What would you do??

I had a similar problem recently in that my Thiel 3.5s needed a new midrange. The repair process proved to be more difficult than at first anticipated. Nothing major but the new midrange I got was damaged during the replacement process. I will not bore you with the details. I bought Paradigm Reference Studio 100 v2 against the recommendations of a few retailers who told me that after having owned Thiels I would find Paradigm or PSBs a let-down. Well, I am pleased to say that speaker manufacturers have (not to be too general, Paradigm at least) have made significant improvements in the last ten years. My present speakers and the former ones sound different, no doubt. But at this price level, I am very pleased with my choice and feel these boxes have no right sounding that good. Perfection, no. Midrange- natural, very nice; bass- fast, taut, maybe a little less deep than the equalized Thiels but surprising when the program requires bass; tweeter- have heard better, at more than six times the price though (Dynaudio Contour 3.3s and the more expensive ones with Esotar tweeters at 8X the price, go figure). My point is that some companies now offer a very attractive performance/price ratio. The main problem with Paradigms, as I am sure with other makes, is their lack of snob appeal. I would never get rid of my cat, although it appears to be more well mannered than yours. I take no credit for that, nature provides. It's not quite clear to me what you mean by all the drivers, (your cat must have had a field day!) and I doubt they are all $200 a piece. If you can do it with exact replacements at less than $1000. CDN, and you are not really in need of something new to make your day, I would go for the repairs. By the way, being a Canadian audiophile these days is rather hellish if you look beyond our borders. If you go for Canadian equipment though the bang for the buck (Canadian Peso???) ratio is much improved. By manufacturers who are not sullied by their mid-fi offerings, you could look at Totem (I just find they look too weird with their metal cone doo-ichy-poos (spelling???) on the cabinets; what are those things anyway?) And no, for the record, I am not nor have I ever been associated with Paradigm or any other speaker manufacturer, any of their respective directors, officers, employees, agents,representatives or any wives or girl friends of any of the foregoing. Regards.

My cats live outside where they belong. My dog lives inside where he belongs. My niece once poked in my tweeters, we call her "Lefty" now.

Pricha00,

Soix has a good idea with the citrus scent. Works in keepng cats form using our landscaping as a sand box, so it should work on your speakers. I'd recommend sprayng the scent on the grilles, that way you won't take any chances with the new drivers.

I'd keep the Proac's at least until you get the cats better trained. Ever since he was a kitten, my cat gets a regular nail trimming where his nails are shortened back to the thick sections. He sometimes even purrs when I do it so it doesn't need to be a fight and certainly doesn't hurt him. He also has had a "teepee" to scratch on. He once put a paw toward the speaker grills and I hissed loudly at him. Eyes big as saucers with a dumbfounded look, but he has since not made a move against them. Try different things and be patient and you should find a way to end their unwanted behavior.

I can second Pbbs approval of the Paradigms. Never have heard the Pro-acs, but when I went CDP shopping, I heard a CAL demo'd with NAD and Paradigms and was quite impressed. Very good imaging, taut and fast. A little too analytical for my taste (I have Vandersteens) but this wasn't the ideal set up with lots of other speakers and mid-fi electronics. I WAS definately impressed with sound/$. Just my $0.02.