We would also question Rivondale's testing methodology who says that is Schitt amplifier is good enough to drive the Personas, what cables were used, what source? There is so much more to setting up a world class sound system then arbittarily trying amp A with speaker B, maybe with his Schitt amplifier a dac or source change might have been required.
@audiotroy Source: Bluesound Node 2 streaming Tidal CD quality into Luxman DA-06, via optical cable.
Cables: Audioquest "Storm" series copper power cables, Audioquest biwire beefy copper speaker cables (newer line, maybe Oak? didn't see) and Audioquest XLR interconnects. The XLR were red and newer line, so maybe Fire.
The speakers I listed were placed in the same position on the floor (tape on the carpet), and played on the exact same system outlined above, roughly volume matched using my iPhone dB measurement app. The ONLY variable was the speakers. So yes, while the setup itself may not have been optimized for the Persona 3F, that is irrelevant because I was comparing all the speakers I listened to with each other, with all else being equal. In other words, a controlled experiment.
Rivondale sounds like one of those guys who have never played with power cables or footers or tuning accessories which can alter the sound in ways that can be very beneficial in bringing out the things you are trying to accheive.
Again, incorrect. Stop making assumptions. I've tested multiple brands and materials of interconnects, speaker cables and power cables on my home system. Even this weekend I went back to the same dealer to listen to Aerial Acoustics speakers, which I adored the previous visit (described above), and found them much less to my liking. I assume this is because the Bluesound Node was plugged directly into my integrated amp this time via Nordost Heimdall 2 RCAs (no outboard DAC) and the speaker cables were smaller gauge silver cables instead of the beefy copper biwire speaker cables I used last time.
I've never said that one should not or cannot optimize their system around a particular component. I simply said that the Paradigm speakers are inherently flawed because of their tilted frequency response up top and they subjectively bright compared to other speakers on the exact same system.
Could you please compare the sound of the Paradigm Persona 3/5F to the Legacy Audio Focus SE on the same equipment? The latter is a speaker I'm very interested in and would be curious to hear your thoughts as I've only heard the former. Know you've mentioned the brand elsewhere in the thread.
