality: these are a terrific-sounding set of speakers. I can’t really pick out a specific aspect they do especially well in because they are such a well-balanced design. They image well, they are tonally-neutral, they have very good dynamic range, and they have reasonably uniform off-axis dispersion. It all adds up to a great listening experience."

Sound & Vision TOP PICK "The Premier range is far from the most expensive in Paradigm’s speaker lineup, but the performance and build quality that it offers lets it compete with speakers twice the price." and “It won’t be hard to describe just how much the subwoofers added to the 700F’s sound quality. I can do it with one word: phenomenal."

"There is a ton of competition in the $1000 speaker market. One of the things that many monitor type speakers have challenges with is a fast and deep bottom end without mid-bass bloat. The 200B does not have those issues commonly found in this price range."

"I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Paradigm’s Premier Series system. For the price, the speakers sound great and offer a lot of value by borrowing technology and design from Paradigm’s higher end speakers. If you’re looking to upgrade from a soundbar or basic HTIB system to something truly high-performance, Paradigm’s Premier speakers should be on your short list of speakers to audition."

Soundstage! Network Reviewers Choice "In my room, Paradigm’s Premier 100Bs reproduced a very detailed and transparent midrange with killer imaging, an extended and airy top end, and tight, tuneful bass. Nor did the 100Bs quail when asked to play loud, and they always sounded much bigger than they actually are."

Soundstage! Network Reviewers Choice "Paradigm’s Premier 800F offers incredible sound quality, with a superclear midrange that made voices sound stunning, and enough well-integrated low frequencies to satisfy bass lovers -- nor does driving it require a ton of power. For the price, it’s about as perfect as a speaker can be."

"The sounds are sharp and direct, having a tactile quality—as if the speaker drivers are mechanically connected to my ears. I feel the music as much as I hear it."

2019 Secrets Thumbs Up Awards "And this Paradigm surround sound speaker system did not flinch, handling both the delicate sonic background music and the loud structural failure/explosion effects with ease. The dialogue could be picked out clearly in the middle of the busy action scenes, a testament to how good the 500C center channel was. The bass rhythms underlying many of the scenes in the movie were conveyed articulately by the X12 subwoofer. The Surround 3 speakers delivered the room-filling surrounding sound effects convincingly to make me feel in the middle of the action on the screen. I have no doubt that this speaker system will enhance your home theater experience with its first-rate surround-sound performance."

The Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity Best of 2019 Awards "In summary, the Premier 200B speakers worked with a powerful high-end amp, and a lower powered amp in a receiver. The speakers always sounded clean, with good bass extension and crisp, clear high frequencies."

"Audio has always been 50% of the home theater experience for me, so to watch a blockbuster movie without quality sound feels like a waste. Let films like Spider-Man Into the Spiderverse shine with a quality speaker system like the Paradigm Premiers and watching movies at home will never be the same."

"In the Prestige 15B, Paradigm has built a speaker that looks fantastic. But in hi-fi, looks are secondary to sound, and the sound of the 15B is second to no other bookshelf speaker I’ve heard near its price point. "

Sound & Vision TOP PICK "Remarkably, the combination of subtlety, power, and detail makes the beautiful cabinets dematerialize into an exceptionally wide, ethereal soundstage that’s rare to find in a pair of towers at this price."

Audio Reputation Awards "The list of things we loved about Persona 5F starts with the visual appearance. Now, we know that terms ”impeccable craftmanship” or ”dazzling design” are clichés but there’s no better way to describe their appearance. Also, their ability to blend into any environment is simply amazing. And this is just the beginning. 5F’s performance is its greatest highlight."

AVForums REFERENCE STATUS AWARD - 10 OUT OF 10 SCORE "There’s an exceptional sense of transparency and some amazing amounts of detail retrieval that deliver every note with absolute clarity. "

"Super-coherent and articulate, very highly resolving, decidedly uncolored, and extremely transparent, the Persona B’s provide an overall performance not seen before in this price class."

BEST OF 2019 AWARD "The Paradigm Persona 5F is easily one of the best performing speakers I’ve heard. It is a “perfect 10” on most elements of sound that music lovers and audiophiles alike care about most: soundstage, neutrality, refinement, impact, and cohesion. "

Stereophile WINNER RC19 CLASS A "Throughout my time with the Persona 5Fs, their sound quality repeatedly sidetracked me from my job of critical analysis. Often, I planned to only sample an album or work but found I couldn’t resist the temptation to enjoy the whole thing. I believe that the Persona 5F is a more-than-worthy competitor for any similarly priced speaker, and deserves to be considered when shopping in this market. For Paradigm, it’s an auspicious entry into the thinner air of high-end audio. Welcome."

GOLDEN EAR AWARDS 2017 - EDITORS' CHOICE AWARDS 2017, 2018, 2019 & 2020 "The Paradigm Persona 9Hs not only provided the best overall bass response I’ve had in my listening room, it did so when playing back deep bass at subwoofer frequencies and loudness levels."

TONE Audio 2017 product of the year "Paradigm has created one of the world’s finest loudspeakers the right way, by applying what they’ve learned from decades of research, design and manufacturing know how to produce a speaker with no compromises. There’s nothing they don’t do, nothing they won’t play and from what I can deduce, nothing they won’t partner with regarding electronics."

PRODUCT OF THE YEAR 2019 "The Paradigm Persona 7F is one of the most enjoyable speakers that I’ve had the pleasure of auditioning in my home. Beyond being a visually arresting example of fine industrial design, they are also sonically satisfying reproducers of music and a worthy addition to the top tier of Paradigm’s offerings."

Soundstage! ULTRA PRODUCT of the YEAR 2017 - Reviwers Chioce - Soundstage! Hi-Fi RECOMMENDED REFERENCE COMPONENT "During my time with Paradigm’s Persona 7Fs, they consistently projected a wonderfully open, detailed, effortless top end capable of communicating vast amounts of space, balance, drive -- and, inevitably, emotion. These all-important sonic attributes were matched only by the awe-inspiring depths to which the 7Fs could dig; never, without a subwoofer in play, had I heard in my room bass so deep or so articulate, or that so powerfully evoked my own emotional responses. And yet neither the 7F’s effortless top-end nor its prodigious bottom-end reproduction was its most appealing quality; that accolade must go to the 7F’s unfailingly neutral and natural-sounding midrange. In the Persona 7F, Paradigm has created an all-out assault on the high end. During my time with them, the Persona 7Fs have proven themselves a benchmark product at their price point, which makes granting them a Reviewers’ Choice award a foregone conclusion. A damned impressive speaker!"

Audioholics PRODUCT of the YEAR 2017 "The midrange frequencies of the 5F speakers are easily the best of any speaker I have had in my home thus far. I cannot imagine a loudspeaker with more midrange clarity; in this range the Persona 5F were superb. The bass felt natural and not boosted or otherwise disconnected from the rest of the sound. It was powerful when it needed to be and extended quite deeply for a tower speaker of its size. "

"The Paradigm Persona 3F sounds big – sound comes off the speaker wide and deep. The dispersion is excellent, voices are articulate and instruments tonally believable. It makes me wonder what the Persona 5, 7 or even 9H would improve upon!? "

"Everything comes together to perfection here: sound quality, ease of use and finish are all world class."

Soundstage! Hi-Fi Reviewers Choice "If you’re in the market for a state-of-the-art bookshelf speaker, look no further. You’d probably have to spend a whole lot more money to better the formidable performance of Paradigm’s Persona B -- and even then, I’m not sure you could."

"This is a remarkably full-featured subwoofer that performs very well in small- to medium-sized rooms. A pair of Defiance V10s can be had for the price of a slightly larger subwoofer, but will provide a more even output at different listening positions than a single subwoofer."

Soundsatag! Hi-Fi RECOMMENDED REFERENCE COMPONENT "When Diego’s review of the Paradigm Defiance V12 was published, the subwoofer earned, based on his high recommendation, our Reviewers’ Choice award. In December 2019, the Defiance V12 was recognized as one of our 2019 Products of the Year: Exceptional Value. This month, we add it to our list of Recommended Reference Components -- the lowest-priced subwoofer yet to be included."

Soundstage! network PRODUCT of the YEAR 2019 - Soundstage! network Reviewers Choice "The Defiance V12 really did perform admirably, especially considering its price. I think just about any bass head who experienced what I did in my listening room would walk away satisfied and impressed -- and the unsatisfied would be glad to know that I never got close to the maximum setting of the V12’s volume control. "

Secrets og Home Theater and High fidelity BEST OF 2019 AWARDS "The Defiance V series offers outstanding value and the muscular Defiance X series offers deeper, more powerful bass. Both series are greatly enhanced with the use of ARC and the easy to use Paradigm Subwoofer Control App. It is the easiest, most flexible bass tuning system I have ever used, and I hope other manufacturers will follow Paradigm’s lead."

2019 Secrets Thumbs up Awards "Have no doubt that this speaker system will enhance your home theater experience with its first-rate surround-sound performance."

"Paradigm has long understood the importance of subwoofers to modern sound systems and the impact that a good sub can have on the overall sound. The Defiance X15 continues Paradigm’s trend as one of the few major loudspeaker manufacturers who take subwoofers seriously."

AVS Forum TOP CHOICE 2019 "Paradigm has long understood the importance of subwoofers to modern sound systems and the impact that a good sub can have on the overall sound. The Defiance X15 continues Paradigm’s trend as one of the few major loudspeaker manufacturers who take subwoofers seriously."

"The Defiance X12 subwoofer continues Paradigm’s long tradition of offering high-value powered subwoofers. It faces stiff competition from many manufacturers, including some that provide outstanding value through online sales, such as SVS and Hsu Research -- but few of those subs, if any, offer a room-correction system as advanced as ARC, which makes the X12 stand out in a crowded field. The Paradigm Defiance X12 deserves serious consideration by anyone looking for a reasonably priced, high-quality subwoofer to complement a very capable two-channel or multichannel system."

"Being able to make adjustments of a single decibel or degree on the fly from my listening position while playing music was a godsend for system integration and optimization."

"For us, the Paradigm Monitor / Atom with the Defiance V10 is a new reference here on the editorial board, in the category “best home cinema sound everyone can afford."

SOUND & VISION TOP PICK "If your speaker budget tops out in the $2,000 range and you seek maximum bang for the buck, take note: Paradigm’s Monitor SE system delivers the home theater sound basics in a brilliant manner. "

"The Paradigm Defiance V8 Subwoofer strikes me as an excellent addition to a small- to mid-sized 2-channel system or a humdinger of a sub for a desktop computer music system. It will never clip or overdrive with its built-in soft-clip protection. With extension down to 28 Hz, it simply will not put out the lows needed for a kick-your-seat cinema system, like its bigger brothers in the Defiance Series. But at the price point, with moderate volumes and mainly music to deliver, the V8 is a steal of a deal of a subwoofer."

AVS Forum Recommended 2019 "With Paradigm’s Defiance X15, the days when you could say that Internet Direct companies “own” the “high price/performance ratio subwoofer” market are over. This sub is unapologetically huge, powerful and capable. And crucially, it offers sophisticated room correction built-in, so it’s ready to rumble—even in minimalist 2.1-channel setups but also in full-fledged home theater rigs."

Stellar Sound Award! "As a subwoofer, the Defiance X12‘s performance defies its retail price. Its nearly ideal performance/value ratio for both music and movie watching, makes this subwoofer an instant Everything Audio Network Stellar Sound Award winner and an automatic nominee for Subwoofer of the Year 2019. Yes, it is that good."

"There’s no lethargy here. No boom. No bloat. And a surprising lack of distortion. Those factors, combined with the X15’s colossal output above 40Hz, make it a beast to contend with."

SOUND & VISION TOP PICK "It won’t be hard to describe just how much the subwoofers added to the 700F’s sound quality. I can do it with one word: phenomenal."

"The Defiance V12 is a fine affordable subwoofer for modest systems, but the X12 is a beastmaster of a 12” subwoofer that defies its moderate cabinet size to produce powerful bass that can punch you in the lungs."

"Paradigm has always been one of the few major home audio loudspeaker manufacturers to take their subwoofers seriously, so our interest is always piqued when they launch a new sub. Their new Defiance subwoofer series has had our attention ever since their announcement, so we paid them a visit to take a look at the entire lineup ranging from the Defiance V10 and the way up to the crafted in Canada X15 goliath to see the spectrum of performance that can be had from the two tiers of Paradigm's new subwoofer line. Watch our YouTube Overview of the series to see what innovations Paradigm has made with their latest subwoofer design and stay tuned for our written review with exhaustive measurements of the V12 and X12."

"The Subwoofer Control App is one handy-dandy piece of software. It’s never been easier to control a subwoofer from your couch. Within the app, there is the ability to adjust all the sub settings – volume, low pass filter, phase, listening mode (movie, music, night), deep bass level, and room correction. The app is straightforward and easy to use and it connects automatically to the sub via Bluetooth. Every subwoofer should have this feature! "