Paradigm bookshelf speakers...

Photonman, I'll tell ya, if you like the Paradigm sound, be sure to check out the Studio 40 v3, if you have the opportunity. In my experience, they were the best of the line.

I had the Studio 10s recently. My impression of them was that they like power. If I'm reading the impedance graphs on the Studio 10s correctly, they spend a good bit of time dipping down into the 4 ohm range.

They had good bass for a speaker their size. My room doesn't have a lot of treatments. Bare walls and tile floors and my experience was that they can get bright and a bit thin in the mid range. I just couldn't listen to the likes of Nora Jones or Cyndi Lauper. It was so shrill that the hairs on the back of my neck would stand up. They were also pretty forward, although this may have worked itself out with more breaking in.

If the amp you're looking at can provide the power down to 4 ohms and has more of a laid back character and your room is setup for them, it could work.

The 10 did pretty well for music, but where I thought they really excelled was home theater. The little speaker can provide some slam.

Photonman,

Did you prefer the 20 because they had more bass and played louder or because they sounded better? In all of the places that I tried the 10s and 20s, the 10s had a better mid range than the 20s.