Good question. I listened to the Kanta 1 against the b with the anthem str integrated driving them and it wasn’t even close, the persona was much better. The STR kit wasn’t my favorite pairing with the persona tho’ and with warmer electronics we get the resolution and little bit of warmth in the midrange so many recordings lack.
I saw on another site attractive prices for the 3f...I bought a pair of 7f because the price was to good to pass up and as unfreakinbelievable as they sound it's like driving a sportbike around a school zone all day. The persona b will be my next speaker. The hard part will be convincing my mrs that Red with a black front baffle will match our bedroom. |
It's been suggested I give the dynaudio special 40 a listen also. |
Oh wow, I can imagine that 7F pump up the room with bass if played a little louder. And of course I understand the WAF challenge :)).
Mainly I was wondering how especially the Mids compare between the Paradigm Persona B and the larger models, because the B‘s 2 Hi/Mid-Bass Chassis are all Beryllium and are the same (!) chassis as in the larger models, but has to play deep down to 36 Hz, while e.g. at the 3F, the same driver will be cut off at 450 Hz and the woofers take over.
I think this difference of Persona B compared to larger models could possibly lead to a better, more natur timbre of voices due to no need of blending to Bass frequency, on the other hand the Persona B might suffer from less resolution, because Mid-speaker also has to play the bass frequencies.
Any thoughts / experience about this?
Thanks 👍🏻 |
I heard the following before I bought an old time favorite instead. In order of preference of these new speakers (which I heard). These were demoed to fit into a small room. I have a virtual system of this room with photos to give some perspective.
#1 Yamaha NS5000*
#2 Vivid Kaya 90 (though I would have gotten the Kaya45)
#3 Paradigm Person 3F (5F was too big for the room but sounded great)
#4 TAD ME1*
#5 Magico A3
#6 KEF Reference 1 (the expected META tech may move this up)*
#7 Vandersteen Treo CT
If I had bought any of these speakers I would have been very happy with any of them.
* means stand mount. The Magic A1 stand mount maybe better than the A3 (just a guess).
I should add that I heard the 9H recently and it sounded worse than the 3F (at the same dealer) and the 5F at another dealer. It was a config issue for that room. The bass on the 9H was staggering. Though likely goosed up via the DSP on the speaker and likely the cause of my dissatisfaction.
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Fritz speakers are supposed to be one of the worlds best. They cost a fraction of the cost of the paradigms. |
This makes no sense because a stand mounted speaker has roughly the same footprint as a floor standing speaker. Why would anyone object to one over the other? Rather silly.
Oz |
or if you want cream of crop try Dynaudio confidence 20 and vimberg amea
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@kenjit what are the sound differences between the
Dynaudio confidence 20 and vimberg amea? I was interested in both myself. |
Op we are a major paradigm dealer with 9h bs and the 3fs on display
We also sell atc legacy golden ear kef and the extra ordinary jern monitors from denmark
The persona b when driven correcctly are prety amazing
They sound lik a leaner less bassier version of the 3f
If you want more info please contact us
Dave and troy
Audio intellect nj
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@audiotroy
Thx, do you also ship to Europe/Germany?
can you tell me your quotes for 3F, B and Sub please.
shipping extra of course. |
@kenjit what are the sound differences between the Dynaudio confidence 20 and vimberg amea? I was interested in both myself.
Havent heard either. But since nobody mentioned them I thought I would. |
Hi. I have the Persona 9h’s in my main two channel listening room. I have them paired with the Anthem STR Preamp and STR Amp. I also have the Persona B’s w/ stands in my den. I have the B’s paired with the Anthem STR Integrated. As you would expect, there is a difference between the two. That said, the Persona B’s are great. Very easy to listen to. I purchased them after I had the 9h’s for a while. Did not really audition them against anything else. Loved the 9h’s that much and figured it was a safe bet. Definitely not disappointed! |
Thanks mi4.
How large is the room where you are listening to the B’s ?
Would you say they sound “complete” or is the bass energy of dedicated bass chassis somehow missing (without comparison to the 9 of course)?
And last but not least how would you rate a) resolution and b) sound of voices compared to the 9?
Thanks for helping 👍🏻
Best
Robert
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The persona B are slightly warmer voiced than the rest of the line.
They’re absolutely sensational. Highly recommended, and I’ve heard a LOT of the competition in the price range. Someone mentioned the Kanta vs persona and I agree. The persona is better competition for the sopra no1, but in some ways better. I’d say the only thing the sopra has over the persona is being a more open soundstage.
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Thanks all for your responses, I appreciate 👍🏻 |
The room I have my Persona B’s in measures 12’ x 14’. The ceiling height is 9’. No special acoustic treatment. I did run ARC via the Anthem STR Integrated. For a bookshelf speaker, I find the sound field complete with a natural balance. Will be difficult to find a bookshelf where the “bass energy” is going to compare side-by-side with a floor standing speaker of similar quality. That said, in my room I do not find myself missing any “bass energy” from the B’s. I am sure a side-by-side comparison with the Persona 3f’s would have you hearing more “bass energy” coming from the 3f’s. If you have the space and budget I would suggest trying out the 3f’s. If you were planning to get the Persona stands with the B’s, the price differential is somewhat close ($10k for a pair of the 3f’s vs, $8.2k for a pair of the B’s/stands). |
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Is that a Musicbook? How you like it? I have the 5 fs w/ a swarm sub system. Are you getting enough low end with the 3f’s? Can’t help but think you would need a sub w/ the B’s. I just switched over to Silversmith Fidelium speaker cables and the are a nice match with the Personas. |
Musicbook Source is simply amazing, very transparent while being musical and dead quiet. The Class-D amp I am not sore sure yet - everything perfect, very powerful (2x 500watts) but al little uninspiring and rather dry - compared to Pass Class A.
That is why today I ordered a pair of Pass Labs XA 60.8 and a pair of Paradigm Persona B plus the Paradigm Persona sub.
I hope this system will sound great, while respecting my wife‘s need for a living room, that doesn‘t look too much like a tech boy‘s play room :)) She hates large speakers no matter what they look like. She said the 3F looked like plastic and design from the 90s 🙄 |
@benzmando the Silversmith Fidelium speaker cables „soft“ or „round“ the very high resolution of the Persona‘s a little bit?
I was thinking about adding a quiet Tube preamp between Lindemann Musicbook Source and the Pass XA 60.8 amps to add a little richness ontop of the overall sound and to make less ideal recordings sound easier to listen to (Spotify and so on..) |
Rob
I really wanted the Source figuring I could get away from a preamp but couldn't wait on it as it was delayed coming out
the fidelium are a great match for my 5fs as the Personas have a little bump in the upper midrange and the Be tweeter is very revealing. I have a Cary dac which uses an AKM chipset which is on the warmer side and a tube Rogue Rp 7 which is very neutral for a tube pre. The Fidelium are perfect up top. Very detailed but not rolled off or warm. Just a very well balanced sound. The Fidelium really shine in the bass with a very textured and defined bass. Depending on how you are hooking up your sub, I think it they would be killer with a speaker level hook up.
Should have thrown some grills on the 3fs. Your wife would have liked them much better 😃 Have fun with the Personas. Once you get them dialed in with cabling you are going to love them. The folks that don't like them hear them not properly matched with electronics and wiring. They are not a plug and play speaker. |
Looking forward to hearing your impression. Congrats. |
"This makes no sense because a stand mounted speaker has roughly the same footprint as a floor standing speaker. Why would anyone object to one over the other?" Overall appearance? Floorstanders are harder to knock over? (that is why I switched) |
@ benzman: Thank you, that sounds very promising. I guess since Hi/Mid chassis in B and the larger F’s are the same, the revealing hi frequency part and their need for cautious cable matching is the same. Will definitely check out your cables. Interestingly the Lindemann Source also uses an AKM chipset (AK4493), the Cary DMS700 I just checked even uses the newer AK4497. About the 3F - unfortunately no chance - she can”r connect to large Hi-Fi gear standing around in the living room 😆.
I expect connecting and matching the sub will become an interesting challenge, I will try out the sub”s ARC software to achieve better results. The B+sub combo might lead to even better results compared to 3F if properly matched. The sub is supposed to have a lot of bass energy.
Another task will be to decide if and which tube preamp will lead to better overall sound without too harsh sound on less than ideal recordings. This is also important for me.
Best would probably be to find a fully loaded tube-dac-preamp-dsp, that does everything right
- rich forgiving tube sound
- quit preamp function
- no degrading volume control
- musical and transparent dac
- up to date streamer
- fully balanced design and connection
- room correction incl subwoofer matching
Any idea if there is such a monster 😄?
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... and Cary DSM550 uses even the same AK4493 chip 👍🏻 |
The source that convinced me the personas were the real deal was the Pathos logos mk2. I’d heard them with the anthem str integrated and separates but the pathos just warmed up the mids the way I like em. |
Persona = Bright very Revealing = Bright, not ear bleed as some have some have said but absolutely Bright.
Course I'm running the STR Int and for the money love it and does everything I want as well as ARC. ARC def helps integrate the bass into the system that even some meticulous time with a sound meter and test time can't achieve. Hard to beat a PC and Sound being processed without much ado.
I do agree there is hardly a difference between floor standers and book shelves on a stand, lost floor space is still lost, course the 9H's could be a different subject.
I'm still playing with my 3Fs, some room treatment and moving the speakers, in my case a very slight toe in has helped tame the beast, but coming off a silk domed tweeter speaker these metal tweeters and midrange are truly more in your face.
In my case my better and more patient other half loves the look of these guys, perhaps their saving salvation. Otherwise I might be looking at SF's taking their place.
But alas it's a hobby and like all hobbies requires some effort to appreciate what satisfaction comes from said hobby. |
