Paradigm or B&W for TT

I know its all subjective but what would be the higher quality speaker here and what would you choose, they are both virtually new and cost $500 AUD ($300 USD ish). I will be using these with a rotel ra931mk2 and a stock audio technica alp120. I do have a sub to hook up aswell if need be.

B&W DM 602 S3

or

Paradigm Phantom v4

How much of an improvement will i get from B&W DM640 - $850 - $950 AUD again basically new.

Cheers.

 

You will never regret getting the best B&W speakers that you can afford.
There is no bad B&W speaker.(some new ones are from China those don't count)
Ive had Nautilus 804 and they were amazing.When I went to electrostatics I sold them for what I paid for them used ,in a day.
The small bookshelf speakers 320 something are the most musical bookshelf Ive ever heard.
The bookshelf speakers from the series you are looking at I use for TV.
I have to look over my shoulder to see where voices or sounds are coming from they are so realistic.
Theres no audiophile amp ,the B&Ws are wired from a Panasonic plasma.
Get the biggest B&Ws .You will never regret it.
If you do you want to sell them ,you can sell them much quicker than the other ones you are considering,at the same price you paid or more.

 

I love my 601s. Aren't the paradigm floor standers? Obviously you need to decide between them and bookshelves. As B&W own Rotel they are usually a good match. Get good speaker stands if going with the B&W.

 

I'd go with the 602 S3. They are more refined than the Phantom. You'll give up low frequencies that the Phantom can deliver, but I think it's worth it. As for the 640 (I assume that you mean 640, not 604), they are from a prior generation of B&W speakers (prior to 1996). I'd think that the 602 S3 (circa 2002) should represent an improvement over the 640.

 

Can't go wrong with Paradigm. I've owned many pairs and have never been disappointed, best bang for the buck.

 

Thanks for the responses guys i was very close to buying the B&W dm602s3 but they were a little more beat up than the pictures showed and i really had my heart set on floorstanders anyway, DM640s were very tempting but the seller wouldnt budge on $950 and they are 15 - 20ish yrs old so i passed. My local HiFi store had a great sale on Dali and wharfdale so i ended up buying the Dali Zensor 7s, Vokal centre and the Zensor 1 surrounds, also got a Harmon Kardon avr171 all for $2,295 AUD, so about 1,050 pounds or 1,500 USD which i was very happy with. I was going to get the Zenzor sub but the budget ran out and i already have an okish sub that i can make do with for a while until i can afford a better sub.

I have heard the Zensor range can be a little bright with rotels but i am a fan of the bright sound most of the time and the Dalis sounded good instore, i will receive the whole lot in 2 days (7's were on order), this will be a HUGE improvement over the disgustingly bad Sony Muteki 7.2 system i was using (worst subs ever).

 

I have Paradigm Monitor 7 Version 5 towers connected to my Jolida JD-302CRC & PolyTable. I am very pleased! ☺

 

I own Paradigm Phantoms (version 3.0 - version 4.0 was merely a cosmetic change) and B&W 600's (S3) and used to own B&W 603 S3s.

I'd go with the B&W's for the reasons stated: they are a more resolving speaker with a more detailed midrange, but you do give up some of the bass of the Phantoms. Though, the 602 is a huge standmount and isn't bad in that regard.

Both are very pleasant speakers mind you, but the B&W is more refined.

 

Wondering if anyone can recomend me a Sub to go with my new Dali Zensor 7 5.1 system, i was just going to make do with my old one but i managed to sell my old Sony Muteki system for way more than i thought so now i need a good sub. My first thought was just to go with the Dali Zensor sub for $1,000 AUD, however it doesnt have high level inputs which means i would have to use the tape output on my stereo amp to feed the sub. It works and i will eventually upgrade the stereo amp so i will most likely go with the Dali but i just thought ide see if anyone could throw some other subs in the mix, ones that have High, line and LFE inputs and cost 500 pounds or $750 USD. Thanks guys.

 

Hello Marshall_SLX:

I can see that you are pretty new here: welcome!

You'll get better results if you start a new thread: anyone looking in this thread is thinking about the Paradigm vs B&W question and others won't even be aware that you've asked a question about a different topic.

As to your sub question, I'm guessing that you are in Australia? I'm not very familiar with what would be readily available in your market, but I will say that there's absolutely no reason to match the brand of sub with your main speakers, so anything well reviewed would work out just fine. And most modern subs are pretty flexible with regard to inputs.

Try posting your question in a thread you create, and you'll likely get more informed responses!

 

I use four B&W 605 speakers with my A/V amp for movies and love them. For my two channel system it's B&W Nautilus 805 speakers with a pair of B&W 608 subs for the low end. Love B&W.

 

While I can't speak to specific models - I generally prefer the tonality of B&W speakers to Paradigm. B&W's are light on their feet, with a nice warmth on the bottom end that belies their specs. Paradigm's are very forward-sounding in general, with a big bottom end that you either love or find overwhelming, and a top end that doesn't quite match B&W's refinement.