Paradigm Premiers Performance and Value with 800F & 500C Series Speakers Review 

As an Audiophile I find anything thats not Macintosh, just fair.

@@michael-4k4000 McIntosh is overrated, the sound is not plane, is a taste but I find Primare with better quality than McIntosh

I have the monitor 11 v7s now and am waiting on the founder 100fs and 90c that I ordered to come in. Check out audioholics forum thread for paradigm owners. I and others have been posting about this very thing. I personally liked the prestige 85f and the 100f is better to me, but what did it was the 90c vs the prestige center. No comparison imo.

What did you like about the 800fover the KEF or the B&W? I'm considering if I should try out the 800f or jump straight to the Founders for my living room home theater setup. It's a huge bump in price but I'd rather buy once and not always wonder what I'm missing out on.

@@Smellslikegelfling the 800f/600c combo just punched way above its price point. A $2k speaker pair going at it with $5k speakers blew me away. If you can get something this great for $2k out of Paradigm Premier, just think what Founders can do. If I were to do it again, I’d be chasing Founders 100f. It’s closer to an end game speaker.

@@jeremymckean3574 I'm waiting for my 5 speakers , stock in storm in Buffalo (2024), can't get them for 20 days already , pair Founder 120H, founder 80F, founder 90C, I have Two 15'' REL HT series subs, and Anthem avm70 , and Anthem 525 gen2 AMP.. so far 5.2 set up....

@@cama9545 🤩 incredible. Can’t wait to hear the Founder 120h. I might wait 20 years before I buy another speaker for stereo.

@@mayssebmasenya9132 those 120H’s are endgame speakers, so badass.

How do these Paradigms compare to Polks?

@@igorerovenko I can only really speak on the Lsim’s because I haven’t had the chance to demo many Polk speaker lines, but they take a slight edge for music listening, imo. Bit more lively and energetic soundstage yet, not bright sounding. Don’t get me wrong the Premier’s are great for music too. A bit more neutral and laid-back compared to the Polk’s I have. It kinda just boils down to what your ears prefer for music listening.

@@BuckyJoe00 Thanks. I have 705s, so comparing to these gives me an idea regarding the Paradigms.

I dodged a bullet not getting married.

I’ve been a mini monitor fan for many years.

I thought the founders were pretty boring comparted to the prestige, almost too perfect.

I still have Paradigm Reference Studio 80 speakers. They are still amazing.

How would you compare the Founders 100F to the Premier 800F? Worth more than double?

@@Smellslikegelfling I’m enjoying the 100F’s right now. I auditioned the 800F at least five times along with the 80F and 120F. Its a huge jump in budget but the sound quality goes way up. You cant go wrong with either. If you have the budget consider the 100F’s.

I wanted the 800fs and was dead set on them.....then the founders came out. Now I'm waiting for my 100fs and 90c to come in. I can't wait. Found a great dealer and got an awesome price on them, really made it a no brainer to get the 100fs for me.

The 500C and 600C are fabulous center channels. I'd take the 600c over the Founder center even if you choose the Founder towers.

@Audioholics that is a very bold statement to make and though I'm sure you may have some science to back it up, I am quite surprised to see you say that. The 800f don't hold up against the 100f.

@@douglaseaton1581 Please re-read what I wrote. I never stated the 800f is better than the 100F founders. The 600C is a better center than the Founder LCR, however. 600C w a Founder 100F system would be superb.

​@Audioholics yeah, sorry. A little confusion there, when you said Founder center. I thought your statement was comparing the 600c to the Founders 90c, not the 70lcr. Which, would be understandably surprising as the 800f are not in the same league as the 100f.

@@andrewlantz123 Nice. Was there a difference in sound, or just more of it?

Love my Arcam amp

If you like your prestige, you will NOT like the Founders. If you think your prestige are too bright or detailed than you will love the founders.

S8 and 800F are in different leagues. Gene had made a huge mistake choosing those low line paradigms speakers. He should go for the founders line and You should too. Nothing lower than founders. If you dont have enough money buy second hand studio series like 100s5. Dont go lower than old studio line. Between monitor series and studio was a huge gap, and so between premier and founders.

I found Prestige a bit bright when I heard them. Premier to my ears are the most neutral speaker I've heard come from Paradigm.

@@Audioholics A coworker of mine bought a Premier system and I look forward to hearing them for comparison. The Prestige towers and center are running off a Anthem MRX740 and MCA325.

@@Audioholics Maybe they sound bright in some systems, but they higher quality than poor premier series. That brightness can be tammed with r9m acoistics, grills on, electronics and cables. But you dont listen to cables. You only mesure them and ending with lower class speakers.

Really? You actually like the 800f better than 100 V5? I thought the 100 V5 would be a step up to the Premier and not the other way around.

@@teslaliveus860 yep, they're better sounding. The studios just have nicer cabinets.

@@teslaliveus860 Obvious a Studio Reference are much better quality than premier line. That guy doesnt know what he talking about. You want better than studio? You must buy a Founders line. And than you will have a slight upgrade over studio line. I'm using Signature series with berilium tweeters and thisbguy probobly will tell me that his Premier series is also better. 😂😂😂

@@sheerenergy8602 I thought so. I have the Studio 10 V5 and the Prestige 15B, and I find the Studios sounding a bit clearer than the 15Bs while those have better sound stage and bass. I highly doubt the Premier bookshelfs will sound better than the Studios and be almost on par with the 15Bs.

@@teslaliveus860 Paradigm just change their product lines to hide anormous price elevation to whole their range. And when you dont know what line is which, you can missed with your purchase. Studio series was exchanged to Prestige and prestige to Founders with some heritage from Persona line, like for instance active amps for low frequency. Paradigm won 13 years in a row prizes for best bang for the buck, and that was from 1990 to 2002. After that they manufactured great speakers until about 2011-13 with still very good price to sonic abilities( Studio v5 and Signature v3). No if you want Paradigm, you must pay for the well known logo and you can forget about that "inside track" value award. But hey, they are still cheaper than Focals by a smige. LMAO :)

super cool wall/treatment, indeed!

I've had both, the ultra has a very different midrange than most hifi speakers. I think the svs is too laid back for my tastes especially for an HT focused brand. I struggled to hear dialect through the svs center at lower volumes, where as the paradigm 600c is crystal clear. Drums and bass impacts sound bigger on the svs ultra towers but MUCH more accurate on the 800f. You can hear what drums actually sound like through the paradigms. They are both similar in the upper registers, very smooth for an aluminum tweeter, but the svs sounds synthesized. If you only listen to club music, and always have it cranked you'd be happy with the svs. If your musical tastes are more open than I think, long term, you'd be happier with a more accurate, 800f, than the svs. The center on the svs ultra lineup is an absolute letdown.

The Elite 80s are angled toward listening area and are used as surrounds, the 4x Elite 65s are downward for Atmos. I find this incredibly effective.

I have the 800fs and 600c in my living room in a 5.1 setup for now. But what you’ve got sounds awesome. I clicked your channel to see if you had any videos showing your setup and sadly I couldn’t find any videos. I just subbed your channel though, just in case you ever post anything. If you ever post any videos showing your setup, I’d love to get your feedback on what you think of your setup. Sounds awesome based on your description! 🔊

The Focal has a very open and bright sound. The upper is almost harsh depending on the amp. I had a set and did not like them. I went with the Kef R3's Great. Take care

Diffusion and decorative

@@Audioholics But who makes the paneling, manufacturer?

I hope he answers you. These speakers are beautiful. I'm down to 3 speakers to replace my system as well. These, the Polk R700 and the Arendal 1723 THX line

@@USMCPFC1 No svs ultras in the running...

After a few more days of reading and waiting reviews I have swapped these out of my lists and replaced them with the SVS Ultra. New list in order Arendal 1723 THX SVS Ultra Polk R700 I don't have a dedicated theater room yet just the living room 😅😅 I like the aesthetics of the arendal and love the idea of 8 inch speakers for my center. The SVS is a close second because of price and has a 3 way center. I like the look of the Polk r700 better than the SVS ultra but the center channel is 2way on Polk, and if I can't have a 3way with some 8's I'd take a 2 way with some 6 1/2 half price being equal. From what I have gathered these 3 speakers fit my hearing tastes?? The best as well as aesthetics.

@@USMCPFC1 My room is the antithesis of dedicated and I plan on using a different center channel anyways. I'm either going to use the LSIM center or upgrade my C1+ to a C2+.

I found an old complete set of paradigm speakers at a pawn shop for 250 dollars. They're over 20 years old but they still sound great. Well worth it.

As a Revel owner of the F328be, I'd stick with the Paradigms over the F208s.

@@Audioholics - Wow, I'm kind of surprised to hear that from you. I always thought you were a pretty huge Revel fan, and on paper they seem like the better speaker. Says a lot I suppose. Thanks for your input! 😉👍

@@midevil1980 the F328Bes are a bit disappointing so far, mostly due to their somewhat anemic bass response. I guess I'm just more impressed with the Paradigms punching above thier weight class than an expensive speaker that hasn't in my listening experiences.

@@Audioholics - I can totally understand that, I'd probably feel the exact same way in that situation.

PS, if you are in the LA area, I still have my trio for sale ;)

The 800Fs aren't designed to be full range speakers. They work incredibly well with a pair of subs.

@@Audioholics Thats interesting. So then what's the purpose spending more on the 800Fs vs the 200B bookshelves if not for more low end? Since my receiver won't pass a sub signal while listening to music, I dont rely on it for my low end.

@@RobertoGonzalez-bg3zh more output and midbass. Your receiver will pass bass to the sub if you set it for 2CH. Watch our videos.

I have the 706C and 702F/Xs from Polks LSiM line, amazing center that the reserve line can't touch and the sides are amazing. You may still be able to grab for $300 or so.

Use svs setup, personally a better buy not only in overall build quality but excellent sound performance

I can help! I actually have all three at my house right now. Polk r700 - neutral, right down the middle sound, great bass but that's with a 300 rms monoblock so ymmv, r400 center sounds ok but can't quite flesh out details like the r700 tower. SVS ultra tower - sounds like someone put a pillow over the singer in just about all music or movies, this effect is super noticeable after listening to the paradigm and polk. The svs center is the biggest letdown, hard for me to describe but it sounds like something isn't quite right, all of the time, sometimes a voice will sound ok then in the same scene it doesn't. The paradigm has less bass extension than the other two, BUT it has a ton more detail and punch to the bass. You can hear what a stand up bass or a kick drum sounds like, you can actually hear the size of the instrument instead of a "thud" like the other two. Both the polk and the paradigm are more accurate and to me sound more natural in the midrange, where most of the music is. Build quality on all three is ok. The finish on the polk is laughable compared to the svs and paradigm (if that matters). So to sum it up, if you never heard the polk or the paradigm, or any speaker with a flat response, you'd never know what you were missing. Once you do though, I don't think you'd be able to even listen to the svs in passing without thinking something was wrong with the speaker. It's not that flat measuring or accurate speakers always sound the same because that's not true, but they always sound better than ones with poorly designed crossovers or lumpy response curves (SVS). The cabinet of the svs will fool you into thinking you've got a great piece of equipment for the money, you get a great cabinet for the money, the rest is cheap chinese parts, iron core inductors and sand cast resisters on the crossover are no better than what you find on the $150 speakers. For me the Polk or the Paradigm are better choices. The paradigms are made in Canada which I respect and think is amazing for the price, they didn't make excuses. I really like the Polk for what they are, and a ton of people will love them, but A/B to the 800f you can really hear a lot of detail go missing with the polks. I spent a lot of time with all of them and more speakers, and those are just my opinions. I hope it helps!

Paradigm doesn't sell direct.

What are discounts?

Still love these speakers very much and miss them. I gave them to a close friend who helps me out with installation work and he loves them too

With that amp, 100% paradigms! Not even a question, I've owned both. The SVS need 300 rms to get the party started, when you do they have a massive sound and bass but with that little of power you won't even get them moving. The paradigms are more forward and detailed than the revel, revel is VERY laid back. If you have sensitive ears than they are your ticket. For 90% movies, just buy the 800f already, you won't be upset, just keep in mind they take a full 100 hours to sound their best.

Brick100 No, premiers are lower class than studio series. Founder are the new studio series and Persona is new signature series.