What power is required to drive Paradigm 100's

Replying to questions with more questions...

How loudly do you crank it up?
How large is the volume of your listening area? Is it smaller and maybe an enclosed area w/ 4 solid walls, or is it larger with maybe a cathedral ceiling or larger openings to other rooms or hallways?
Do you plan to employ "just" the 100s or also use a subwoofer?
And do you like your 3803 or do you really want to upgrade that too and the 100s could be a darned good reason? ;~)

All of those matter (along w/ any room treatment and maybe even what you usually listen to). The 100s do seem to love lotsa electrons so considering your amp section is a good thing now.

One last question - have you considered just adding an amp? You should be able to get something really decent here on A-gon if you don't mind used. There are all sorts of powerful options (depending on your budget), and you could probably just add the amp for a fraction of the cost of a new receiver.

You could just get the 100s and try them w/ the 3803 - if you like 'em as-is then you're not out of pocket for anything more than the speakers.

How big is your room and how loud do you wnat it to be? I'm running Studio 80s with a 100w/ch. Harman-Kardon 5 ch. amp and it gets plenty loud in my 25'x15' room. The Studio 100s should produce similar sound pressure leves with the same input...

-RW-

I too have upgraded from the 40's to the 80's. I know it's not the 100's, but I bought 4 Studio 80's and the Studio center channel. I am currently running a Yamaha RXV1 and still am not fully satisfied. The RXV1 is rated at 110 watts per channel. I think you will be wise to go to separates, or a power amp and use your receiver for a processor. I heard the 80's with a Bryston set up and the clarity and soundstage was unbelievable. If you can afford to buy the extra power, do it! Don't get me wrong, my setup is great, but after a year or so you start thinking about what it would sound like if I had separates, and so on.

The Studio 100's have the same published sensitivity as your Studio 60's. They both have 91 db/watt (in room) and 88 db/watt (anechoic). A Denon 3803 is rated at 110 watts per channel and that is well within the 15-350 watt "suitable amplifier power range" spec for the Paradigm Studio 100's.

If your question is really "how loud will my Denon drive them", then the answer can be calculated at this web page:

http://www.myhometheater.homestead.com/splcalculator.html

Plug in the following info:

Speaker sensitivity: 91
Amplifier power: 110
Distance: how far do you sit from the speakers?
Number of speakers: 2
Speaker placement: select the one that applies
Click "CALCULATE"

You will find that the room placement and distance from the speakers to your listening spot will make a big difference in how loud they will sound.
After you calc it with the correct input data, try running it again but bump the watts up to 200 or 250 to see what the difference would be. Keep in mind that anything over about 105 db is quite loud and every additional 3 db doubles the Sound Pressure Level.
While those 105+ db SPL might be more than you'd want to listen to, the higher power amplifiers typically have higher damping factors which translates into better control over the bass drivers under any conditions. That control is heard (and felt) as tighter, punchier, and often deeper bass with less tendency to distort and/or clip when played at high volume levels.

I used to own the original studio monitor, (which is basically the first studio 100).
The woofers bottomed-out a few times at high levels with a 250wpc Adcom 5800 power amplifier.
The sound was truly impressive though. These speakers come very close to the Servo-15 in absolute low frequency performance and cleanliness with a high-current amp.

I'd say the Denon is going to be more than adequate for anything but lease-breaking SPLs.
(coincidentally, I use a Denon 3802 as the front-end for my HT; it's a very nice receiver)

Thank You for your responses..
In response to some questions about the room-12x18 opens
to a hallway and a dinning room on the other side. The
ceilings are 8 ft. I listen at low to moderate volumes
and don't use a sub when listening. I don't really want to
upgrade my receiver, mostly because it's fairly new and
want to get a few more years out of it. It sounds like the 100's will work with the receiver, although it's not the
best option.. I'm hoping for a modest upgrade and it sounds like 100's might provide that. Thanks Again.

I have a pair of Paradigm Studio 100's and also a Denon 3803 A/V receiver. I find the Denon 3803 fine for home theater but sonically just not good enough for serious listening to music. And let me add that I'm a Denon fan: I've got two Denon DCD-1650AR CD players (great!) and two Denon PMA-2000IVR integrated stereo amps (great!). There is no comparison between the Denon 3803 and the PMA-2000IVR as an amp for music, not home theater--the PMA-2000IVR is far superior. I bought the Studio 100's brand new last year from a local dealer who was closing out all his Paradigm stock (I also bought a Paradigm Servo-15 subwoofer (great!)) and ran them for three months in my music system. They are not a difficult amplifier load and are reasonably efficient (91dB) so in terms of power you have enough in your 3803. But ultimately I retired my Studio 100's because I just couldn't take the hard, metallic quality of their metal-dome tweeters any longer. Lots of listener fatigue from these tweeters. However, if you already have Studio 60's and don't have a problem with the highs, evidently these tweeters don't bother you. The midrange and bass of the Studio 100's seemed fine to me, if not the last word in openness or transparency; it was the highs I couldn't live with. But I've felt that way about just about every metal-dome tweeter I've heard. Anyway, I've got a one-year-old, mint-condition pair of Studio 100's, with three months use on them, that I'll make you a hell of a deal on; they're just sitting here and I'm not getting any good out of them. Good luck.

I have the Denon 3803 and have added a Bryston 4B sst power amp 250 WPC and now my paradigm studio 100's V2 have come alive for the 1st time.

I used to have Studio 100s V! powered by a Bryston 4BST to excellent success. A Parasound amp will also do the trick.

Aragon 8008MKII, 200wpc at 8 ohms and 400 and 4ohms(or 8008BB--same amp) with my 100V2. You really need to power these speakers to get great results

The older (V1) 100's could dip to about 1 ohm which can cause problems for some amps, especially when being driven hard, and damage your speakers - most likely the tweeter. I don't know if the new 100's impedence curve is the same as the V1's or not. In my HT, I drive the my 100's with a separate amp from the receiver preamp outputs. You just need to make sure you cover all bases.

hello, i also have the studio 60 v2 and the denon pma 2000ivr and find that it is watts that the paradigms need but current. that's why the denon 2000ivr at 80 watts kills the denon receiver.

forgive the error. what i meant is it is NOT watts that the paradigms need but current.