Paradigm System 8 Home Theater Speaker System Page 3

I spent some quality time adjusting the subwoofer's position, level, phase, and cutoff frequency. By now I have a pretty good idea of the optimal sub location in my listening room (along the front wall, between the screen and left front speaker), but I moved the Paradigm sub a wee bit to improve the bass at the listening position. In the end, a cutoff frequency of about 70 Hz gave me the best possible blend between the sub and the main speakers. That's lower than usual for my room, but understandable considering that the Monitor 11 is a fairly large tower speaker that can play pretty low.

I started my critical listening with just the Monitor 11s and the Georg Solti/Chicago Symphony Orchestra recording of the Beethoven Ninth Symphony (London). I know this great recording well - it was made at the University of Illinois campus in May 1972 when I was a student there, and I snuck in for the sessions. If I heard anything bad, I would mercilessly nail the speakers, but the Monitor 11s sounded excellent, highly transparent and with tight, stable imaging.

Based on experience, I expected the titanium tweeters to be too bright, but I was delighted by their sound, which was very crisp but not harsh. They provided a terrific natural presence and avoided the "blat" of cheap tweeters. The bass response was also quite good - tight and punchy, with enough low-end extension for most classical music (everything except pipe organ).


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