Paradigm Studio 100 V5 $3500pr

Big Boy Towers!

          Let’s face it, our wives often govern which speakers land in our living rooms because of the size. She almost never wants a full sized tower in the room. Yet, if we had our druthers, we would like a good sized tower to give us the full flavored music we want.

          Whether you coerce your bride into allowing these into the living room, or if you set up your system in the lower level or elsewhere in the Man Cave, if you have the option to go with sizeable towers, we have the speaker for you!

          The Paradigm Studio 100 has been around for a decade. Paradigm keeps updating it. The most recent update, V5, was the biggest update ever. The update was so dramatic that it could have justified a new designation. But Paradigm realizes that audiophiles have grown to know that the term Studio 100 means something special. It means big, lifelike sound at a fair price. Paradigm builds The S-100 in house in Canada.

          The newish version of S-100 features real wood cabinets that are curved. Paradigm avoids standing waves by avoiding rectangular boxes. The tweeter is Paradigm’s 1” Gold Anodized “G-Pal” design. The 7” Midrange is a metalized cone called S-Pal. The Satin Anodized mid provides a fast, clear sound. S-100 has three 7” Mineral filled, Polypropylene cones. All of these drivers are mounted on gigundo heavy frames that bolt to the speaker baffle. There result is a ton of gusto! S-100 comes with outrigger feet to provide stability. You can use spikes with them- or not.

          This heavy duty, 3-way, five driver array, provides lots of muscle! It does so with very high efficiency, 93dB! The only way you’ll get noticeably more efficiency is to run horns- which introduce their own set of concerns. Because the S-100 is so efficient, odds are good that you can run them with whatever amp you currently own. Having said that, S-100 is quite revealing and you can definitely benefit from having a big time amp like Rotel’s RB-1582 (200x2, $1500). The S-100 has more to give you- if you feed it more!

          Paradigm does not apologize for the size (44 1/8h, 9 1/2w/ 16 15/16d, 80lbs) of these big boy towers. If your goal is to give you the feeling that the jazz trio (for example) is in the room with you, you’ve got to move enough air to make it feel live. S-100 is up for the challenge.

          Whether you need just a pair of speakers for great stereo performance, or if you’re running a home theater with surround sound, the S-100 is a great choice. Not coincidentally, Paradigm has matching centers, surrounds and subs!