New Speakers
February 14, 2007
I have an older NAD receiver (model 7100) and I would
appreciate your recommendations on speakers. I will be using them in a
small-to-medium-sized room that has hardwood floors with an area rug. Any thoughts would
be appreciated.
Martin
If you’re not concerned about deep bass and want a
smallish speaker system that sounds good, have a look at “What We'd Buy: Speakers
Under $300.” If, on the other hand, you do want full-range sound you can add a
subwoofer or move up each respective manufacturer’s line into a floorstanding
loudspeaker. Two “sub/sat” systems will be featured in March if you choose that
route. Of course, a subwoofer can also be added to any of the speakers in the “What
We’d Buy” article, and we’ll also give you tips on just how to do this.
Atom v.5 break-in
February 12, 2007
I was wondering how long the Paradigm Atom v.5 speakers
take to break in fully.
Fred
While some may tell you that break-in takes many hours
-- sometimes hundreds of hours -- I’ve never found that to be the case at all. In
fact, many manufacturers have stated that providing that the speaker hasn’t been
subjected to something extreme, like freezing cold, then all the break-in should be done
within an hour unless there’s something very unusual about the design. It’s more
a matter of drivers loosening up than anything else. So, according to Doug Schneider, who
reviewed the speakers, “I played them for a few days in the background, and then
started my critical listening. They never changed sound after that.”
"Tempted" by the Atom v.5
February 7, 2007
I just read the review of the new
Paradigm Atom Monitor v.5. I am very tempted to upgrade. However, my current speaker
is the Energy Reference Connoisseur C-3, which was SoundStage!’s 2002 Budget
Leader award winner. I guess my question is whether speaker advancement within the last
several years has made my C-3 not as good as the new Atom. Just wondering.
Danny Tse
Speaker technology is always advancing, but I
don’t believe that enough has happened in the last five years to make a good speaker
in 2002 not be able to stand up against another good speaker in 2007. The C-3 was, and
still is (although it’s no longer available), a very good speaker. It’s also
quite a bit bigger than the Atom Monitor v.5 – both the cabinet and the woofer –
meaning that it will likely sound bigger and play deeper in the bass. That alone will make
it sound somewhat different.
However, which will sound better to you is
another question, and I can’t even guess which one will because I have not done an
A-B comparison of both. All that I can really say is that the Atom Monitor v.5 is a very
good deal for its price, and it can quite likely hold its own against many speakers priced
quite a bit higher. Can it beat your C-3s, though? That’s something you might have to
experiment with and decide.
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