Letters - September 2009
Paradigm and JL Audio subwoofers
September 28, 2009
Editor,
I have read the Paradigm
Sub 25 review by Randall Smith and read your comments as well. I had up until
yesterday a pair of JL Audio Fathom f113s and was hoping you could tell me a little more
as to why you think it outdoes the Fathom. I know you are more of a two-channel guy per
se, but I am more of a movie guy slowly turning into a two-channel guy. I really loved the
Fathoms and they have served me well for over 2.5 years, but I got an offer I felt I
couldn't refuse so they are now gone. My one complaint about them, though, was that they
couldn't handle some of the more bass-heavy scenes in some of the movies that carry
heavy-handed explosions and whatnot. Is the Paradigm able to handle these sub-20Hz signals
better and more gracefully over the JL? I know my JLs would sometimes make some funky
noises and I found myself reaching for the remote more than once to turn things down a
bit. I also wanted to know if the Paradigm keeps that tight hit-you-in-the-chest midbass
that the JL provided and excelled at. Thanks.
Brannon
You can overload almost any commercially available
subwoofer I know of with the right combination of high output levels and super-low
frequencies. The way to combat that is to use multiple subwoofers. The Paradigm Sub 25
does have certain advantages over the JL Audio f113, however, which is namely that
15" driver. The larger surface area, with roughly the same excursion capability,
allows it to produce more output with all other things being equal. One aspect of the Sub
25’s performance that is quite surprising is how tight and controlled the woofer
actually is. It definitely has a physical punch if it is crossed over high enough in
frequency to where it is capturing some of the midbass action. Although I can’t say
for sure that a single Sub 25 would outperform a pair of f113s, I can confidently state
that a pair of 25s would easily surpass them. It is one of the best subs on the market
currently and you should definitely look into it. . . . Jeff Fritz
Suggestion for speaker reviews
September 16, 2009
To Vince Hanada,
I've been reading and enjoying your reviews of systems for
years along with the rest in Home Theater & Sound. I have a suggestion,
though: Either in your reviews or maybe in a section of its own, it would be cool if you
had a section where you had different systems recommended for different room sizes. For
example, you could say for rooms 200 sq. ft. to 400 sq. ft. these systems are
recommended. You could also recommend systems that not only would work well for those
spaces, but also mention if the systems would work well in larger spaces. Example: The
Paradigm Monitor 11 v.6 / Monitor CC-390 v.6 / Monitor ADP-390 v.6 / UltraCube 12
home-theater speaker system is recommended for room sizes 200-1000 sq. ft., but also can
be in larger rooms ranging from 1000 sq. ft. to 1500 sq. ft. Or you could have a bar chart
that would have green representing the recommended area and then turning red when
approaching room sizes that are too large. Thanks for the great reviews.
Angel Morales
Good suggestions! . . . Vince Hanada
Streaming movies?
September 10, 2009
Editor,
I am shopping for a new Blue-ray player and noticed that
several models will stream movies from sources such as Netflix. Do you have any experience
with that and what do you think of it?
Regards,
Nelson
I have an LG player that streams from Netflix and
overall I really like the feature. I do often wish for a larger selection to choose from:
Only a small percentage of Netflix’s offerings can be played instantly. However, I
was surprised at how smooth the process of streaming movies and television shows is. The
player buffers enough of the content that I have not experienced any dropouts due to poor
Internet connectivity. I find that almost amazing. The quality is also quite good,
although not high definition. The service comes in handy when I’m between BDs and
really want to watch something entertaining. I would not buy a BD player that did not have
streaming capability. . . . Jeff Fritz |
