Technology, by definition, is the practical application of knowledge. When it comes to sound reproduction, no one knows more than Paradigm. When it comes to the practical application of that knowledge we’re committed to doing it better! Better measurements, better materials, better components always result in better sound … and better speakers.

While many speaker companies do not have the resources to design and manufacture their own drive units, Paradigm purpose-designs robust drivers for specific speakers.

 


 

To ensure superb consistency, our crossovers boast hand-selected precision parts.

Our high-power, high-current amplifiers with oversized power supplies and massive heatsinks deliver tremendous (and instantaneous) power output at all times.

Use your knuckles! Rap on our enclosures! As one reviewer asserted, they’re as dead as we claim in our literature! Acoustically inert high-density hardboard reinforced by strategically located radial braces limit unwanted resonances and increase enclosure stiffness. At other times, no bracing is even required on our speakers, even on our most powerful subwoofers as they pound out the deepest, loudest bass imaginable … it’s all in the design!

Custom speakers, often referred to as architectural speakers — designs hidden out of sight in a wall or ceiling (for those who don’t have the space or want a minimalist approach to music and home theater) — are growing in popularity. Again, Paradigm is leading the way in this area. When it comes to in-wall/in-ceiling speakers, there is no substitute for good design build on years of experience producing the very best sounding freestanding designs. More than 25 years of intensive research and design backed by cutting-edge technology, much of it proprietary, lie behind every custom speaker we produce. The result? Sound reproduction that rivals that of the very best freestanding designs.

Precision. Consistency. Long-term reliability. These are inherent characteristics of even the smallest Paradigm component part. Technology and design that represent true innovation in the pursuit of perfection in audio reproduction. Out of this come sonic accuracy and purity, a clean, detailed and transparent reproduction of the original performance, nothing more, nothing less.

It starts with knowledge, it ends with knowing, knowing that you’ve created a better product … an audibly better product. You hear it in every Paradigm speaker produced!

 

Phase Coherence

The natural acoustic characteristics of all drivers limit their use to specific frequency ranges. Two or more drivers are required to cover the complete audible range. The speaker’s crossover divides the input signal so that each driver only receives frequencies that it can reproduce. Since drivers are physically separated from each other, there will be phase (or timing) differences between their outputs (Fig. 1). These differences must be addressed to ensure the faithful recreation of the original sound.

Achieving accurate phase alignment between drivers can be accomplished in a number of ways. Methods used over the years include: physical alignment, placing drivers on stepped baffles or sloped baffles; mounting tweeters coaxially or coincidentally; or electrical alignment through various crossover design techniques.

While each of these has its supporters and detractors, none are perfect, and some methods may even produce other more serious sonic anomalies. Paradigm speakers have phase coherent crossovers designed so that the summed output of the drivers is completely and accurately rejoined.

The resulting phase coherence (Fig. 2) faithfully preserves the sonic integrity of the original sound with tremendous clarity and resolution throughout a very large listening area. This phase coherence can be easily seen in measurements where the speaker’s frequency response shows a completely seamless transition from driver to driver, both on- and off-axis.

 

 

 

Fig. 1
Typical Phase Coherence: The large notch in both on- and off-axis response curves shows a lack of phase coherence between drive units.

 

 

 

 

Fig. 2
Paradigm speakers have outstanding phase coherence between drive units for superb seamless sonic integration.


 

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