I just went to the local audiophile specialty store and was blown away by the Paradigm Atom speakers. Not too familiar with the various brand names, I simply asked for the best pair of speakers that can be had for under $200. Without hesitation, the salesman directed me to the Atoms. They are quite small in size and are bookshelf types. But the clarity, the AMAZING clarity of the trebles impressed me beyond belief. The salesman then gave me an audiophile publication review of the atoms, in which the reviewer raved endlessly about the quality one earned with their price.

If anyone is interested in the article, I will take excerpts from it and quote it for you. But believe me, I think the Atoms can give ANY speaker for $350/pair or under a run for their money.

I have had the Atoms for over a year and I love them. I got mine from Costsheets for $125 a pair shipped. I don't think you can go wrong with getting a few pairs of Atoms.

I was going for Klipsch Quintet or Energy Take 5 for my HT when someone suggested me Paradigm Atom. I was sold when I listened to Atom. But, then salesman made me listen to NHT Superzero. I would say the difference was phenomenal. I was sold on NHT and thats what I have for my HT now. I would suggest you listen to NHTs before making any decision. Listen to Atom and Superzero side by side. BTW, superzeros sale for $160 a pair.

Can any of these be bought online? And will
having a JBL N Center channel speaker be
adversely affected by mixing the brand of
speakers?
Thanks!

Neitzl

I'm not familar with NHT, they may be wonderful. But I compared the Atoms to the small B&W L series and was blown away by the atoms. The B&Ws were great, but more than twice the price! For the money you can not go wrong with the atoms and, even if money were not an object,I'd be hard pressed to select the B&Ws over these Atom speakers!!

I have Paradigm Atoms for my surrounds and I definitely agree they are excellent speakers for the money. I haven't heard NHT but I wouldn't doubt the claim of our friend above.

I had a pair of NHT SuperOnes a few years back and I liked them also. The only thing I disliked was the glossy finish was too easily scratched.

The NHT SuperZeros use a 4" woofer in an Acoustic Suspesion enclosure so your bass output with them will be well below the Atoms which use a 5.25" woofer in a ported enclosure.

If you are putting the speakers in a bookcase or against a wall definately get the NHT's, but if they are going to be out in the open and you want bass below 100hz from your main speakers get the Atoms.

If you get the NHT's I would reccommend a 8-10" sub because it may have to produce bass up to about 120HZ to blend well with them. A larger sub may not produce the higher frequencies well. If you go with the Atoms you could get a larger sub since you can cross it over at 80HZ because the Atoms play resonably well past 80HZ. Good Luck

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by koobird:
If anyone is interested in the article, I will take excerpts from it and quote it for you. But believe me, I think the Atoms can give ANY speaker for $350/pair or under a run for their money.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I was so impressed with the article that I will quote it for you regardless. The article is from Audio magazine (April 1999) and is by Corey Greenberg.

The Atom "...does not look or feel like an inexpensive speaker. Fit and finish are on a par with speakers 10 times the price...."

"...no speaker has unseated the venerable SuperZero as the best-sounding speaker for the money... until this new Paradigm Atom...."

"I cant believe how great these Atoms sound for $179! It's ridiculous! Sound this good cant come this cheap. I almost feel like it shouldnt."

"In terms of treble transparency and detail, the new Atom pole-vaults over anything you're going to hear under $300/ pair."

"For a tweeter this great to be available to the masses at such a bargain-basement price- and on a speaker that does everything else extremely well- well, it just leaves me speechless."

I've never seen a reviewer be so overwhelmingly laudatory for a set of speakers. Simply put, the Atoms are the best pair you can buy for under $300/ pair. They cant compete with these over $500/ pair of speakers, for obvious reasons. But if you are on a budget and need something bookshelf size, there is no other choice.


[This message has been edited by koobird (edited September 09, 2000).]