The Active 40v2 were the best value in speakers that Paradigm ever made, plain and simple. They were discontinued in 2001 and are still an amazing value that very few are aware of. I previously owned the Active 40v2 and Active 450LR. The 450LR were sold to a friend and he thanks me profusely for selling them to him every time I see him. Last time I was by his place he mentioned he has numerous friends who come by just to listen to music on the speakers. The 450LR are a 2-way MTM design rather than the 2.5-way design of the Active 40v2. Think of it as an Active 20 w/ an extra woofer in an MTM configuration. The Active 40v2 are -1dB at 36Hz, whereas the Active 450LR only reach down to around 50Hz but do so with the same authority as the 40v2's because they share the same amplifiers (supposedly Anthem MCA derivatives).
If you see a pair of these for sale in good condition, they're definitely worth checking out. The auto on/off relay and LED lights tend to go bad over the long run, but other than those issues the only item that I had to address was replacing the amplifier capacitors (they were over 15 years old). They will compete with speaker and amplifier combinations costing upwards of $3,000. For what you will pay for them used, they will eat anything <$1,500 for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They are that good. Most folks won't miss having a subwoofer with them as they are nearly full-range and can reach down to 32Hz. They are truly a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Considering Paradigm discontinued the Active line back in 2001, I was very disappointed upon reading reviews of the Elac Narvis ARB51 to find out they had port chuffing issues. At this point there is a larger market for people willing to purchase active speakers so there may be an opportunity for a vendor to build a speaker along the lines of the Active 40v2. Imagine Paradigm designing a modern day equivalent of the Active 40v2 using their Beryllium drivers. They would sell like hot cakes to the types of folks who frequent the ASR forums.
I've had other systems in the past that consisted of the following. This is what it took to compete with the Active 40v2 (dollar amounts reflect used cost):
(System 1)
Speakers = PMC OB1 ($2000)
Sub = Rel T7 ($600)
Amp = Job 225 ($1000)
Total Cost = $3600
(System 2)
Speakers = Ascend Sierra Towers w/ RAAL tweeters ($2500)
Sub = Rythmic F12 ($700)
Amp = Job 225 ($1000)
Total Cost = $4200
One last item of note regarding pricing. Back around 2000 the US and Canadian dollar exchange rate was **HEAVILY** tilted in favor of USD. IIRC the exchange rate was something like $1 USD : $1.50 CAD. For those who lived close to the Canadian border, they could drive over and pick up Paradigm speakers at a ridiculously steep discount. People were picking up Active 40 v2's for <$1500 brand new, which is crazy.
