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B&W 602s or Paradigm Monitor 5s

I like the sound of both speakers but have never heard them side by side. They cost about the same so any advice would be appreciated. I will power them with a Denon 3802 reciever and use them for 50/50 for music and movies. The speakers will be put into shevles in a built-in bookshelf which will be about 24" deep. My room is 25'x16' with the speakers at one end and my couch will be in the middle about 15' away. I mostly listen to live recordings (not always a very good source) of Widespread Panic and the Grateful Dead. I also listen to acoustic and classic rock a good bit. I love watching concert DVDs of all kinds of music. I will be using a Hsu VT2 subwoofer as well. Any recommendations.....
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joe_b
421 posts
 
If the Paradigms are rear ported, they will likely not work very well. Personally, I prefer the B&W's but I have only compared them to the Paradigm Studio 20's. Also, I use a tube amp with mine and I did not like the way they sound with SS, but that is a matter of taste.
rar1's avatar
rar1
1,748 posts
 
With a little research you can come across the TAS review of the Paradigm Monitor 5. Even though they recommend the speaker, two of the comments they make deal with the fussiness of speaker placement and the nature of the bass port.
shahens
27 posts
 
I've auditioned both speakers and ended up buying the monitor 5s. To me, they sounded alot more "alive" and detailed than the B&Ws. Once you get their positioning right, the soundstage is awesome, but keep in mind that they are rear ported and somehow, they produce a tremendous amount of bass. I had to pull mine about 24 inches away from the wall and plugged the ports to contain the bass. If you are planning on placing them in a built in bookshelf, IMO I don't think they will sound the way they should and you may end up being pretty dissapointed. Keep us posted as to what you end up going with.
Cheers
Shahen
timf
237 posts
 
I own the 602s. I have to say that they are very picky about where they were placed, and this was with a book shelf as a starting point. I think they give their best with a bit of space and on a solid stand. Sound wise, Ive thought they do better with jazz/bluegrass/folk than with rock. When not too long ago I went looking for a speaker that did better with Rock music, Paradigm came up again and again.
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