Personas....7F vs 9H


Thinking about one of these speakers. And looking for advice/thoughts about why you would prefer one over the other, suitability in a 18 x 18 room with high ceilings, etc. Have heard the 9H and was impressed. Aside from the room correction and built in amplification, and the benefits these should give, is there a difference in their sound that would cause one to be preferred over the other?

Thanks , 
Brrgrr
brrgrr

Showing 3 responses by dmance

I have a small listening room - only 13’ x 22’ with 9’ ceilings ...but open on two sides. I sit almost nearfield, and my current DIY voxativ speakers are less than a foot from the front wall. I am going to get the 9H’s after auditioning the 3F,5F,9H. Reasons? Because i) I know paradigm does not BS their specifications and 2dB flat to 19Hz is intoxicating, ii) Their front/rear woofer design just envelopes you in low freq energy in a way that I cant describe, iii) their honest 96dB is on par with my Voxativs and means I can use lower cost amps or even DAC-Amps like the 2W Chord DAVE, iv) the ARC correction sizes 19Hz-400Hz to my room, speaker placement and seating position. I’ve heard the 9H’s native and corrected and it is amazing.
Yes, they are big, expensive and all that ...but end-game and I can just get back to listening to music.
(New colors coming out in April, BTW).
Regarding the new colors. They are coming out in April. Dealers will have paint swatches. I know they are mainly automotive finishes. The few new models I saw at the factory look awesome. Not sure if they are a $ premium.
I know you can order (request) piano black with silver PPA grilles ...and that’s what I’m getting. These are my end-game so I want to make sure they will fit in any decor

Regarding efficiency and amp driveability. I spoke to the 9H designer (Oleg B.) and he assured me that the speaker-level crossover tap to the DSP/woofer amps is of very high impedance and negligible back EMF.
So any amp driving the 9H just sees the tweeter and mid ...hence it effortlessly delivers it’s best performance ...the woofers are invisible. The 9H is 96dB at 8ohms so my ~35watt ZOTL40 was barely at 20% volume to fill the room yet each song I played was the best I’d ever heard it.