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Alternatives to the Paradigm S4?

I'm in the process of moving to an apartment and I'm looking for a pair of bookshelf speakers. I want Neodymium magnets, a fair amount of flexibility with amp pairings. So no horns or electrostatics, plus it's an apartment so there probably won't be room. I use a pair of Paradigm Monitor 7's right now with a 20/40w Cary. They spec's say down to 15 watts and based on my experience I believe it, so I could go with a true SET integrated or something. I want speakers that are pretty much actually within +/-.5 dB of each other, and a speaker firm large enough to have an active development division. No cabinet makers with soldering skills. This unfortunately leaves the pickings pretty slim: I might be willing to settle (ha) for a pair of Revel M20/M22's (not sure if they are Neodymium), or the Paradigm S4's. I've heard the M20's powered pretty well with tubes, so I'm not worried. I have liked the JM Labs Mini Utopia Be (but not at $6000., and I suspect I would like the Merlins, but again I have to eat also. Anyone have any thoughts on a couple of others I might try out?
biomimetic
s7horton
1,077 posts
 
Why are you dead set on Neodymium magnets? Also, I would say the Revels are fairly power hungary. Having owned both the M20's and the F30's.

You never said what your budget was.
rlwainwright
1,904 posts
 
Look at the new Gallo AV series - neodymium magnets, killer sound and looks:

http://roundsound.com/reference-speakers.htm

-RW-
biomimetic OP
252 posts
 
More powerful magnets = more accurate sound in theory. Not concerned about the so-called Revel power issue. This is one of these "I heard on the internet one time..." kind of statements. Heard them with 20 tube watts, powered by Manley, Heard them with more than a hundred powered by Arcam. Better with the Manley. Interesting about the Gallos. I hadn't considered them. I'll put them on the list. My budget is not more than $3200-ish + bookshelf speaker. I have seen the JM LAbs Utopia Be's for around this used.
gmood1
1,251 posts
 
It takes more than a powerful magnet to give accurate sound. The crossover and cabinet design should be a large part of the equation. Don't get me wrong I like the powerful magnets too..think Alinco magnets.
audiokinesis
2,716 posts
 
Bose has a very active development division, and they use Neodymium magnets...

Hey, I'm not dissing Neo magnets; I use 'em. But the advantage of Neodymium in most applications isn't strength; in most cases a ferrite magnet can be just as strong if it is designed well. The sonic advantage of Neo is reduced flux modulation under dynamic conditions, and less temporary flux loss as it heats up. Another advantage is smaller size and lighter weight. On the downside is added expense, the possibility of permanent demagnetization if it is severely overheated, and faster heating due to reduced mass. In addition, a good ceramic motor with demodulation rings (also called shorting or Faraday rings) can easily have less flux modulation than a Neo motor - unless the Neo motor also has such features.

So, it's a trade-off. Frankly I think there are other factors that are a lot more important than the magnet material.

On the subject of a small company that employs a top-notch engineer to design their speakers - that's not a bad approach in my opinion. It's much more cost-effective to rent the brains you need only for as long as you need them. A manufacturer really doesn't need a permanent staff of rocket scientists in order to build excellent loudspeakers.

Duke
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