Paradigm Persona,

[A800]

View attachment 22420

That is an interesting woofer design!

Looks like axial forces are under control.
But it probably has somewhat high Mms.

 

[Sal1950]

Thanks, would be interested to see if they sound better with ARC on.

The demo being done at the 2019 Tampa show of 9H's most definitely had the ARC on, as the people doing the demo told me directly they had taken some time in doing the setup measurements. It was under those conditions I gave that room my "best of show" award.

 

[WaveWobbler]

The demo being done at the 2019 Tampa show of 9H's most definitely had the ARC on, as the people doing the demo told me directly they had taken some time in doing the setup measurements. It was under those conditions I gave that room my "best of show" award.

I would argue this is the number one reason the response to these speakers is so polarized. Properly set up and running with ARC they truly do some magical stuff. They seem to just disappear and leave a huge soundstage with incredibly detailed imagine.

Of course how much of that is due to the speakers themselves versus what the ARC isn’t something I’m qualified to chime in on.

It’s so strange seeing just how wonky those measurements look against what I’ve heard these do. Has anyone come across some measurements comparing performance naked against ARC-corrected?

 

[Martin]

The demo being done at the 2019 Tampa show of 9H's most definitely had the ARC on, as the people doing the demo told me directly they had taken some time in doing the setup measurements. It was under those conditions I gave that room my "best of show" award.

You were actually able to hear them long enough to make that proclamation? The two times I stopped by the room the guys running the demo talked (a lot), played 10-15 seconds of music, talked a lot more, played another few seconds of music, then continued to talk. VERY frustrating! I go to hear the equipment on demo, not salesmen talking. Sad, too, because they sounded pretty good last year when they played whole songs, several in a row even. What I did hear in their room this year did not impress me. I attributed that difference to the 90 degree change in orientation. Last year was set up across the short wall, this year they were spread along the long wall.

Martin

 

[steve59]

There's only 2 ways I would buy the 7f or 9h speakers. because they're passive I would either need my dealers guarantee he could make them sound in my room like they do in demos, or get such a great price I could afford to start component matching from scratch. despite the press KV and company released, I would take the persona 3f over the 228be after listening to both.

 

[Sal1950]

What I did hear in their room this year did not impress me. I attributed that difference to the 90 degree change in orientation. Last year was set up across the short wall, this year they were spread along the long wall.

Completely agree, I asked them why they had set up the room ash backwards (IMHO) this year and got some blah blah reply I don't remember.
Seems like Paradigm has strayed a bit from earlier years when they spent a lot of time in measurement R&D.
I had a 5.2 HT system up in Chicago using 3 Paradigm Titans across the front and some bi-directional surrounds whose model number I no longer remember. That was a great system for the price, worked equally well for music and movies though lacking in dynamics, etc from by big stereo rig.

 

[MarcT]

I heard this Persona 7 setup at 2019 RMAF. I'm no expert on sub integration, but I thought this was one of the best integrations I've heard, as I could not really tell that a sub was playing, yet there was fantastic bass. I thought the system sounded excellent on high quality recordings, and the clarity of vocals and instruments were fantastic, and they image like crazy. Now, they also will certainly tell you all about a poor, bright recording. I just wish they weren't so dang expensive.

DSC_0087 by MDTshots, on Flickr

 

[Sal1950]

I'm no expert on sub integration, but I thought this was one of the best integrations I've heard, as I could not really tell that a sub was playing, yet there was fantastic bass.

Don't forget that integration was being aided by the Anthem DSP in the preamp.

 

[Tom C]

Quite elegant looking.

I heard this Persona 7 setup at 2019 RMAF. I'm no expert on sub integration, but I thought this was one of the best integrations I've heard, as I could not really tell that a sub was playing, yet there was fantastic bass. I thought the system sounded excellent on high quality recordings, and the clarity of vocals and instruments were fantastic, and they image like crazy. Now, they also will certainly tell you all about a poor, bright recording. I just wish they weren't so dang expensive.

DSC_0087 by MDTshots, on Flickr

Quite elegant looking.

 

[steve59]

The last couple years paradigm has run 20% sales, that on top of what you can negotiate with your dealer, say pay cash to avoid sales tax, just saying and you're $20k otd, a lot of beans for sure, but I doubt a better pair at that price new are easy to find. The pair I demo I prefer with the pathos integrated over the anthem.

 

[stevenswall]

Do you have a WAF test reference? I think that most people who use this term are really guessing at it and are really using their own assessments. My wife hated the appearance of the Personas even though I let her choose the color for the pair I reviewed. Just an anecdote, of course.

I'd give the Personas about a 3.5 with 10 being the best.

Wife Acceptance Factor I'd have based on something like this: (Or spouse, or whatever you want to call it... I'm gay and am not offended by the common jargon of WAF)

1. Wilson Audio towers
2. Genelec 800 series studio monitors
3. Tower or floor speakers that are not slim or rounded
4. Slim, rounded tower speakers
5. Bookshelf/standmount speakers
6. Tiny home theater in a box speakers discreetly placed around the room
7. Sound bar + Subwoofer
8. White devialet Phantom Reactor
9. Sound bar
10. TV speakers built into the TV or otherwise invisible speakers.

 

[JustJones]

I listened to the Persona 3 with a McIntosh MA252 sounded very nice more bass than I expected. I could have gotten the floor demos for $7500 . My wife has never cared what speaker I've had but she said she likes the ones I have now better than most, Joseph Audio Perspective Graphene 2.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

despite the press KV and company released, I would take the persona 3f over the 228be after listening to both.

I had the opposite preference in a blind test at Harman.

Wife Acceptance Factor I'd have based on something like this: (Or spouse, or whatever you want to call it... I'm gay and am not offended by the common jargon of WAF)

Neither you nor I can generate a WAF or SOAF (significant other acceptance factor). It is the opinion of the other non-audiophile person in the household.

 

[steve59]

I believe I have mentioned my skepticism with single speaker testing for stereo, multichannel sure, and I don't doubt I would pick the revel in that setting.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

I believe I have mentioned my skepticism with single speaker testing for stereo, multichannel sure, and I don't doubt I would pick the revel in that setting.

But I also had the opportunity to have pairs of both the 228Be and the 5f in my living room and those observations are all consistent.

 

[Sal1950]

say pay cash to avoid sales tax,

Dang, don't reveal his name !!

I'd give the Personas about a 3.5 with 10 being the best.

OUCH, Not saying the Paradigms are my favorite speakers but that's a pretty harsh rating? I've was very disappointed in the setup at the 2019 Tampa show, but their big 9's I gave top honors to in 2018.

 

[steve59]

But I also had the opportunity to have pairs of both the 228Be and the 5f in my living room and those observations are all consistent.

I got nothin'

 

[Kal Rubinson]

I got nothin'

Hey, if you had picked on something other than a Persona, I'd probably say that, too. You just happened to pick on a bunch of speakers that I spent a lot of time with in the past 2 years.

 

[steve59]

I respect your experience and enjoy your reviews. Tho' I've owned a few excellent revel speakers I never went to their listening room nor been able to compare the 3f and 228be speakers in the same room or the same time so I probably need to consider that when posting my preferences.

 

[Tom C]

I am an amateur. I am not an expert.
My wife really likes the look of Persona 3f. She finds the color and styling appealing, and I find the sound quality excellent (at least, good enough for me), so that's why I got them. It should go without saying that tastes differ, but I don't think it can be said that Persona styling appeals particularly to one gender or another, or has a low or high WAF. For myself, I find it very difficult to accurately judge the quality of the finish on any product going only by an internet photograph. Things can look better or worse in real life, so if you haven't seen something in person, you probably don't really know exactly what that something looks like.
One question I have, considering 3F vs 5F, 7F, 9F. it seems to me the only differences between all of these is the woofers. All these models use the same tweeter and mid driver, right? So, only the woofers, and therefore the cabinets, differ. Of course, the 9F also has room correction and powered woofer built into the cabinet, which is admittedly a very big difference by itself. So, my thoughts are to have the 3f (which I bought used), add quality PC based room correction and 2 (or more) powered subwoofers of adequate quality, and hope to get as good or perhaps better overall system performance than one could get getting even the 9F's, for a lot less $$. In other words, you're going to buy those subs anyway, so why spend the extra money on the 5, 7, or 9F?
I am an amateur. I am not an expert.