Paradigm Mini MK2 Speakers

A speaker that is always welcome into my collection is the Paradigm Mini Mk2. This little gem of High Fidelity is the second generation of the Paradigm 3SE Mini that I have had many pairs of in the past.

This little speaker sound way larger than its' size and I am happy to have another pair of these.

 

This pair of Paradigms are in pretty good condition for their age and the foam surrounds are in great condition, almost as if they have been refoamed already. 

I can not say enough about these little speakers besides they need to be auditioned to hear how good these speakers are. I originally bought a pair of these in the late 80's and sold them, I always regretted selling them back then and I am always happy to re experience these speakers.

Paradigm Mini Monitor V1

Another and later version of the Paradigm 3SE Mini speakers that showed this past week is this pair of Paradigm Mini Monitors Version 1.

The Paradigm 3SE Mini's made it up to Mark 3 before being rebranded as the Paradigm Mini Monitor. A move to a polypropylene woofer was carried over from earlier versions of the 3SE mini but the Mini Monitor now has a titanium dome tweeter, replacing the Vifa fabric dome tweeter. the Mini Monitor is now sold in its' seventh generation.

I find the titanium dome to be smooth and crisp, revealing more detail in the music that the Vifa tweeter. The bottom end bass notes can be a bit boxy as the 6.5" woofer tries to fulfill its' duties. Where these little speaker really shine is from the lower mid range right to the highs, these are silky smooth with great depth of sound and really nice imaging.

To really balance out these speakers a sub woofer should probably be used with a crossover in the 100-120Hz range.

These speakers sounded nicer on a single ended tube amp versus the push pull tubes.

I have a feeling these speakers will be staying around for a while.

Paradigm 3SE Mini Speakers

Another pair of Paradigm 3SE Mini speakers came to visit me again. this is about the sixth pair of this wonderful speaker that has graced my aural pleasures.

This pair belongs to a friend of the blog and wanted to hear them on the tube amp. These are by far one of my favorite 6.5" 2 way speakers out there and well worth seeking out if in the market for a decent set of used speakers for a smaller space.

The sound way larger than they actually are and outside of being a bit bass shy they image great with spot on mids and highs.

I did do a quick re cap with a  4.7uf Solen polypropylene cap which improved the performance immediately. 

B&W DM100i Speakers

Another pair of speakers that made it my way was this pair of B&W DM100i speakers. Like the Mission 700 Leading Edge speakers, These are about the same size with a 6 1/2 inch woofer and a 25mm dome tweeter. The crossover is much more sophisticated that the Mission as is the build quality. The bass goes a bit lower and the mid range is recessed from the Mission's and the highs are clearer.

To say these speakers fall into the British polite category, well these do. They can play for hours without listener fatigue. I will try them against the B&W D5's to see how much technology had changed over 20 years.

This is a nice polite, well behaved speaker suitable for smaller, near field listening. The sound is well balanced and the imaging is spot on. These remind me of Paradigm 3se Mini's but without as much bass due to the acoustic suspension design.