2. speakers
  3. 1176083045

Alternatives to the Paradigm S4?

I'm in the process of moving to an apartment and I'm looking for a pair of bookshelf speakers. I want Neodymium magnets, a fair amount of flexibility with amp pairings. So no horns or electrostatics, plus it's an apartment so there probably won't be room. I use a pair of Paradigm Monitor 7's right now with a 20/40w Cary. They spec's say down to 15 watts and based on my experience I believe it, so I could go with a true SET integrated or something. I want speakers that are pretty much actually within +/-.5 dB of each other, and a speaker firm large enough to have an active development division. No cabinet makers with soldering skills. This unfortunately leaves the pickings pretty slim: I might be willing to settle (ha) for a pair of Revel M20/M22's (not sure if they are Neodymium), or the Paradigm S4's. I've heard the M20's powered pretty well with tubes, so I'm not worried. I have liked the JM Labs Mini Utopia Be (but not at $6000., and I suspect I would like the Merlins, but again I have to eat also. Anyone have any thoughts on a couple of others I might try out?
biomimetic

Showing 2 responses by s7horton

s7horton
1,077 posts
 
Why are you dead set on Neodymium magnets? Also, I would say the Revels are fairly power hungary. Having owned both the M20's and the F30's.

You never said what your budget was.
s7horton
1,077 posts
 
Not concerned about the so-called Revel power issue. This is one of these "I heard on the internet one time..." kind of statements.

Actually it's not. I've owned two pairs of M20's and one pair of F30's. It has nothing to do with what I heard on the internet. It has to do with personal experience. And me saying that Revels require more than average power to sound their best.

Of course the Manley sounded better than the Arcam. If you are going to compare power ratings, compare two of the small quality level.
More to discover