I'm in a quandray, folks. I currently have a Cambridge Soundworks Ensemble II speaker setup for my home theatre front channels. I recently upgraded my receiver to an Outlaw Audio 1050 (verrrry nice) and this has demonstrated what I preceive to be unacceptable weaknesses in the CS system, specifically the mid-range.

I would like to upgrade my front channels to either the Paradigm Mini-Monitors or the NHT SuperOnes. Geographically speaking, it is not possible for me to arrange in-home demos of these so I am relying on you, the good people of DVD Talk, to advise me as to the strengths and weaknesses of these two models and how they compare to each other.

Cheers,
Ricco

I had a pair of SuperOnes a few years back. I am not sure it the design has changed, but the glossy black cabinet scratched VERY easily. The sound from the Superones seemed to be focused in the mid/upper midrange. They are a good bargain, but I prefer Paradigm.

I have never had the Mini's, but I have had Monitor 7's, Monitor 5's and Atoms. The Paradigms are very well built and sound great. If you take the grills off these also look really cool with the clear woofers and yellow spiders.

The obvious differences are that the S1's are acoustic suspention and the MM are ported. If they are put in a ent. center this is a factor.

Either speaker is a great value and you would be happy with each. It's not like you are comparing Bose and Paradigm. These speakers are very close in performance, and really need to be heard side by side.

I think you should go with Paradigm. I would never go back to S1's after hearing the Paradigm's. You may even want to check out the Atoms. They are almost as good as the MM, but about 1/2 the price.

Good Luck! Sorry I couldn't be more help http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/frown.gif

I have Paradigm Mini-Monitors and I like them a lot. I haven't heard the NHTs though

There's an oft cited (M I C H A E L , poorboy) comparison review between the two speakers at this site:
http://www.goodsound.com/

Porting gives MM's more bass extention:
about 50 Hz vs 60 for S1.

S1 are lower sensitivity speakers (86db) than MM (89dB), so they need twice as much
power to make the same volume level (SPL), leading to the frequently mentioned "you need good front end electronics w/S1 (or any other NHT speaker)"

MM have a better build quality - polypropylene woofer, titanium tweeter, rubber surrounds.
S1 have a reinforced paper woofer, plastic tweeter, foam surrounds.

I liked S1s better than MMs. For me, better imaging and detail. Paradigm had more bass and a fuller sound, but was a little harsh for my taste. I eventually sold my MM and MK7SE's (monitor 7 precursors) and upgraded to NHT S1s, 1.5s & 2.5i.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by jumbojp:
If you take the grills off these also look really cool with the clear woofers and yellow spiders.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


Let's not overwhelm the poor guy with sophisticated technology jargon!

I am one who doesn't use the grill covers. When I had my S1's the paper cones were just cheesy looking. The monitor series Paradigms look great and have garnered many compliments. If you take the grills of the monitors are much more appealing.

BigStupidDoofus Jr.,

I will try to keep it as simple as possible for you:

Mini Monitors= pretty
Super Ones= plain and ugly

If that is too technical let me know and I can post some pictures!

Had to edit out the smiley for I put in for BSDoofus. I thought he was being sarcastic, but I saw some of his posts in DVD Bargains and I realized he was just trying to be an ass. Oh well I hope some of the comments helped.



[This message has been edited by jumbojp (edited September 25, 2000).]