Paradigm Monitor 9 Floor standing speakers

When you look at the "niner", you can't get happy enough because of the two luxurious woofers, with which its wide front panel is decorated - the bass will be no problems. Feeling the compliance of the suspension with your fingertip, you can easily imagine how, like mighty pistons, the transparent diffusers run back and forth, creating the sound of a basso string or mimicking the movement of the bass drumhead. Everything is solid and reliable in the design of Monitor 9. The case of the 22-kg (48 lb) speaker is strengthened by a system of internal ligaments that do not leave any chance to generate unneeded overtones. The voice coil of the tweeter is immersed in a heat-removing ferrofluid.

If you want bass, you shall prepare for war. With your neighbors and possibly your immediate family... To say that "Monitors" have rich bass abilities is to say nothing. The truly royal generosity with which low-frequency energy is radiated by the system is just admirable. On a "good" level of the signal, which the "niner" handles with the poker face worthy of a hereditary professional boxer, "the beat" shakes all - aperture, back of the sofa, floor covering... The powerful striking force is felt great with rock music. However, the bass action has nothing to do with the mind-numbing depersonalization of a sound image. Good clarity at the bottom is very conducive to an adequate embodiment of symphonic music. It is clear that nothing of the sort would have happened if we were dealing only with the benign representation of a purely low-frequency aspect. Accurate, certainly with good dynamics, firmly tied to the bass, the middle of the frequencies is half of the low-frequency success of any acoustics in terms of its ability to expressively show the sound of the corresponding musical instruments. The coloring of the sound is generally perceived as enriched by warm tones, mitigating the climate of the image. In the sounds of the violin, flute, oboe, under no circumstances there arises an "iron flavor", and sometimes it seems as if the sharp edges were neatly "lapped" with a piece of fine "sandpaper". However, the tweeter highlights detailedly the uppermost layers of the "sound atmosphere" that provides a feeling of airiness and openness of the image, but also makes visible light accents on the "hissing" sound. A close-by stage is perfectly resolved on the front. At extremely high volume the image feels a little "pulled" to the speakers, loses integrity; the transparency of higher frequencies is reduced.

Thanks to the remarkable dynamic capabilities of Monitor 9, the tonal originality of the soundscape created by the system does not give grounds for a particular genre preference. It can extremely effectively simulate a symphony orchestra playing, hard rock is truly magnificent, all modern electronics is, too. It is desirable to install the pair in a fairly spacious room (20 sq.m.).

Two-way speaker system, reflex type. Dimensions - 940x240x375 mm (37"x9.4"x14.7"), weight - 22 kg (48 lbs). Speakers: two 210-mm (8.2") heads with conical polypropylene cones, tweeter with 25 mm (1") titanium dome. Split frequency of 2 kHz. Peak electric power - 150 watts nominal impedance - 8 ohms.