Mid 80's Paradigm busted onto the audio scene with their original "S" series speakers, it was not until the "SE" series did the audio world take note.
I remember the Paradigm 7SE was directly competing with the Energy 22 and Mission 770 Freedom IV's but at a much better price point.
A Pair of Paradigm 5SE speakers were dropped off with some woofer surround issues and I was asked to work some magic. For some reason the butyl surround was cracking and separated from the cone. Trying to find the proper surrounds is difficult.
Lucky for me I had secured a pair of donor Vifa woofers from a pair of Angstrom Radix 300 speakers, these are a direct drop in with a much larger magnet structure, black polypropylene cone and rubber butyl surround.
This woofer was a perfect upgrade, I was surprised to see the build quality of the cabinet with proper cross member from the front and back baffles, also the crossover was built with metalized polyester caps with twin bypass caps for the tweeter. This is a well built speaker with great attention to the small details that make a great speaker.
I have had a few days of listening to this speaker and it sounds fabulous, the bass is nice and tight for a Paradigm ported system. I have had the 3SE's in the past and always found them to be boomy/muddy in the bass and I tend to pass on those speakers when they come up locally.
Aesthetically this pair looks better than the original, I have been listening to these for the past few night connected to the Noresco 2570 and they sound sweet together, I could listen and have listened to this combo for hours without ever a hint of fatigue. In fact it begs me to put on more music and to listen well past my time to retire.
The highs are spot on with smooth mid range, the bass is full and tight without any hint of boom or muddiness. Although it does not go as low as the 10 and 12 inch speakers I have I am not missing anything.
The front to back imaging depth is perfect along with the side to side imaging. I tried these speakers with the tube amp but these speakers are better suited to a solid state unit.
I am very impressed with the way this project turned out and I am sure the owner will have years of listening pleasure with these speakers.
