Paradigm 3f vs 120h

@audiotroy Are the founders series more laid back compared to the personas? 

@dep14 Thanks for taking the time to describe your experience with these.
I might be off topic a bit but I had a similar experience to you but with Klipsch.

I always had Klipsch my whole life, and something kept bothering me. Specifically the latest RF7 iii. They are never harsh or bright. Suprisingly it seems really toned down and you can never say they are bright or harsh but somehow after listening for more than 10-15minutes I get tired. Fatiguing but couldn’t tell why. Only in music.

Decided to sell and ordered a pair of the Paradigm Founder 100f.
auditioned them recently with an STR integrated, and was shocked at how much better music sounded! Decided to go with the 100f since I already have 2 high end subwoofers and also a strong amplifier to handle their bass drivers (Parasound JC5).

I haven’t received my founders yet. I really hope they keep up at really loud volumes for movie watching. Regardless, for music they are the best sounding speakers I ever heard.

(And I have also compared them to B&W 700 series, Martin Logan Motion XT F200, KEF R11 Meta)

Can’t wait.

@mdhowes Yes I ve had the 100F for a few months now. They are nothing like the Klpsch RF7 iii I had before.Both have their strengths and weaknesses.

The klipsch sounded much more airy, think live concert feeling. Tweeter was much more direct and seemed nice but overtime I felt fatigue when listening to music. No fatigue in movies or TV though and I watch movies close to reference level.
Anyway, I felt the midrange was lacking in music with the klipsch so I decided to try the Founder 100f.

So in comparison, the founder are much more laid back/mellow. Stronger bass for sure and now there is a nice midrange presence!!! Vocals sound amazing in music.

The only downside for me is the tweeter. It’s not bad by any means, it just seems too laid back and doesn’t have that sparkle that the Klipsch horn had.
It’s never fatiguing which is nice but to me it seems it like the ’s’ is sizzling in the highs. Sounds more like sizzling instead of sparkling. Really hard for me to explain.

KEF tweeter has a nice sparkling sound, same as Klipsch but the Founders sizzle the highs. I must sound crazy lol.

The Klipsch could play much much louder without compressing or sounding stressed. The paradigm can play loud yes but its obvious there is a limit much sooner. I don’t think its my amplifier or equipment, I run them with an AVM90 and Parasound JC5 (600W into 4Ohm)

In general it’s more enjoyable to listen to music with the Paradigm, hence why I stuck with them. If I only cared about movies or playing super loud then definitely the Klipsch RF7 were the better pick. But for mixed usage or only music I would say the Paradigm are more balanced and sound nicer.
Also they look fantastic, like piece of art.


Note: I demoed the Martin Logan Motion XT F100 and those had the best tweeter I ever heard!! Airy and lively like the Klipsch but never fatiguing!! Also have a midrange driver and strong bass response.

I did not go for them because the front baffle seems so cheap in person.. like cheap plastic.

@mdhowes The 120h is the exact same thing but would have more headroom since the bass is handled by internal amplifier. Stronger bass/mid bass too.
If you have good external subwoofers then not sure if its worth going for the 120h over 100f. The tweeter is identical and the midrange but have slightly different crossover points.

I would assume the persona have a much better tweeter. Some people love them but some think they are too forward sounding. I have no experience with them

You really need to listen to a founder series speaker to decide if you like the tweeter sound characteristics. Maybe try a smaller bookshelf one and possibly have the option to return after you demo.


 

@mdhowes also KEF R11 meta is a nice speaker. Really balanced/neutral sound if that is what you are after.