Main Speakers B&W Nautilus 804 Vs Paradigm Studio 100

[kkanumuri]

I am trying to change my main speakers. Listen to more CDs than watch movies. I am narrowing down beween the B&W 804s and Paradigm Studio 100.
Anybody have a suggestion what might work better, if I have to place them very close to a wall, in essence one will be in a corner.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[sikoniko]

I can not speak on the paradigm speakers, but the b&w 804's I can. I believe these speakers are excellent. Very dynamic and three dimensional.

You will need a decent amp with at least 200w/channel to power them. Also, if you do plan on using it your home theater as well, you will need the htm1 as a center. I didnt care for the htm2 when mated with the 804's.

[Burke Strickland]

Having just listened to the Paradigm Studio 100s recently, I can say truthtfully that, in that line, I prefer the Studio 40s mated with a good sub instead of the 100s. The 100s were too "boomy" in the bass and lower midrange for my taste. The 40s and the 100s were both "out in the room" (in fact, one set replaced the other in the same location during the demo), so having the 100s in a corner would only accentuate their "boomy" sound.

OTOH, I really like the B&Ws that I've heard more than any of the Paradigms. But I don't think the B&W 804s would benefit from corner placement. (Not many "full range" speakers do unless specifically designed to be placed there.) In fact, in the B&W line, the 604s might be less sensitive to room placement than the 804s. With the 804s pushed against the wall and with one of them in a corner you're probably going to be losing a lot of the sound quality you are paying for with a model at that level.

Adjusting the relative sound levels (volume) of the speakers will not compensate completely for the effect of having one speaker next to a side wall and the other not next to one -- your sound stage may be skewed and the tonal balance may be affected, too. If at all possible, I'd suggest looking at a room arrangement that at least doesn't require putting one of the speakers (whichever brand you get) into a corner.

That said, I am also curious if there a particular reason you've narrowed your choice down to those two? If you haven't already done a lot of other listening to the choices in your price range, you might want to consider some other brands, and models of different configurations such as mini-monitors on stands rather than huge floor-standing towers if that might help with the placement issues.

If corner placement is an absolute requirement, Theil makes some NOT-inexpensive speakers that are designed to use the room boundaries to reinforce their sound propagation and would therefore not be penalized by corner placement (although there would still be the issue of asymmetrical placement). Klipsch also makes models that in effect use the corner walls as extensions of the horn. (I don't particularly like Klipsch's "bright" sound, but at least corner placement isn't an issue with the models I am referring to.)

Good luck, and let us know if there is more we need to consider in making suggestions for your situation.

Burke

[brucek]

Excellent post Burke... .... I have to agree that the Studio 40's combined with a decent sub (Paradigmn Servo-15) is one of the best bang for bucks on the market. It provides a very clean sound for two channel, with lots of low end for HT too...

brucek

[kkanumuri]

Looks like I am in a difficult situation. What would be the minimum distance from a wall for most of these speakers. I am going to try a few more models here to make sure, I pick the right ones. This is very helpful, being a novice anything helps.

I am looking for speakers which are not bright, as some of my recordings are on the brighter side. So, any recommdations on those would be great.

[Bam!]

Having just listened to the Paradigm Studio 100s recently, I can say truthtfully that, in that line, I prefer the Studio 40s mated with a good sub instead of the 100s. The 100s were too "boomy" in the bass and lower midrange for my taste. The 40s and the 100s were both "out in the room" (in fact, one set replaced the other in the same location during the demo), so having the 100s in a corner would only accentuate their "boomy" sound.


Burke

Burke!

Couldn' t agree with you more......the bass response on the 100's is so boomy, thumpy and sloppy IMO that it muffles the mids and the highs...

Just MO!

Comparing 804's with Studio 100's....hmmm interesting!

[ajpoe]

Having just listened to the Paradigm Studio 100s recently, I can say truthtfully that, in that line, I prefer the Studio 40s mated with a good sub instead of the 100s. The 100s were too "boomy" in the bass and lower midrange for my taste. The 40s and the 100s were both "out in the room" (in fact, one set replaced the other in the same location during the demo), so having the 100s in a corner would only accentuate their "boomy" sound.

Just out of curiousity, did you have a chance to listen to the 60s? I just ask because I have the v3 60s and wanted to see your opinion compared to the B&Ws. I haven't ever auditioned the B&Ws. Each of my 60s are running full range and I have put an Athena P3 sub on each basically blending them together to make 2 full range speakers. The 60s alone didn't have the low frequency extension I wanted.

ajpoe

[aud19]

Or how about Paradigms new Signature line?

http://signature.paradigm.com/

Jason

[kkanumuri]

The signature series are about $3,000 more expensive, ouch!!!

[aud19]

Go for the smaller ones and a sub.. S4's with S2 surrounds etc.

Jason

[kkanumuri]

Great, that makes sense!!!

[denverdoc]

Not sure of availability in Canada, but...

Good choices in that range abound--mght want to look at the internet only dealerws as well, as you get much more peaker for your money, especially when compared to the B7w's which are rrely discunted. Personally I have been delighted with my Newform Research(canadian) which replaced the highly touted Dunlavy Sc-IV's (A 7k USD speaker pair) which were simply too unforgiving in the end. Have nmecer looked back and the imaging is ti die for! The Newforms are now about 2500/pair but less expensive sets exist--all using what may be one of the greatest high frequency transducer on the planet. Rocket speakers out of Colorado (AV123 distributes) are a steal at 1500 a pair and now are offering a 400 dollar trade in for any old pair reteiling for more than 400.00 originally! These are very smooth and dynamically almost without limit. Might also look into the aperion line out of Portland, Oregon. All of thse companies have excellent service and will spend more time than the average droid at the local salon, and given that they designed the speaker in the first place, are knowledgeable about different apps. All of the above have 30 day return policies--so you're only gambling a couple hundred--thgis against the thousands in value one gains by eliminating the middle man, all the advertising hype, and the nee to offer new models every couple of years (though the current B & W line seems relatively stable, cannot comment on the Paradigms).

[jlee]

N804 over the Paradigms for sure. I own the N804 after extensive demoing. Paradigms as mentioned before are too boomy. N804 are all around a much better speaker. The better equipment you put before it, the better it will sound. I'm not so sure the Paradigms will show the same improvement as the front end gets better.

Now, as for the corner placement... have you considered the SCM1? They are SURPRISINGLY good in 2 channel and can be placed right against the wall (they are designed for that). You can go as close to about 2 ft from the corner without getting boomy. If you have to go RIGHT INTO the corner, the boominess will still be acceptable. Depending on what kind of music you listen to, you may or may not want to add a sub. For $3500 US list (N804), you could get SCM1 ($2200 US list) and a REL Strata III sub ($1500 US) and have a very nice setup. I've got my N804 52" and 40" from the side and back walls. Placing them close to the corners will produce crappy sound.

I own the SCM1 as my rears in a HT setup, and tuned them for 2 channel as part of the 5 channel setup. They are closer sounding to the N804 than expected, even better than the N805. The N805 with it's bigger box colors the midrange, especially voices. The skinny SCM1's, even without the FST midrange, have very little coloration... the only thing they can't do really is deep bass, but that's to be expected from such a small speaker. Add the sub and you'll have a surprisingly good system as long as your source is good.

[kkanumuri]

I listened to Paradigms, Thiels, Monitors, Energy and he 804. I felt like the 804 was the most versatile with respect to handling different kinds of music. I did notice they are very sensitive to the equipment. I noticed a huge difference in the Bass on the Highs with teamed with the Rotel1095 vs. 1075. So, I need to either upgrade to the 1095 or add a subwoofer.

The paradigms S4's are a great speaker, for good recordings. They might not handle bright recordings very well and I am not sure, I can listen to them for extended period of time.

Long story short, I got the 804's homes and now I need to tweek this and find a way to add base to them.

Everyone's advice was extremely helpful, could use more to help me tweak this set up.