Paradigm SE Series Home Theater Speaker System - Review

Finding a home theater speaker system that sounds great, looks great with your home decor, and is priced right, is not always easy. If you are looking for new set of loudspeakers for your home theater, check out the stylish and great sounding Paradigm SE Home Theater Speaker System. The system consists of an SE center channel speaker, four SE-1 compact bookshelf speakers for left and right front and surrounds, and an SE 300 watt powered subwoofer. After reading the following review, also check out my Photo Gallery for an additional close-up look at this speaker system.

Product Overview - SE Center Channel Speaker

1. Four Drivers/3 Way Bass Reflex Design. Woofers - (2) 5 1/2 in polypropylene, Midrange - (1) 3 1/2 in aluminum cone, Tweeter - (1) 1 in. titanium dome. 2 rear ports for added bass extension.

2. Frequency Response: ±2 dB from 75 Hz - 20 kHz (on axis), ±2 dB from 75 Hz - 17 kHz (off axis). On-axis refers to listening position directly facing speaker, off-axis refers to listening position + or - 30 degrees to either side or above/below the speaker.

3. Sensitivity: 88db (represents how loud the speaker is at a distance of one meter with an input of one watt).

4. Impedance: 8 ohms.

5. Power Handling: 15 - 130 watts, maximum continuous input power: 100 watts

6. Crossover Frequency: Bass to Midrange: 300 Hz, Midrange to Tweeter: 2.1 kHz.

7. Dimensions: (HWD) 7 in x 17-1/2 in x 9-1/2 in (17.8 cm x 44.5 cm x 24.1 cm).

8. Weight: 20.7 lb/9.4 Kg each

9. Finish: Rosenut, Black Gloss

10. Can be mounted on optional stand.

11. Suggested Price: $599.

Product Overview - Paradigm SE-1 Compact Bookshelf Speaker (mains and surrounds)

1. Two Drivers/2-Way Bass Reflex Design. Bass/Midrange: (5 1/2 in) S-PAL satin anodized pure-aluminum cone. Tweeter: 25-mm (1 in) G-PAL dome, ferro-fluid damped/cooled. Rear mounted port for added bass extension.

2. Frequency Response: ±2 dB from 70 Hz - 20 kHz (on axis), ±2 dB from 70 Hz - 15 kHz (at 30 degrees off axis). On-axis refers to listening position directly facing speaker, off-axis refers to listening position + or - 30 degrees to either side or above/below the speaker.

3. Sensitivity: 85db (represents how loud the speaker is at a distance of one meter with an input of one watt).

4. Impedance: 8 ohms.

5. Power Handling: 15 to 200 watts, maximum continuous input power: 75 watts.

6. Crossover Frequency: 2.0 kHz

7. Dimensions: (HWD) 11 in x 6-1/2 in x 8-1/2 in (27.9 cm x 16.5 cm x 21.6 cm).

8. Weight: 12.9 lbs/5.9 kg.

9. Finish: Rosenut, Black Gloss.

10. Can be mounted on optional stand.

11. Suggested Price: $349 (each).

Product Overview - Paradigm SE Powered Subwoofer

1. Driver: 10-inch Diameter, Downfiring, enclosed box design.

2. Frequency Response: 35 Hz - 150 Hz, Low Frequency Extension down to 24 Hz.

3. Phase: 0 or 180 degrees - continuously adjustable (synchronizes in-out motion of sub speaker with in-out motion of other speakers in system).

4. Amplifier Power Output: 300 watts RMS (continuous power output capability), 900 watts Dynamic Peak/

5. Crossover Frequency (frequencies below this point are passed to the subwoofer): Variable 35 Hz - 150 Hz (continuously variable), Bypass mode.

6. Power On/Off: Always on - Standby mode.

7. Dimensions: (HWD) 11-7/16 in x 11 in x 11 in (29.1 cm x 27.9 cm x 27.9 cm)

8. Weight: 14.1 lb/6.4 kg

9. Connections: RCA Line inputs (stereo or LFE).

10. Available Finishes: Rosenut, Black Gloss

11. Suggested Price: $799.

Product Overview - PBK-1 Perfect Bass Kit

The Paradigm PBK Perfect Bass Kit was also provided for this review.

The PBK-1 works by having your PC or Laptop send a series of test signals to the subwoofer via a USB connection. As the test signals are generated by the subwoofer and fill the room, they are picked up by the microphone, which, in turn, sends the signal back to the PC via a second USB connection.

Once a series of test signals is collected by the PC, the software calculates the results and matches the results against a reference curve. The software then corrects the subwoofer's response that is affected by room characteristics to more closely match the reference curve, thus optimizing subwoofer performance as much as possible for your specific listening space, correcting for the negative effects that the room adds to the mix.

Once this process is completed, results are displayed in graph form which can be saved in your PC for future reference.

It is also important to note that this process should be completed before connecting the subwoofer to a home theater system. Make further adjustments either by a equalization/room correction system or via manual tweaking using your ear or a sound meter.

Suggested Price for the PBK-1: $299.

For a visual look at the PBK-1, check out my supplementary photo.

Additional Hardware Used in This Review

Home Theater Receivers: Onkyo TX-SR705, and Harman Kardon AVR147.

DVD player: Oppo Digital DV-980H.

Blu-ray Disc Players: OPPO Digital BDP-83 and Sony BDP-S350

CD-Only Players: Denon DCM-370 and Technics SL-PD888 5-Disc Changers.

Loudspeaker System 1: 2 Klipsch F-2's, 2 Klipsch B-3s, Klipsch C-2 Center and Klipsch Synergy Sub10.

Loudspeaker System 2: EMP Tek E5Ci center channel speaker, four E5Bi compact bookshelf speakers for left/right front and surrounds, and an ES10i powered subwoofer.

TV/Monitor: A Westinghouse Digital LVM-37w3 1080p LCD Monitor.

Audio/Video connections made with Accell cables.

16 Gauge Speaker Wire used in all setups.

Level checks for speaker setups were done using a Radio Shack Sound Level Meter

Software Used

The software used in this review included the following titles:

Blu-ray Discs used included scenes from from the following: Across The Universe, Avatar, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Godzilla (1998), Hairspray, Iron Man, Red Cliff (U.S. Theatrical Version), Shakira - Oral Fixation Tour, The Dark Knight, Tropic Thunder, and UP.

Standard DVDs used included scenes from the following: The Cave, House of the Flying Daggers, Kill Bill - Vol 1/2, Lord of Rings Trilogy, Master and Commander, Moulin Rouge, and V For Vendetta.

For audio only, various CDs included: HEART - Dreamboat Annie, Al Stewart - A Beach Full of Shells, Beatles - LOVE, Blue Man Group - The Complex, Joshua Bell - Bernstein - West Side Story Suite, Eric Kunzel - 1812 Overture, HEART - Dreamboat Annie, Nora Jones - Come Away With Me, Sade - Soldier of Love.

DVD-Audio discs included: Queen - Night At The Opera/The Game, Eagles - Hotel California, and Medeski, Martin, and Wood - Uninvisible, Sheila Nicholls - Wake.

SACD discs used included: Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon, Steely Dan - Gaucho, The Who - Tommy.

Proceed to Page 2 - Evaluation and Final Take