@jtinn, I agree it’s not cool to talk down a competitor’s products without disclosing your own commercial interests. Rockport make some very well put together speakers & use some of the best composite cabinets in the business.
As far as the Paradigm Persona 9H speakers go, they use mostly car audio technology (eg: small diameter opposed active subs, ice amps, dual VC woofers etc). Dual VC woofers are 30 year old technology abandoned by Watkins Stereo almost 20 years ago. Today, no serious high end speaker manufacturer uses dual VC woofers.
I own Magico S5 Mk2 speakers. There is a reason why Magico don’t use Beryllium midrange driver cones and pure Beryllium tweeters (anymore). The S5 Mk2’s feature diamond-coated beryllium tweeters which provide an ideal balance between mass and stiffness. And the new robust motor system and long-throw voice coil design have lower distortion which allowed the breakup to be moved beyond the band pass, allowing seamless integration with the midrange driver.
The S5 Mk2’s use the exact same midrange drivers as the new $75k M3. From Magico’s press release - " The newly designed Magico six-inch midrange and seven-inch bass driver cones found in the M3 are both manufactured from Multi-Wall carbon XG Nanographene and a new proprietary ultra-stiff carbon weave which is 20% lighter and 300% stiffer than the cone material used in previous Magico loudspeaker offerings. The underhung neodymium base motor system provides an ultra-stabilized magnetic field for the pure Titanium voice coil to operate within. This radical new driver design offers the lowest THD in the industry and sets the performance benchmark for others to aspire to."
In the bass department, the S5 Mk2’s use all new 10" bass drivers with modified motor systems, extremely powerful magnets and ultra stiff aluminium cones & Nanographene dust caps which extend down to 20Hz and keep pace with the mid and high frequencies for a seamless whole. The big improvement in the S5 Mk2 is their lower distortion, greater coherency & improved sound staging. Off-axis performance is excellent; the mark of well engineered drivers, crossovers and cabinets.
If I were contemplating spending $35k on a pair of those Paradigm speakers, for the sake of an extra $3k, I would include the S5 Mk2s or new S3 Mk2’s (due soon) on my audition list. That’s the difference between high end, and aspiring high end speakers. Disclosure: I am not a dealer or distributor, just a happy end user.
As far as the Paradigm Persona 9H speakers go, they use mostly car audio technology (eg: small diameter opposed active subs, ice amps, dual VC woofers etc). Dual VC woofers are 30 year old technology abandoned by Watkins Stereo almost 20 years ago. Today, no serious high end speaker manufacturer uses dual VC woofers.
I own Magico S5 Mk2 speakers. There is a reason why Magico don’t use Beryllium midrange driver cones and pure Beryllium tweeters (anymore). The S5 Mk2’s feature diamond-coated beryllium tweeters which provide an ideal balance between mass and stiffness. And the new robust motor system and long-throw voice coil design have lower distortion which allowed the breakup to be moved beyond the band pass, allowing seamless integration with the midrange driver.
The S5 Mk2’s use the exact same midrange drivers as the new $75k M3. From Magico’s press release - " The newly designed Magico six-inch midrange and seven-inch bass driver cones found in the M3 are both manufactured from Multi-Wall carbon XG Nanographene and a new proprietary ultra-stiff carbon weave which is 20% lighter and 300% stiffer than the cone material used in previous Magico loudspeaker offerings. The underhung neodymium base motor system provides an ultra-stabilized magnetic field for the pure Titanium voice coil to operate within. This radical new driver design offers the lowest THD in the industry and sets the performance benchmark for others to aspire to."
In the bass department, the S5 Mk2’s use all new 10" bass drivers with modified motor systems, extremely powerful magnets and ultra stiff aluminium cones & Nanographene dust caps which extend down to 20Hz and keep pace with the mid and high frequencies for a seamless whole. The big improvement in the S5 Mk2 is their lower distortion, greater coherency & improved sound staging. Off-axis performance is excellent; the mark of well engineered drivers, crossovers and cabinets.
If I were contemplating spending $35k on a pair of those Paradigm speakers, for the sake of an extra $3k, I would include the S5 Mk2s or new S3 Mk2’s (due soon) on my audition list. That’s the difference between high end, and aspiring high end speakers. Disclosure: I am not a dealer or distributor, just a happy end user.