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Thiel 1.5 vs. Paradigm Reference Studio 60

I am setting up a small home theater (12 x 16 ft room) and am considering a pair of used Thiel 1.5s vs. Paradigm 60s vs. PSB 4T. I have heard Thiels before in a different venue, and liked them. I have Maggies in my main listening room. However, in this smaller room I must put the front spkrs on the short wall (12 ft) and I am concerned about the Thiels in this regard. There is only the possibility of leaving 1.5 to 2 feet between the speakers and the side walls and the same to the front wall. I will be driving the speakers with a Sherwood Newcastle 9080 (120W 8Ohms, 170W 4 Ohms). I will be using an M&K sub. In terms of music, I listen to mainly Jazz, Folk and some Rock. I will be using the system for Video as well. Some people have commented that the Thiels will not give as much impact but I do like the detail of the Thiels. Clarity in the vocals is also something I appreciate. One additional thought was that perhaps a smaller monitor speaker on a stand might serve as well (Paradigm 20?). Any comments / help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Steve Gross
Tampa, FL
flomantampa
3 responses Add your response
vaystrem
80 posts
 
From a previous thread:
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?cspkr&1072447746

If you are looking at the Paradigm 60s you really - really need to give the Quad 21Ls a listen. I personally was considering another model in the Paradigm Reference Studio line before I ended up going with the Quad 21Ls and I have not looked regretted it at all.
avalon65
20 posts
 
I own the Studio 60s v2 and originally powered them with a 110W Yamaha receiver for HT. I am really not much of a movie watcher and have since ditched the receiver for a 150W Odyssey amp. What a difference in two channel listening! The 60s are on the down side of inefficient at 87-89dB. They like power! I noticed the biggest difference in the midrange between the Odyssey and the Yamaha. Since you'll be using a sub, I'd suggest saving the cash and going with the 40s or the 20s. If you can't get a home demo of the speakers, I would take the Sherwood to the speakers for a listen. I don't think you can go wrong with the Paradigms. They're a great value. Best of luck.
jihley
74 posts
 
Hi, I had both speakers and the Thiel's are much less forgiving regarding the source material. I loved the detail and the lack of speaker sound (more like live music) of them, but I had trouble sometimes with too much upper bass (boomy) from the passive unit they have. They do sound best at low volumes that most any speaker. I would get a smaller monitor on stands to do the job you want in that small room. Look at (don't laugh) Boston Acoustics VRM-60"s Milo
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