[zero33]

So being the kind of guy to hate credit, I bought an AVR-1611 about two months ago from a local installer. It sat in a spare room for about three weeks with no speakers to hook up.

I was as anxious as a kid needing a good chocolate fix, needless to say.

My brother-in-law remembered he had a set of Paradigm something-or-others in storage and loaned me the fronts and center (no sub). I looked for the nameplate on the back but it was covered by a mount. Didn't want to hurt his older speakers so I didn't remove the mount. They were smallish bookshelf types. They sounded FANTASTIC compared to the Sammy TV speakers.

I finally built up the cash to buy my own speakers, but I'm still torn between buying a HTiB set or picking up a set of 1) Bookshelves 2) Center 3) Sub over time.

For now I have a demo of Paradigm Cinema 70s. I hooked them up last night, ran Audessy and sat back to be amazed.

I wasn't. I was shocked to find that the three loaners from my bro in law had more guts than the whole set of Cinemas w/ subwoofer.

I haven't given up yet (I still need to tweak the sub crossover and such), but I have my doubts :S

 

[zero33]

So I found a fellow named BatPig who prides himself on his knowledge of Denon equip. It's very thorough and he's done a great job is highlighting tips on setting up a set of speakers - especially using Audessy.

I've made my decision: I don't like these Cinema 70s and I'm glad I didn't shell out $500 for them. YMMV, but I find the top end very tinny. The base is nice and sounds very full, but the satellites are just... meh. They sound cheap, honestly.

I never found much in terms of critique on this package, but I'm glad I demo'd them!

 

[eljay]

I had a pair of Paradigm Cinema 70s a few years ago for surround duty. I wouldn't consider them for primary (mains or center channel) duty. (YMMV.)

If you're shopping on a budget, start off with a pair of Paradigm Mini Monitors (v1-v4) and a CC-350 (or a CC-370 (v2-v4)). You should be able to get all three for under $500, easy. Add a PW-2200 v2 or a Servo-15 v1 (for ~$400-600) and I think you'll be pretty satisfied.

 

[zero33]

Thanks for the tip!

I'll have to check that out.