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Upgrade from Paradigm Prestige to Persona

Hi,

I need some advice and guidance please...

I have Prestige 75F fronts, 45C, 15B surrounds, SVS SB16, and 7 Paradigm Millenias as surround back and heights. All powered by Denon X8500H.

I am considering upgrading the fronts to Personas, but I have so many questions in mind... For better music quality...

1) Is the difference in sound quality worth the investment? Am I going to be blown away with the upgrade from the Prestige? Note: I never got the chance ti listen to it... No Persona dealers in my country, I will have to import it.

2) If I upgrade the L/R “only” to Persona, would they still work well together with the remaining Prestige/Millenias for movies? Can I postpone replacing the center, and keep the Prestige 45C for now? Until Paradigm releases a small center Persona ;)

3) The 5F is so appealing to me, but the 3F is much more gentle on my budget. How would they compare together? Is it just a little bit more dynamic range and lower frequency, and that’s it? Or there might me other quality enhancements? Would the 3Fs paired with a decent subwoofer compare well to the 5Fs? I assume the 3F with a Sub2 would outperform the 5F in every possible way... Note: My budget doesn’t allow for 5Fs + subwoofer.

After I decide what I will do with the speakers first, I will have to think about upgrading their amp, and maybe consider a stereo preamp as well.

Thanks in advance,

Seif
seif
contuzzi
413 posts
 
They are incredible for HT.  I'd absolutely do a Persona B as a center and sell the Prestige one you have though.  I have had a lot of center channels over the year, up to a Viva Utopia, and the persona B as a center is the best I've ever heard.  It's nuts.

Oh, and go with the 3F because they're a way way better value and I think way underpriced compared to the rest of the line.
yyzsantabarbara
4,463 posts
 
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/paradigm-persona-3f-setup-recommendations-for-cinema-music?hi...
seif OP
6 posts
 

@contuzzi, I never thought of using the Bookshelf for center... But why not, if I am bass managing it anyway... It will have a bigger midrange driver than the center speaker...
Maybe I should try and test my 15B as a center and see how does that go...

Thanks for the insight.

@yyzsantabarbara , thanks for the useful link.
irave
16 posts
 
In a similar situation I purchased my 3F speakers without hearing them first.  Actually, I did not even hear any Paradigm speaker so I wasn't familiar with the "house sound" as you are.

You may be off to a good start if you already enjoy the Paradigm sound and have complementary equipment.  

However, my setup wasn't ideal for the 3Fs initially. I experienced what many people say about them being bright. With the Persona line, you have one camp that saying they're bright and another camp saying they're smooth and great. It all comes down to setup!

Some things that helped a lot:
1) Careful positioning. Widening them apart, aiming a little more straight ahead changed the sound a lot.
2) Good speaker cables. I recently installed a pair of Audio Sensibility Testament Bi-Wire cables, which had a great impact on the overall tonal balance of the speakers. More lows-mids, smooth highs. This ended my use of DSP to "fix" the treble.
3) Use decent interconnects/power cables with shielding. interference can also introduce distortion that can make the top end seem harsh.

These speakers are sensitive, and work best when those bases are covered, IMO.  

benzman's avatar
benzman
384 posts
 
Forget the center channel. Run phantom with 5fs and you will be glad. Great center image. People come over all the time and say where is the center channel? 

Plus it gets a speaker out of the way. Try it   
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