Paradigm 3f, KEF reference 3, Monitor Audio PL300II

Puli we sell both the Personas and the Kefs, and we sell the Legacy as well, and we sell PSB, and Daili amoung other great speakers.

The Personas are faster and more transparent then the KEF's with a more precise and holograhic image they tend to sound a bit smaller than the KEF
s or the Legacy's. If you love transparency and realisitc imaging the best. 

The KEF's tend to sound a bit bigger and have a wide soundstage, the speakers are not a transparent. These create a slightly less transparent sound but sound a bit larger good bass and dynamics a great overall speaker and fantastic for home theater. 

The Legacy's Focus plus a Wavelet Dac/Preamp and room correction processor will make a stock pair of Focus XD into a pair of mini Aeris which will give you a huge soundstage, very deep tight bass and a liquid midrange and treble. This package around $17k is a game changer for all you need is a power amp and you have one of the best all around packages in audio. 

Not as holographic or transparent as the Personas, but big, room filling, superb deep tight bass and with a Wavelet totally free from room bloat or boom. 

Please feel free to reach out to us via PM if we can be of further assistance. 

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ

Thanks again for the advice. I just heard the Parnadigm Persona 3f and was very impressed by the imaging, soundstage, and feeling that the performers were standing in front of me.  The KEF Reference 3 and Monitor Audio PL300ii were at the top of my list but now I'm favoring the Paradigm. The dealer is going to have the Paradigm 5 set up to compare to the 3 when I go back later this week.  It's great that the 3f is a third less than the KEF and Monitor Audio.  I'm not sure it will be worth 70% extra--the price difference between the Paradigm Persona 3 and the 5--to get the additional bass. Seems like a huge upcharge for this.  Listening will tell. 

I too was confused by the difference in price between the 3F and 5F. Seems nonsensical, but I asked Paradigm and they basically said they are selling the 3F for very little profit to hit the magical $10k price point. I can see where they’re coming from, but it kinda makes the 5F a pointless speaker (and incidentally, the 3F an absolute STEAL, truly). Can’t imagine how many of them they will sell, but I haven’t heard the 5F yet.

Looking forward to your impressions of the comparison.

Eirher way, I can’t recommend the 3F highly enough based on the easily 500+ hours of active listening I’ve had with my pair.

In this grouping, the MA's are going to be the only speakers that will be full range in room. It faces an issue with integration of the AMT tweeter and the mid range, but I'm sure that isn't surprising and will need a bit more setup work in room in comparison to something like the Kef. The benefit is being the AMT driver offering up a good deal of speed and transparency without becoming exaggerated.

The Reference 3 is going to be the neutral benchmark here. A bit lighter in the lowest register, but this only when compared to the MA's here. You get a lot of coherence, balance, and well placed sound stage and imaging the others won't quite have across the audio band. Nothing will stand out, not much will be missing, and everything will be in balance. The only comment you could lay upon it would be a slight lack of treble air when compared to the Blade2. Yes, that is a notable step up in price, but uses similar technology, it makes for an apt comparison and that well curved baffle is likely the contributor to the improved treble response.

Now the Paradigm is one I haven't heard, but there is little doubt the Persona series has a bit of voicing to it. A bit elevated in the upper mids and part of the treble, which give the impression it will will provide a transparent sound. Going to be a bit bass light and you may want to plan on some sort of sub at some point. This one might need some time listening to see if its something that allows you to enjoy a good deal of your favorite records due to what appears to be a targeted sound. 

Mmeysarosh, 

We sell both the KEF's and the Paradigms, and the Legacy's which also use AMT drivers so we have a pretty good perspective on all three.

So far have heard the Monitors also at a few audio shows, and our opinion is that if you are going for the magic of AMT drivers the Legacys offer more performance, deeper bass and a larger soundstage for less money.

Your impression that the Persona's are tipped up is not the case, the Beryilium drivers are not bright but show a level of transparency that will show you everything both good and bad in your system. 

The speed, transparency, and holography of the Personas is that of what you would find in way more expensive speakers in the $20+ price range, such as Radiho, Magico or Rockport. 

The only issue with the Persona's is that some of the dealers setups are not going to be right. We show the Personas with T+A electronics from Germany for the big 9H and we show the 3F with Naim, or Micromega.

Your statment that the KEF's are neutral is pretty accurate the KEF's are very well balanced, to my ears the Paradigms are more special and once you hear a speaker with this level of transparency and image realisim it is hard to listen to a lot of much more ordinary loudspeakers. 

As I mentioned before the Legacy Focus XD with a Wavelet is also really special combo that rivals way more expensive speaker systems.

The Monitor audio's are good speakers but whenever we have heard them they sounded good and were less of a standout than either the KEF's the Legacy's or the Personas. 

If you guys are ever on the East Coast and want to visit our store to hear our large collection of superb loudspeakers please give us a call.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ