Paradigm Personas anyone heard them

I heard either the 3F or 5F at the Los Angeles Audio Show. They were paired with Rogue Audio (tubes I believe). The sound was full top to bottom but a bit harsh even with the tubes. I freely admit it may have been the electronics did not synergize well with the Personas. But you'd think that every effort had been made to put their best foot forward at this West Coast show. I was there with a Paradigm owner and he was not impressed either.

I think most would admit that synergy is very important. I heard that with the Wilson Sabrina/Audio Research gear, Mbl - with its own gear, Marten and Zesto I believe, Hegel and KEF Blade 2, and maybe a few others. I was there all day Saturday and certainly did not  have the time to hear/see all rooms. But Paradigm was on that list. I know my friend had high hopes. I don't mention these brands to bash, but rather to show that some rooms that I heard were exemplary while many others struggled. I can also say that a few of the pairings I mentioned above have sounded very good every time I've heard them and I've heard them a number of times in different venues. Maybe I just heard the Personas with gear that didn't suit them well.

It was the Persona 5F. The problem with the speakers was that the room was way too small. I also did not like the tube electronics used (not a tube fan) nor did I like the long wall placement of the speakers. The drivers were way too close to your face. A shame they could not have gotten a bigger room such as the Magico S3 MKII room. I had the same feeling about the PMC speaker room. The only rooms I liked were the medium to large sized rooms. My favorite being the KEF Blade 2 room.

A few years back I heard the KEF Reference 1 at dealer and it sounded pretty bad. The reviews in the mag and internet were glowing. The dealers room I heard it had a large glass window in the back. So I put it up to a terrible room.

I heard the KEF Reference 1 again with the new Wired4Sound monoblocks at the show in a room I liked (it was circular where the speaker was setup). Now I could see why people raved about the KEF Reference 1. It was awesome and a real fun listen. So there you go,

mofojo, I went into more detail here in a previous Persona thread and was immediately schooled by the Audiogon's resident Paradigm retailer who has at least thirteen responses in this thread alone. I should applaud him/them on his sales persistence and wish him success within our little industry.  

I feel Paradigm has a terrific business plan and has the potential to offer sensible quality at an affordable price which is why I owned three different Paradigm products and auditioned their S8s in home. 

In MY opinion the Persona's sound way better than any other previous Paradigm offering and their technology is interesting but they're plagued by what I now consider to be the Paradigm house sound. They go high and they go low and I'm sure they'll measure perfectly. Along with the brightness or harshness others have mentioned I was still able to hear every driver discreetly as with my previous Paradigms consequently they didn't make music for me.

This is my personal opinion and opinions vary.

Wow that is interesteing that you owned three different sets before it dawned on you that you had issues with them.

I am not suprised that the Rogue audio setup wasn't good, it is not a tube thing, it is a complete system matching thing.

When you have a cool speaker, ie one with very low levels of coloration and you want them to sound musical you have to add some warmth and body to the sound somewhere. Just because you use a tube doesn't mean you have solved the problem.

Yzsantabarbera commented that the room was way too small, I wonder what the reset of the chain was, were they using Audioquest or Nordost cabling? Did they have a suitable digital front end? Did they employ any room treatment or was the room ringing with slap echo.

That is one reason why we invite people over to our showrooms, we dial in our display systems and we use all the tuning tools and accessories to make our systems sound musical. 

So before you bash the speakers perhaps blaim the setup.

As per hearing individual drivers I find that remarkably strange, the Persona use the exact same material for the tweeter and midrange, what you may be having an issue with in terms of integration can happen if your sitting distance is not correct or your rake angle is wrong.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor

I heard the Aeris after I heard the Persona speakers. I really think a lot of the Persona, but I liked the Aeris better. They just sounded better to me. Nothing like them. Not sure if it is the hybrid open baffle design or the wavelet processor, or the combination but wondering if anyone else made the comparison between these two. 

Although the price of the 3f and Focus are closer, I think the 3f beats it  in terms of clarity, but I do think the 3f is brighter than the Focus.