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Paradigm XR-13: Customer experience

ex audiophile

Addicted to Fun and Learning
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Jan 28, 2017
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I saw Gene's brief YouTube intro regarding these subs and was intrigued enough to add a pair (XR-13) to my existing 7.2 HT system. The existing subs are JLA f113v2s and it makes for an interesting comparison.

The subs arrived very well packaged and without apparent damage. I ordered dark cherry; they look black in most lighting. They appear a bit bigger than the Fathoms and of course they have an angular shape that is attractive. Very nice feet on the XR-13s that supposedly have some sort of suspensory magic. I use carpet sliders on the subs so I guess I'm missing out on said magic lol. Overall build quality is very good; the Fathoms at 130 pounds appear to be carved from granite whilst the XR-13s at "only" 100 lbs aren't quite as impressive. The Fathoms have their controls at the top of the front surface; albeit the grill has to be removed for access. Controls are beautifully finished aluminum with instrument grade feel and precision. The XR-13s are very different. There is a motion activated panel at the back of the top of the sub that lights up but only controls volume. In use it is very frustrating, you can swipe or poke at it but the accuracy is just not there and soon it seems to be just a marketing gimmick. Other controls are at the bottom of the back of the sub and a complete PITA to deal with.

And of course you have an "app" to control the sub. Find your phone, connect via Bluetooth, and there are many options including volume. The latter control is more precise than the external panel. Other features like "movie" or "music" also seem gimmicky in this class of subwoofer. The Fathom in contrast is business-like, sophisticated and professional. No app needed or wanted. I think the app control feature is only useful when dealing with a one subwoofer system. If you have a HT with multiple subs are you really going to change the settings on one sub? When Gandalf confronts the Balrog I just grab the Anthem remote and dial up the global subwoofer volume to Balrog Levels (BL) and I'm good to go.
The app for the Paradigm is still a work in progress, try to rename the sub to something complicated like Number 1 and you end of up with something entirely different. Turns out you have to enter a number of blank spaces after your entry to have any hope of it coming out correctly. So the app is buggy but nothing new there.

I can't distinguish subs based on sound quality so I choose primarily on the features they have to facilitate integration. The Fathoms have an on board eq (DARO) that is remarkably easy to use. Plug in the microphone to the sub, position the mic at the LP and press a button. A couple minutes later you're done. I'm a fan of ARC Genesis and the Paradigm subs have that program on board so I was anxious to try it and see how it worked compared to the DARO function in the Fathoms. Unfortunately I could not get either sub to establish a secure connection to any laptop or PC that I connected it to. I won't describe the very long painful process but many cables and computers were tried. There is no one to call at Paradigm (unlike JLA) but after several days Paradigm support responded to an email and said it was a known issue and they were working on it. I should just be patient and wait for a solution. I ended up emailing the President of North American Sales and he tried to help, sent several cables, but no luck. Because I bought the subs online from a dealer in another state, my local Paradigm dealer would not provide warranty service. Seems ridiculous to me but my fault for not doing my homework I suppose.

I use an Anthem AVM90 for the brains of the system and of course I was able to calibrate the overall system using ARC Genesis but I was quite disappointed that I could not use the local eq for the XR-13s. I can verify that both the Fathoms and Paradigm subs extend well below 20 hz in my room, based on ARC measurements.

So that's my experience with these new subs. I prefer the Fathoms and should have just gotten another pair but I succumbed to the pretty face of the Paradigms. The Fathoms are IMO built better, have a dramatically better user interface, and clearly superior customer service.
 

minus3dB

Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2019
Messages
50
Likes
42
I saw Gene's brief YouTube intro regarding these subs and was intrigued enough to add a pair (XR-13) to my existing 7.2 HT system. The existing subs are JLA f113v2s and it makes for an interesting comparison.

The subs arrived very well packaged and without apparent damage. I ordered dark cherry; they look black in most lighting. They appear a bit bigger than the Fathoms and of course they have an angular shape that is attractive. Very nice feet on the XR-13s that supposedly have some sort of suspensory magic. I use carpet sliders on the subs so I guess I'm missing out on said magic lol. Overall build quality is very good; the Fathoms at 130 pounds appear to be carved from granite whilst the XR-13s at "only" 100 lbs aren't quite as impressive. The Fathoms have their controls at the top of the front surface; albeit the grill has to be removed for access. Controls are beautifully finished aluminum with instrument grade feel and precision. The XR-13s are very different. There is a motion activated panel at the back of the top of the sub that lights up but only controls volume. In use it is very frustrating, you can swipe or poke at it but the accuracy is just not there and soon it seems to be just a marketing gimmick. Other controls are at the bottom of the back of the sub and a complete PITA to deal with.

And of course you have an "app" to control the sub. Find your phone, connect via Bluetooth, and there are many options including volume. The latter control is more precise than the external panel. Other features like "movie" or "music" also seem gimmicky in this class of subwoofer. The Fathom in contrast is business-like, sophisticated and professional. No app needed or wanted. I think the app control feature is only useful when dealing with a one subwoofer system. If you have a HT with multiple subs are you really going to change the settings on one sub? When Gandalf confronts the Balrog I just grab the Anthem remote and dial up the global subwoofer volume to Balrog Levels (BL) and I'm good to go.
The app for the Paradigm is still a work in progress, try to rename the sub to something complicated like Number 1 and you end of up with something entirely different. Turns out you have to enter a number of blank spaces after your entry to have any hope of it coming out correctly. So the app is buggy but nothing new there.

I can't distinguish subs based on sound quality so I choose primarily on the features they have to facilitate integration. The Fathoms have an on board eq (DARO) that is remarkably easy to use. Plug in the microphone to the sub, position the mic at the LP and press a button. A couple minutes later you're done. I'm a fan of ARC Genesis and the Paradigm subs have that program on board so I was anxious to try it and see how it worked compared to the DARO function in the Fathoms. Unfortunately I could not get either sub to establish a secure connection to any laptop or PC that I connected it to. I won't describe the very long painful process but many cables and computers were tried. There is no one to call at Paradigm (unlike JLA) but after several days Paradigm support responded to an email and said it was a known issue and they were working on it. I should just be patient and wait for a solution. I ended up emailing the President of North American Sales and he tried to help, sent several cables, but no luck. Because I bought the subs online from a dealer in another state, my local Paradigm dealer would not provide warranty service. Seems ridiculous to me but my fault for not doing my homework I suppose.

I use an Anthem AVM90 for the brains of the system and of course I was able to calibrate the overall system using ARC Genesis but I was quite disappointed that I could not use the local eq for the XR-13s. I can verify that both the Fathoms and Paradigm subs extend well below 20 hz in my room, based on ARC measurements.

So that's my experience with these new subs. I prefer the Fathoms and should have just gotten another pair but I succumbed to the pretty face of the Paradigms. The Fathoms are IMO built better, have a dramatically better user interface, and clearly superior customer service.

I'm also intrigued by these new subs. I just don't see where the value proposition is when compared to say Rythmik F18s, two of which could be had for the price of one XR13 with over a grand left over. Yes they have the built-in RC software and they win the beauty contest 10/10 times. Would like to see some independent CEA 2010 numbers....
 
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