Anybody getting Paradigm Studio 100's to image?


Can these speakers produce a convincing soundstage and a realistic center image, or are they just a good speaker to rock out with? My Dunlavys are going and I have a chance to pick a pair of the studio 100 v1's for about $500. I heard them in a store once and they seemed to be pretty dynamic and have good bass. I just cant remember if they imaged well. Are these "reference speakers" or are they just a notch or two above circuit city stuff?
chris96
IMO they will probably never image as well as your Dunlavy's. I had the 40's and bought them over the 60's because they imaged better but not great. I think Paradigms are a pretty good speakers at their price point but better to be had out there. Be careful, Paradigm's can be brutally bright in the wrong setup. Good Luck.
It depends on your set-up including room and electronics. They'll never image like monitors but they definately are way better than Circuit city stuff. I had the 40v2's and they imaged really well. The 100v2's that I have now don't image as well but there's more body to the sound that is more lifelike and open sounding. You definately get a nice center fill with them. I've owned mostly monitors like the 40v2s, Totem Rokks and Totem Model Ones and ProAc Tablettes and Dynaudio 1.3s. That's the way to go for great imaging and soundstaging. But for the dynamics of live music and accurate, great bass the Paradigms are hard to beat
I owned the V1 and V2, both powered by a McIntosh C22 / MC275 combination. I had no problem with imaging. The V2 is a better speaker, but as stated above, can be a little tipped up in the high notes, even when using tubes. If you can get a pair for $500. GO FOR IT.
I've got the Studio 60's V1. I've got them imaging just fine, definatly Bi-wire them and assuming your electronics are good enough you'll be there. All the little things matter with micro current issues that enable imaging.
Use good interconnects and speaker cables to enable these micro currents to be passed along, give it the cleanest power you can (dedicated outlets, or power conditioner) to keep the AC grunge from obscuring things. Put good isolation thingies underneath you components (sorbethane pucks or vibrapods are cheap). All these things mattered in getting my Digm's to image.
I have the 100 v3's and they image rather well, especially to the center. It was crucial for my setup to have them positioned juuuuuuuust right, toed in, with the imaginary lines from the drivers meeting at the apex of a triangle about 1 foot behind the listener's head. Imaging was good with the original amp, a B&K ST140, improved with Dakiom Feedback stabilizers, then seemed to improve again with Odyssey Extreme Monos (what a huge jump up in sound quality THAT was!), and then got less "bright" with second generation Dakiom stabilizers. The original 100's and the version 2's did not seem quite as good as the V3's when I listened to them, though (but listening time with those earlier versions is limited).

Also, still not totally satisfied with the treble (very good, but still a little harsh, IMO) and may switch to another speaker such as Lorelei's by Odyssey.
Oh yes, and as Richmon said, DEFINITELY bi-wire, an instant and immediately noticeable improvement in imaging. Very important point.
ALso VERY important to keep the bi-wires apart for the entire run by AT LEAST a few inches. Bi-wire cables that are all together in one sleeve should be avoided. 2 seperate runs are the best.