Someone over on the home theatre sub is stuck between two full sets and I think it is a more interesting question than the usual which speaker sounds better thread. The two options are Paradigm 720v2 towers with the 520C centre and 220B surrounds, or KEF Q11 Meta towers with the Q6 Meta centre and Q3 Meta surrounds. Driving both is a Denon AVR-X2900H with an SVS SB-1000 Pro underneath. He has heard both, liked both, and gives Paradigm the edge on looks in piano black gloss.
If the aesthetics are already decided in Paradigm's favour and the sound was close, then the thing left to weigh is how the set behaves as a set. KEF's whole argument with Uni-Q is that the tweeter sits in the middle of the midrange cone, so the dispersion pattern stays consistent as you move off centre. In a three across the front layout that matters more than it does in stereo, because the centre channel is the one doing the dialogue and it is the one most people sit off axis from. A coaxial centre and coaxial towers also tend to timbre match more easily, since they are the same driver idea in different sizes.
Paradigm's counterargument is usually output and dynamics for the money, and in a big room that is a real answer, not a consolation prize.
The thing I would push back on is the amp. An X2900H driving nine channels' worth of ambition is fine at sensible levels in a normal room, and it is the first thing to run out of headroom if the room is large or the towers are inefficient. Room size is the missing variable in almost every one of these threads.
What would swing it for you here, the off axis consistency or the aesthetics you look at every day?
If the aesthetics are already decided in Paradigm's favour and the sound was close, then the thing left to weigh is how the set behaves as a set. KEF's whole argument with Uni-Q is that the tweeter sits in the middle of the midrange cone, so the dispersion pattern stays consistent as you move off centre. In a three across the front layout that matters more than it does in stereo, because the centre channel is the one doing the dialogue and it is the one most people sit off axis from. A coaxial centre and coaxial towers also tend to timbre match more easily, since they are the same driver idea in different sizes.
Paradigm's counterargument is usually output and dynamics for the money, and in a big room that is a real answer, not a consolation prize.
The thing I would push back on is the amp. An X2900H driving nine channels' worth of ambition is fine at sensible levels in a normal room, and it is the first thing to run out of headroom if the room is large or the towers are inefficient. Room size is the missing variable in almost every one of these threads.
What would swing it for you here, the off axis consistency or the aesthetics you look at every day?
