The following reviewer has some interesting observations on how to connect the speaker wire to the Persona’s (see section CONNECTION METHOD). https://www.hifi-advice.com/blog/review/loudspeaker-reviews/loudspeakers-passive-reviews/paradigm-persona-b/ The reviewer was also surprised that the Persona sounded very good with a Bryston 4B3. I thought it would have been too neutral. He did prefer a Class A amp more. I am going to take a second listen to the 3F with the Benchmark AHB2 that I now own. I will get 1 more of these amps (for mono block setup) before I go for a local demo. The AHB2 is similar to the Bryston 4B3. The fact that the 3F does not go too low is actually a great feature for me and the room I am looking to place them in. The 5F has too much bass for my room. I heard the 5F with the neutral sounding SimAudio 860a, I liked that demp a lot. So maybe neutral amps are not too bad with the Persona. The poster above, @cdamiller5, with the SimAudio 760a pairing is also giving me confidence on trying a neutral amp with the Persona,. |
After owning three pairs of Paradigms and a quick listen at a dealer they’re clearly the companies best effort and remain lacking the cohesive emotion I’ve found from my current speakers.
The dealer powered up a pair of JL Audio F series subs with the big Persona’s for a dramatic demonstrative comparison.
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"I own 9hs, the persona center, 4 Bs for surround, with BHK monoblocks, BHK Preamp. I love the speakers but there is no low end, so I got a couple JL 113v2 subs now everything sound really good. I would never buy these speakers without the subs, the powered subs in the 9hs are useless. Buy the 7s and a couple subs and save 10k. Best mid and high end ever but very poor bass."
I've been waiting for this and knew it wouldn't take long on this site. This is the new high water mark of hilariousness on this forum.
If you think the bass on ANY persona speaker is "bad," let alone the 9H, I can't help but laugh out loud. You quite simply do not know how to position speakers in a room, or you have the mind set of getting car audio bass out of your system (aka have never learned what bass should actually sound like).
You should learn the basics of speaker setup/positioning/acoustics etc.
Or..... your Personas are broken. Maybe you should reach out to your dealer so they can come and hold your hand.
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I recently demo’d the 3f at a dealer playing on classe electronics. I wouldn’t be happy with the bass absent a subwoofer.
Whether you like the beryllium tweeter and midrange is personal preference Very detailed |
@kennyc
I figured that if I found a speaker I love, then it’s possible to recreate that sound as long as I do my part by surrounding it with supporting components and maybe room conditions
I agree, that is the art form.
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Pairing Emotiva to the Persona series, I would try some upper echelon AudioQuest cables or Nordost Norse series, Frey 2 or TYR 2.
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I also owned the Persona B bookshelf. While I agree the series can be a bit bright, it can be paired to sound absolutely outstanding. Well worth the money! Very transparent and detailed |
I have the 3 F and I paired them with Simaudio 760A and Nordost TYR 2 speaker cable. Incredible and not harsh |
Speakers preferences can be very subjective. For instance, while demoing speakers I tried very hard to love Wilson’s, KEF, Revel, etc, but while sounding great they didn’t rock my boat (getting deeply touched/lost emotionally into the music).
But Magico and YG constantly did (not 100% at all times - the entire audio chain along with the room conditions matters).
I figured that if I found a speaker I love, then it’s possible to recreate that sound as long as I do my part by surrounding it with supporting components and maybe room conditions.
Demo the speakers with your components would be ideal. But like most of us you may have to just take your chances which may lead you to swap other components, or not, until your ideal sonics is achieved.
It’s great if you find a speaker that you love, even better if you can afford it...without too much mental/financial grief. |
I own 9hs, the persona center, 4 Bs for surround, with BHK monoblocks, BHK Preamp. I love the speakers but there is no low end, so I got a couple JL 113v2 subs now everything sound really good. I would never buy these speakers without the subs, the powered subs in the 9hs are useless. Buy the 7s and a couple subs and save 10k. Best mid and high end ever but very poor bass. |
I’m using two Emotiva UPA-1 mono block amps. |
i heard them all but the 7’s and they’re extremely dynamic and revealing but exceptionally harsh at the same time which makes them irritating after a few songs
if you have hearing loss in the upper register it may not affect you though but for me it was a deal breaker |
What are you using for amplification ?
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Search the site. The Personas were the subject of several pretty contentious threads a while ago. |
Not cheap, but a lot for the money |
Hi Todd, We appreciate your enthusiasm for our speakers. Only the 9H is sealed, along with a vibration cancelling design. The other floor standing models have ports in the bottom - no passive radiators. Here is a link to our Persona Series and if you have time, please enjoy the brief YouTube videos showing a little more in depth info about them. https://www.paradigm.com/en/overview/series/persona-series We appreciate your interest and please let us know how/if we can further assist you, but you should be in capable hands at your Dealer. Cheers, Chris |
