Paradigm Titans- a very tiny review

thedelihaus

thedelihaus

Nocturnal transmissions
Got a pair of Paradigm Titans playing in the kitchen after a frustrating evening with the living room setup.

These speakers, about the size of the Boston Acoustics A-40s or my much-poked-fun-at Latvian Baltek 30s are indeed lots of fun.

Best thing about them? A few items.

Great separation. Clear, clean tweeter. good balance between the drivers- no "suck out" I've been exposed to with some 2-way designs. Mids are good.

Issues? The ported design, while allowing the Titans to go pretty low for their size, gives them a pronounced bass that, to me, sound a bit bloated and sloppy. smeared, at times, if you will.

Still a fantastic little speaker, but I am thinking that they may end up as surrounds in my HT setup.

Worth their weight in sheckles? Absolutely.

Are the issues I'm having possibly related to setup? Very possible. I've got them in corners- this may be loading the bass.

I can't move them- out of my reach, and after a fall outta my wheelchair earlier today, I'm not interested in another attempt to move a speaker.

So far, the "laughable" Baltek 30s are still the better of the small speakers I own- toppling the Minimus 7s, just edging out the Paradigm titans, still awaiting a test against the Boston A-40s (which haven't been played in eons- so I can't compare), and in all honesty, though I like what the Bose 301 IIs do for non-critical backround music, and probably what I'll use in my kitchen as such, they aren't as nice as the others.

Gear used for the tests-

Currently being run off my Marantz 1060 (30wpc), and either an iPod or a Sony ES CD player (that's acting up).

These are the original series. I've got one lonely orphan series II. Build quality improves as the series increases, though even these first series models are well-built.

If you see a pair of these for sale, absolutely worth $150 or so, though you may get a chance to grab 'em as low as $99. I've seen 'em sell close to $240 at times.

Enjoyment value is much higher than this pricepoint.

New Titans are selling for $500 a pair.

I imagine, with better placement, the bass hump will be cured.
 
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Nice review, I've always been partial to the Paradigm 'house sound'. The titans are definitely nice little speakers, but if you want to see what a little paradigm can do, see if you can flush out some mini-monitors.

I had both at one point as part of a 5.1 system, and enjoyed them immensely, much more than my current setup to be honest (what was I thinking!?!?).

Either of these little boxes offer some of the best sound in affordable bookshelfs. THe studio 20's are nice...actually very nice... but the mini-monitors, used, are probably the best bang for the buck in the Paradigm line-up!
 
I'm liking the Titans better than the AR 4xs I've been running.

I'd like to try out some NHT SuperOnes against the Titans- that would be an interesting comparo.
 
The Paradigm Atoms, a slightly smaller sibling of the Titan, are also very worthy, and don't suffer from the bottom end bass hump to the same degree as the Titans.

They are equally placement sensitive, and like to be placed out from the wall due to the bass port.
 
thedelihaus said:
I'd like to try out some NHT SuperOnes against the Titans- that would be an interesting comparo.
Click to expand...

I've had both. The Paradigms can't hold a candle. They have essentially no transparancy compared to the NHTs, and the NHTs are even lacking compared to the Walshes.. And these are a 200 dollar speaker not 500.
 
I do remember reading that the Titans were found to have a definite "bass bump" around 100Hz, and response starts falling rapidly as you drop below 70Hz.
Tom
 
I have always said that I like my Titans, My first really good sounding speaker. The corner is a bad place for them, you need space and stands to get the best out of them.

While I have heard and own better speakers, the one that showed you where the partys at (whatever that party may be!) is the one you will always remember!
 
I owned NHT simultaneous to Paradigm Monitor series (Titans used to be in the Performance line) speakers some years back and preferred the open sound of the NHT's however the Paradigms had greater detail and were warmer sounding. I kept the Paradigms because I simply couldn't feed the power hungry NHT's enough juice to make 'em happy.

Another note is that the new expensive Titans are actually the Titan Monitor and are quite possibly the worst speaker Paradigm has ever produced.

The series 1 and 2's could be had brand new for $200 or so, so I wouldn't pay more than $30 or $40 for them used in good condition. I've owned 10 or 15 pairs of Paradigms, It's a line I know well.
 
I love my titans. For someone who switches gear around a lot, they are workhorses, jack-of-all-trades kind of speakers. For a long time they were paired up with an Eico HF-81, located on two bookshelves about 5' off the ground. This combo is nothing short of magic. They sparkle like crazy with that amp.

They are a bit sloppy, but they are great for beefing up thin electronics. right now they provide night bedroom ambience with a Pioneer CD receiver- can't remember the model, one of the recent ones with the motorized flip-up display panel. Turned down low with this otherwise less than distinguished receiver, they make sweet music together. Very smooth.
 
after many days of playing them, I'm still finding them a pleasant speaker. Non-fatigueing for the most part, but still too much bass "oomph" to be perfect.

They are still in the corner however, so I've not moved them to stands, which could make all the difference in the world.
 
Thanks for the nice review. I've been curious about paradigm speakers ever since hearing a pair of mini-monitors at a local stereo shop. The guy at the shop does a crossover mod on the mini-monitors that supposedly improves phase coherence for better blending between drivers. The ones I heard sounded fantastic for such a small and surprisingly affordable speaker. If I ever invest in a modern surround-sound setup, I would likely go with paradigm, based on what I heard at the stereo shop.

Could the bass hump you're hearing have to do with the lack of a subwoofer? I always thought of paradigm as a HT-type speaker, usually used with subwoofers (I could be totally off-base with this, it was just my uninformed impression). Maybe handing some of the bass responsibility over to another driver would help with the hump?

I'm glad you're still enjoying these after the honeymoon period is over.
 
I was concerned to see a set of classic titans (I don't know what you'd call them, series 1? "original?") on ebay in need of refoaming! Has anybody taken a close enough look to see if the surrounds are foam? the originals have a non-removable grill. My policy is usually to resist the temptation to take speakers apart if they are working fine.
 
I don't remember what mine were, but I think I've seen a very few early titans with foam.

I can't get to mine (physical injury), but when I do, I'll check for you what mine are.
 
Ponderbear, The early ones were foam. I still have mine. The speakers are mounted to the back of the face .. removable by taking the back panel off etc.

TheDelihaus,
Try them about a foot or so from the back wall and get them out of the corners and up at ear level. They really aren't bad sounding at all. Positioning makes a huge difference.

Steve
 
Thanks, Steve.

don't get me wrong- these are great little monitors, and won't be going anywhere anytime soon. They'll be staying with me.

I'm sure placement can tame some or almost all that bass issue.
 
I've been curious about the Titans, the SuperOnes, and the PSB Alphas. Then last week, I grabbed a pair of fairly clean and fully functional Alphas at my favorite audio boutique, Goodwill! I'm driving them with a 2270 and, like thedelihaus, a Sony ES CD player that's acting up. These are the first small speaker I've had whose performance belies their size and I'm enjoying them a lot.

Has anybody tried the the Titans or SuperOnes alongside Alphas? I'd love to know how they stack up!
 
I had a pair of Alpha's also and sold them and kept the Titans. I really liked the Alpha and think that they are close to the same type of speaker. I would say that the Alpha was a little smoother and the Titan a little more sparkly.

I have a pair of RHB two ways that are physically just like the PSN and Paradigm but sonically much better. I couldn't keep both (small house) and kept the Titan as much for the memories as for the sound.

As far as PSB speakers, the 300 is much better speakersthan the Alpha and are cheaper to boot! I would look for a pair of 300's it just does everything a little better and the bass is more controlled and fuller.
 
judgeschreber said:
...I always thought of paradigm as a HT-type speaker, usually used with subwoofers (I could be totally off-base with this, it was just my uninformed impression)...
Click to expand...

Do you consider most B&W speakers to be HT-types? Paradigms sound quite similar (generally) to B&Ws. Many Paradigm models can put more than a few 'audiophile' speakers costing much more to shame in terms of music reproduction.

Jeff
 
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