I live in Toronto, not 20 miles from the Paradigm factory. But I've never liked their stuff; in fact, my last speaker (Neumann 310) was a German design, made in Ireland.
I put aside my prejudices and had a brief listen to the "7F" Persona. (I had to travel to the outer reaches of this increasingly BIG city to do that, because for some unknown reason you won't find this audiophile speaker anywhere downtown.) The treble and midrange were, what can I say, incredibly detailed. The ported bass was.... well.... a ported bass sound, which I've never liked, and which seemed to me in stark contrast to the very clear mids and highs. Semi-ported bass, that is, what are sometimes called "bass radiators", seem to me to sound faster and less coloured. But I stand to be corrected on that.
Anyway, Paradigm doesn't do that sort of speaker, I gather; although they do have a reputation for making very accurate sub-woofers.
I suppose the $$$$ of speakers in the audiophile "Persona" line has something to do with the fact that BOTH tweeter and midrange speakers are 99% beryllium. Very expensive to manufacture, so I'm told. The competition, I assume, are the illustrious Revel Salon 2s (and others like them), which unfortunately for Paradigm are quite a bit cheaper than the top-of-the-line Persona "9H" with ARC.
You can't just listen to the 9H, even in Toronto! Instead, Paradigm has ONE set of the 9H roaming from dealer to dealer across this enormous country. You have to wait your turn. So Canadian.
So I'll have to wait until this single set of 9Hs arrive at a dealer on the outskirts of Toronto (where they are made, incredibly) to actually listen to a pair!
That's insane, I think, as is the price.... 38k Can,or about 35k US. They better be good.
(Anecdotally: I'm certain my wife will find them ugly.)
