Paradigm Studio 60 opinions

dennis.a · « **on:** 16 Apr 2007, 11:41 pm »

I have an opportunity to buy a pair of Sudio 60s,used, for $690.

I believe they are the original version. I listened to them andl iked
them , they had a large sounstage , good bass , were warm and liked to
cuddle. aa Oh , sorry , I forgot myself for a minute. Ahem ,...okay , back to
the subject at hand.

Would you say this is a fair price ?

Would these speakers go well with a Yamaha RXV-659 receiver ?

Thanks for your opinions and feedback

Dennis

GHM · « **Reply #1 on:** 16 Apr 2007, 11:52 pm »

Quote from: dennis.a on 16 Apr 2007, 11:41 pm

I have an opportunity to buy a pair of Sudio 60s,used, for $690.

I believe they are the original version. I listened to them andl iked
them , they had a large sounstage , good bass , were warm and liked to
cuddle. aa Oh , sorry , I forgot myself for a minute. Ahem ,...okay , back to
the subject at hand.

Would you say this is a fair price ?

Would these speakers go well with a Yamaha RXV-659 receiver ?

Thanks for your opinions and feedback

Dennis

The Yammie will get you by..you'll need something more powerful and refined to get the best out of these speakers.

good luck

Antman27 · « **Reply #2 on:** 17 Apr 2007, 12:42 am »

I have a pair of Studio 40s V.3 with a denon 3805 . When they are played at low listening levels they seam lifeless -When ya crank up the Denon they really come to life so it may be that they do need more power
The price seams fair but the V.4s just came out so ya might try to get them for a bit less .

marvda1 · « **Reply #3 on:** 17 Apr 2007, 01:45 am »

power is not what they need, they need current!! i owned the studio 60 v2 and was bi-amping with two 100 watt hk citation amps then i bought the denon pma-2000iv4 at 80 watts and high current, it blew the two hk's out the water and sounded more like a 200 watt amp.

opnly bafld · « **Reply #4 on:** 17 Apr 2007, 01:45 am »

Dennis,
Which version? How old?

Lin

dennis.a · « **Reply #5 on:** 17 Apr 2007, 02:41 am »

Hi Lin , I hope you're well ? Thanks for the questions.

I believe they're the first version , and I don't know how old. They
are for sale in a neighborhood used audio equipment store. They
look used , blemishes on the veneer. However , they sounded good ,
and someone else who came in and listened to them as I was listening
said they immediately grabbed him , and that they were worth $2000.

They seemed warmer and more room filling than my current MA RS8s,
although the RS8s seem more detailed .

I went ahead and bought them . and i'll have 7 days to return them , no
questions asked , so I can't really make a bad mistake.

Dennis

Mightyburner · « **Reply #6 on:** 17 Apr 2007, 04:02 am »

You should be able to pick up used V.3's for $900-$1,200. Mine are 2 years old and that's pretty much what I expect to get when I list them them in the next month or so. First, I have to figure out what I want to replace them with.

whopnyc · « **Reply #7 on:** 17 Apr 2007, 11:06 am »

The v.2 sells for about $760 average. The v.3 is just over a grand used. The v.1 has no price information since 2004 but with the blemishes and the v.4 out, you may be able to get a better price but finding them may also be difficult. If you like them and you feel they're worth the money, keep them.

sts9fan · « **Reply #8 on:** 17 Apr 2007, 01:28 pm »

I just sold mt v3s but they are great speakers. They do need juice to sing though like others have said. They need a high current amp or they sound flat

Antman27 · « **Reply #9 on:** 17 Apr 2007, 02:30 pm »

Hey Dennis dont want to hijack your thread but can someone explain thees high current amps to me ?I am driving my 40s with a Denon 3805 AVR and was thinking about adding more power but if its high current they need can someone suggest some high current amps ?I am limited on rack space so the slimer the better
Thanks

sts9fan · « **Reply #10 on:** 17 Apr 2007, 02:35 pm »

I have a odyssey Khartago extreme for sale that worked wonders with my Studio 60 v3s aa
The change in the bass was not subtle when I switched from a Yamaha receiver.

opnly bafld · « **Reply #11 on:** 17 Apr 2007, 02:46 pm »

Quote from: Antman27 on 17 Apr 2007, 02:30 pm

Hey Dennis dont want to hijack your thread but can someone explain thees high current amps to me ?I am driving my 40s with a Denon 3805 AVR and was thinking about adding more power but if its high current they need can someone suggest some high current amps ?I am limited on rack space so the slimer the better
Thanks

Look for amps from reputable companies that double their power (or close to it) when rated at 8 and 4 ohms.
For example: 100 watts x 2 into 8 ohms; 200 watts x 2 into 4 ohms. (Check the distortion figures)
There are other specs than can tell you if they are high current, but they are not always listed by the manufacturers.

Lin

Bob Reynolds · « **Reply #12 on:** 17 Apr 2007, 05:22 pm »

Quote from: Antman27 on 17 Apr 2007, 12:42 am

I have a pair of Studio 40s V.3 with a denon 3805 . When they are played at low listening levels they seam lifeless -When ya crank up the Denon they really come to life so it may be that they do need more power
The price seams fair but the V.4s just came out so ya might try to get them for a bit less .

I don't think this is an indication of needing more power or current. At low volumes your Denon should not be anywhere near clipping -- maybe only using a few watts. So changing to a more powerful amp should not have any impact at the same SPLs.

It's probably related to the size of the room and its acoustics and listening distance.

Wayner · « **Reply #13 on:** 17 Apr 2007, 09:34 pm »

I have a pair of Studio 40v.3's with AVA electronics. They will crank! I have also heard the 60's which I liked a lot but didn't have the room form them.

W

dennis.a · « **Reply #14 on:** 18 Apr 2007, 12:42 am »

Hi , I really appreciate all of your responses, it's very helpful.

It sounds like what I should do is add an amp , either power
or integrated to my Yami 659 .

Do any of you have any suggestions on what amp of $500. or less that would
go well with Studio 60s ? I'm leaning towards NAD.

How about the Jolida 1501 or 1701 [ 50 wpc , hybrids ] ?
Would the NAD 325bee [50 wpc ] have enough power.?

Also . have any of you compared Studio 60s to Monitor Audio RS8s , and if
so what were your observations ?

Once again . as a newcomer to this site , and as an audio newbie , I really
want to thank all for giving me your time and the benefit of you experience.

Dennis

Bob Reynolds · « **Reply #15 on:** 18 Apr 2007, 03:45 am »

I auditioned the Studio 60's when I went looking to replace my B&W 601 bookshelf speakers a decade ago. They were $1200 new at the time and were my pick over the PSB 4T and 6T. I went with Meadowlark Kestrels instead, but I found the Studio 60's more dynamic and I would have been happy with them. Paradigm is always a good choice.

I was using a Jolida 1501A at the time. Plenty of power, but not the most resolving. I've used a NAD 320BEE in my office system. I would pick any of the NAD integrateds over the Jolida because they provide both preamp out *and* main amp in jacks. At some point if you decide to add a subwoofer, which I highly recommend, you'll be able to insert a crossover between the preamp and amp section. This lets you bi-amp with the amp in the subwoofer and takes the bass load off the main amp and speaker.

I'm a fan of more watts than less, but you could probably make do with the NAD 325BEE until you could add a subwoofer.

dennis.a · « **Reply #16 on:** 18 Apr 2007, 04:14 am »

Hi Bob , Thanks for the info.
It sounds like the Jolida might not be a good choice for me ?

I actually did receive a sub-woofer today . an infinity pb12
12 inch 500 watt sub. Do you think that would go with the
325bee ? Should I think about a more powerful NAD [ like
the 352 ?] or even a Cambridge Audio 540A ?

How about a power amp like a Behringer 1500 or Emotiva
LPA-1 ?

All suggestions will be gratefully appreciated !

Dennis

maxwalrath · « **Reply #17 on:** 18 Apr 2007, 04:32 am »

I never heard the BEE, but I liked the 301 or 1501 more than a NAD 350 integrated.

JLM · « **Reply #18 on:** 18 Apr 2007, 08:58 am »

Seems like many audiophiles at least look at Paradigm at some point in their travels.

About 10 years ago I auditioned the entire (original) Studio line up. The real stars were the Active 20s and 40s. For $1600/pair (plus stands and Paradigm had some great looking stands) the Active 20s nearly matched the bass of the Studio 100s, but had flat frequency response and were much more dynamic. No sub and no amps needed. There was no comparison with the Studio 20s. The advantages of active speaker design became an ephiphany to me.

As I recall the entire Studio line up had a similar, quite neutral sound. The best "shot" a salemen from a competing stereo shop could come up with was that they lacked "personality". Personally I'd rather leave "personality" to the performers.

IMO amps need sufficient power to provide a commanding hold over the speakers to really allow them to open up. Large power supplies are a good indicator of high current designs. NAD has always rated their power output conservatively, which is the opposite way to approach it (and of how most companies would market). For popular audiophile entry level stuff Harmon Kardon and Rotel come to mind. Also check out B & W (in my mind a larger production, somewhat lower quality version of AVA).

Bob Reynolds · « **Reply #19 on:** 18 Apr 2007, 05:10 pm »

Quote from: dennis.a on 18 Apr 2007, 04:14 am

Hi Bob , Thanks for the info.
It sounds like the Jolida might not be a good choice for me ?

I actually did receive a sub-woofer today . an infinity pb12
12 inch 500 watt sub. Do you think that would go with the
325bee ? Should I think about a more powerful NAD [ like
the 352 ?] or even a Cambridge Audio 540A ?

How about a power amp like a Behringer 1500 or Emotiva
LPA-1 ?

All suggestions will be gratefully appreciated !

Dennis

I liked the "sound" of the Jolida (it was described to me as being "musical"), though I didn't have much to compare it to at the time. It's not my cup of tea at this point since I don't want to hear the electronics.

Your best bet is to listen to as much gear as possible. I stand by my comment regarding integrateds providing means to use the preamp and amp section separately for properly adding a subwoofer.

If you could live without remote control and have only a single source, then I highly recommend the ATI line of amplifiers. I use the AT602 in my office system. They offer an amazing value for a USA designed and built product. The build quality is far superior to the NAD gear I've used.

http://www.ati-amp.com/at602.html

For volume control, I use the NHT Passive Volume Control.

http://nhthifi.com/2006/products/pchifi/pvcpc.html

I'm not familiar with the Infinity sub. My first recommendation would have been a Paradigm sub, like the Seismic 10 and their X30 crossover. Second choice would have been Hsu Research.

Hope this helps a little.