The Studio 60s come from Paradigm's high-end Reference line that represents a "cost-is-no-object-standard", and is the best speaker line Paradigm offers.

Paradigm's mission has long been to offer extremely high quality speakers at an affordable price. Many, if not all, of Paradigm's speakers sound just as good or better than speakers costing much more, and the Paradigm Reference Studio 60s are no exception.

The Specs
Standing roughly 36 inches tall, 9 inches wide (with wood side), and 15 inches deep the Studio 60 is an elegant looking tower. A grill covers the entire front portion of the speaker minus 2.5 inches at the bottom for the logo faceplate.

Removing the grill reveals a 2.5 way driven speaker. A 25mm dome tweeter, 165mm midrange woofer, and a bass dedicated 165mm woofer. A tuned port is located below the woofer to enhance bass response.

An 8ohm speaker that plays efficiently with any modest amp, the Studio 60 is capable of handling 150+ watts with a suitable amplifier range of 15-200 watts.

On the back you'll find 4 binding posts which allow for bi-wiring or bi-amping capabilities. The speakers come with screw in spikes and gold feet that attach to the bottom four corners of the enclosure allowing for an elegant look and a rock solid foothold on any surface.

Speaker Matching
All of the Paradigm Reference line uses the same tweeter and mid-woof. Using the same drivers ensures that all Reference line speakers will match up in tonal quality. This makes it easy to mix and match Paradigm Reference speakers, and allows you to assemble your home theater in whatever way you choose.

Setup
Excellent soundstaging can be created by having the Studio 60s face forward into the room placed 6-8 feet apart.

Using the face forward setup, the Studio 60s produced tight localization of instruments and voices with center imaging that is simply amazing. The soundstage extended way beyond the width of the speakers, and stereo surround effects played out very realistically.

Setups that require more distance between the speakers require the Studio 60s to be angled into the listening position to achieve similar results.

Break-in Time
Every speaker has a break-in period wherein the speaker needs to be played thoroughly to loosen up the drivers a bit. During the break-in period the speakers will sound good, but not at their best.

The Studio 60s have an extremely long break-in period. With normal play it can take as long as 3 months to break these puppies in. While most other speakers break-in within a month.

Once any speaker breaks-in you'll notice a definite shift in the quality of sound the speakers produce. With the Studio 60s the sound after break-in was exceptional. Out of the box they sounded amazing, but after break-in they sounded simply spectacular.

More notable were changes in the midrange and deep bass rather than with the highest frequencies. Bass was noticeably deeper and louder while still retaining much of the detailed tightness offered before. The midrange snapped open to offer a larger, more airy soundstage. It was like getting new speakers all over again. Recalibration was definitely called for, as the speakers played completely different from when they first came out of the box.

Stereo Sound
The Studio 60s offer awe inspiring sound capabilities, able to compete with many of the high-end speakers out there. These speakers are all about accuracy. No frequency is highlighted or stands out, creating an astonishingly neutral sound.

The highs and midrange offer an extremely open soundstage, creating a beautiful envelope of sound that wraps you into music. "Crisp" an "detailed" are the best words one could use to describe these remarkable speakers. A truly effortless sound without sounding overly bright, even when played at high volume levels.

Bass extension is the only debatable item with the Studio 60s. These towers offer an extremely tight and musical bass. They can go solo without the help of a subwoofer, but a subwoofer can help the low frequencies kick a little more. Without a sub the Studio 60s play tight and musical, but it may be too tight for some.

When coupled with a powered sub there's nothing these towers can't do, and the ultra-tight bass drivers really help to hear the details of the lower frequencies.

Home Theater Sound
Mixed with any speaker in the Paradigm Reference line, the Studio 60s make an excellent fit for use as the main left and right channels in a surround sound setup.

All the great features of the Studio 60s musical detail shines through with great aplomb during movie soundtracks as well. High impact scenes such as those in Armageddon and Saving Private Ryan are executed with crisp detail and tight control. Every sound effect was delivered with stunning precision through the Studio 60s.

The combination of the Studio 60's neutral tone, excellent transparency, and pinpoint soundstaging enables them to deliver an expanding level of realism and "feeling-like-you're-there" excitement that'll rival most any other speaker.

Since the Studio 60s can handle most anything you can throw at them, they won't put up much of a fight when you demand the most of them. They're truly remarkable speakers that offer an excellent balance of high quality sound for both music and movies.

Availability
Paradigm only sells through authorized home theater/stereo dealers, and provides a dealer location service on their web site @ www.paradigm.com