Personas....7F vs 9H

Hello guys, 

Here is how we as a Persona dealer would talk about the two speakers.

On paper there is really very little difference between the two models. 

In reality there is a very  large difference in what makes the 9H so special.

The factor is the speaker's adaptablity, we have three different ancedotes on the 9H.

First experience 2016 New York Audio show where we had the 9H in a small hotel room.

Second experience: 9H at a clients home in a very ordinary not large living room.

Third experience: 9H in our shwroom a 26 by 20 room open to several other rooms.

The prevailing factor is the 9H room correction gave us great bass in all three rooms. 

The shocker was the hotel room which was 18 by 14 and with the  active room correction giving us shocking tight bass which didn't over load the room with excellent pitch.

So the take away is that the room correction of the 9H enables you to have a speaker system which can work in almost any room with fantastic results.

So if one were to purchase a set of 9H they can take the speakers with them even in case of having to move rooms or homes. 

The 7's really don't sound any different it is the ability to have superb bass without the hastle of having to result to bass traps or hemholtz resonators which makes the 9H so appealing.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ

Tutetimiimperes,

Innteresting idea. We recently sold a set of Persona 3F with the much less expensive Paradigm SW 2000 sub, which is still a monster sized sub, we sold that sub to play with the SW 1000 which is smaller and less expensive  Our idea was to be able to offer a $13k combo of woofer and 3F which will be ideal for many clients.

The larger 5F will still sound better because it is a physically larger loudspeaker so it will still sound larger than a 3F plus sub but not go as low.

Yes dual Persona subs would be amazing, but at the price point of $7,500 each dual subs plus a set of 5F you would be at the cost of the 9H's

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ

DVDboulet, there is very little difference between the 7 and the 9, sonically, they are the same speaker with the difference being a slightly deeper bass response in the 9H

The real advantage the active bass system is in the speakers adaptability.

If you have a larger room and have lattitude where to position the speakers the 7 will be perfect, if the room is smaller then a good sized room lets say 25-30 foot long, 18+ wide etc, the 9H will be ble to produce tight non boomy bass.

So it comes down to room size, and positioning.

If someone has the extra budget the 9H would be better, as the bass will always be good, and if not and the room has size and the ability to position the speakers go with the 7.

Hope that helps.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ

Thanks Prof and Kdude.

Kdude the hot ticket in the line is the 3F which for the extra money just delivers way more performance then the Bs, at $7k plus stands vs $10k no stands and you have much deeper bass, makes the 3F the best value in fact, Paradigm has admitted that they make very little money on the 3F's.

We tested JL Audio's subs, which we love and the SVS FB 13 which was not as fast or as clean as the JL audio. The Paradigm SW 1000 and the 2000 are really terrific, the SW  2000 actually sounded better to us then the mighty JL Fathom 113v2 which we also display. 

In terms of the 3F vs the 5F the 5F still sound better due to the larger physical size of the 5F and the way a larger speaker projects sound into a room aside from the extra bass.

Kdude the Lawrence are nice speakers so if you like them that is great, we love Ribbons tweeters. 

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ

Prof,

We take the Rel approach, we don't recommend any crossover going to the main speakers;

We recomend using the crossover frquency and level controls to bring up the subwoofer to the point of acoutical roll off of the mains. 

Play a bass heavy track and then turn on and off the subwoofer, while repeating the track. Bass heavy should be a bass guitar, standup bass, not electronic.

When the blend is good the sub should be felt rather than heard. A good subwoofer is adding pressure to the leading and trailing notes of the main speakers. 

Tightness of bass is also related to where the sub is located in the room, avoiding corner loanding and keeping the sub on the same plane as the main speakers and moving the subs position also helps to tune the bass for tightness and definition. 

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ