Paradigm vs Vandersteen

Very different sound. Vandys well suited to jazz. Many find them laid back, but IMO, its due to their non-high-fi nature and flat response. Paradigms (in general, never heard the 100 v3) will sound more detailed at first, but IMO its due to an over-cooked upper mid and treble.

In addition to Swampwalker, I think the Vandersteens are going to be more enviroment affected. I think the Vandy has the ability to sound better than the Paradigm's.. I have heard both at different times and it never would have been comparison I would have been drawn to make. Two very different theories. Richard Vandersteen's concept and a large companies speaker. Paradigm put's out a great product for the money, I think they are somewhat under priced for thier quality.

I won't weigh in on the sonic differences, as they are so pronounced that one usually can figure out if they want chocolate or cheese. But the sensitivity issue is real, the Paradigms being roughly 6db more sensitive will require approximately one fourth the wattage for a given loudness level. As Jim Thiel, another 6db crossover champion pointed out, "Watts is cheap.", but then again, he gets manufacturers accomodation.

I have the 2ce sigs and I have heard the paradigms but in less than ideal conditions to be fair. For Jazz, you will love the vandys for the timbre and naturalness with the right amount of detail which won't give you a headache after long listening sessions. The paradigms seemed too bright for my taste.