As regular readers may know, I tend to change my own speakers at home on rare occasions, once I find a speaker I'm happy with I generally can't be bothered lugging others home just for the heck of it. Well, the time has come. My regular media room speakers are the Electrovoice MS-802 Studio Monitors and as they are no longer being made I figured I needed a current model speaker at home.

    Enter the Paradigm Reference Studio 40. These are a bookshelf speaker - 55cm High, 21cm wide and 31cm deep. The frequency response is said to be from 59Hz to 22kHz at -2dB which is pretty bloody good. Power rating to 140 Watts RMS with a sensitivity said to be 91dB (I reckon around 88dB, but what would I know?).

    Very few speakers can make the music come alive to the extent that the speaker itself "disappears" My KEF RDM-3's do to some degree but I have to confess, the Paradigms do a better job. I always use a subwoofer in conjunction with my main speakers even in the stereo mode for CD listening so the bottom extension is never a worry and the Yamaha YST-SW320 stuck in the corner interacts seamlessly with the Paradigms.

    Vocals are crisp without being harsh or sibilant at high volumes. The mid range clean and not too forward with the bass extremely tight with no hint of boominess. These are one of the few speakers that really do transcend the various musical arena's and are just as happy with a Moonlight Sonata as with an Ice-T.

    The Paradigm's however, are not particularly forgiving. Coupled with a cheaper amplifier they sound coarse and yucky (is that a reviewing term?). Once a good quality piece of gear is attached, they just sing, in Yamaha's case that means only their "Top Art" receivers and amp's will suffice, Marantz from the 5200 upwards and Onkyo's 696 and above.

    There are no perfect speakers, only "value for money" and I suggest that under $2500 (RRP $2119) the Paradigm Studio 40's are the best all round speaker available on the Australian market. They are an absolute must to audition for any serious music lover or those who want their Home Theatre to come alive.

    Incidentally, crazy as it may seem, I'm running my Jamo D4 as the Centre speaker. It seems to do as good a job as the "matching" Paradigm and is more compact. I'm currently using my trusty Electrovoice S-40's as surround but will try the Studio 20's for a while to see if there is any significant improvement. I'll keep you posted on that one. My Receiver in the media room is the Yamaha RX-V1200 and the DVD is the Panasonic DVD-R61.