When talking very high-end, reference-level audiophile speakers, there are many brands that always come into the discussion such as Wilson Audio, Magico, Bowers & Wilkins, Stenheim, Estelon,and so many others. One that belongs in the conversation, but sometimes can get forgotten about, is Paradigm. These Canadian cats make one hell of a high-end, powered, room-corrected loudspeaker that can give a pair of WATT Puppies or Bowers & Wilkins 802 D4s a run for their money with an innovative design, specifically unique research and a powered, room-corrected approach that uses Anthem ARC (Anthem Room Correction) technology to get the bass right in your speakers, and that’s no small feat.
The Paradigm Persona 9H is the biggest and baddest speaker that Paradigm makes in their Ontario factory. These 190-pound monsters come shipped in massive crates, and are physically a big statement in any given listening room. As mentioned above, the three-and-a-half way speaker is powered, so the need for having a 600-watt amp is gone here. The Paradigm Persona 9H speakers allow you to buy the best-sounding but likely lower-powered amplifier (think: a 30-watt Pass Labs Class-A amp like the X30.8) can both get you the best, most open, accurate sound, paired with a little overall savings from the amp section of your audiophile budget. The ARC room correction does in irrefutable math what other audiophile speakers do with physical placement, which is to get the bass right. I’ve personally seen the German paint-drying oven that Paradigm bought for these speakers, as they can make these speakers in any color that you can dream of, paint them, dry them, and likely even assemble them, all in about a day or so. That’s incredible, and the paint finish in this car paint dryer is better-looking, as well as more durable, so that when the cleaning lady is banging the old Dyson into your $37,000 speakers, you don’t have a heart attack, as there will likely be no paint chips.
So, can the boys at Paradigm cook up a winner that can take on the best from brands like Wilson and Bowers & Wilkins? You know they can, but how good are they really in comparison? That’s what we are here to find out.
What Makes the Paradigm Persona 9H Loudspeakers Special?
- The Paradigm Persona 9H speakers are partially powered. Why audiophiles have such an issue with powered speakers is one of our hobby’s great mysteries, but somehow, if the entire speaker isn’t powered (think: MartinLogan ESL, Definitive Technology speakers, GoldenEars and others), it is somehow OK. Trust me when I tell you that the fact that you’ve got some powerful Anthem amplification for your multiple 8.5-inch drivers in the Paradigm Persona 9H speakers is nothing but a positive.
- Anthem Room Correction works (and works well). Three reviewers, including myself, use ARC in our systems when not reviewing other components, thanks to the Anthem STR Stereo Preamp (read the review). The Paradigm Persona 9Hs use that same room correction software to get your flagship Paradigms sounding their absolute best from the bottom up. It is hard to emphasize what a sonic benefit getting your bass dialed-in can be. This not only gives you that visceral, tight and powerful low end, but it also helps clear up issues higher in the frequency range.
- The Paradigm Persona 9H speakers report a whopping 96 dB efficiency. That is a very efficient loudspeaker, which again allows you to pick any small-wall power amp that you happen to be drawn to for its high- and mid-range reproduction. Some love the sweet sound of SET (single-ended triode) tubes, but they tend to be a little bit colored for me. Something in the uber-heat-generating world of Class-A amps (such as my 25-watt Pass Labs XA-25 for $5,150 is a great example) is more my cup of tea. With the Paradigm Persona 9H, you can pair up whatever amp you like with your speakers, as they simply aren’t demanding of big power or high current like other speakers in their class.
- Paradigm uses a unique beryllium tweeter. Some people suggest that BE tweeters/drivers are more hype than measured results, but some of the best research-based loudspeaker companies (think: Harman and Paradigm) tend to like BE tweeters, thus that is what you get with the Paradigm Persona 9H. This is a very high-end driver – an expensive one – that doesn’t easily distort.
- You can manually turn ARC Room Correction on/off right on the back of the speakers.This makes an A/B test a lot easier, but it also makes the Paradigm Persona 9H speakers more relevant in a reviewer’s hands, in that you can easily turn the room correction off when you are listening to evaluate other components. I did some switching while listening to parts of “Hotel California,” and you could easily hear more bass with ARC off, but it wasn’t nearly as tight. I would use the ARC engaged with slightly lower volume, but I didn’t have quick enough actions to use my phone to measure the SPL of the two different feeds.
- Custom colors are one thing, and most good audiophile speakers have them, but the Paradigm Persona 9H speakers get baked in an oven for an even faster/better finish. I got a chance to see this new toy at the Paradigm factory last February (yes, the L.A. boy was very cold), and it was beyond cool. The guys at the Paradigm factory can make a reference-level speaker, in a custom color and with a protective “shell” baked into the paint, and they can do it all in a very short period of time.
Why Should You Care About the Paradigm Persona 9H Loudspeakers?
Audiophiles who are advanced in the hobby who are looking for mastering studio-level sound reproduction will be drawn to Paradigm’s top of the line $37,000 speakers. You get a large-format speaker with a very reasonable footprint that couldn’t be easier to drive.
Those who have listening rooms that don’t have the best bass performance would benefit from a pair of speakers like the Paradigm Persona 9Hs. The included Anthem Room Correction doesn’t cover all of the frequencies in the speaker, but it does help you get your bass right, and that is the foundation that most good sound is built around. If you’ve got a challenging listening room, especially in the lower frequencies, you are likely to be interested in what Paradigm is doing with their Persona speakers.
Some Things You Might Not Like About the Paradigm Persona 9H Speakers
- The Paradigm Persona 9H use Beryllium for the tweeter, as well as the midrange driver. While I didn’t feel like the Paradigm Persona 9Hs were harsh, they also were playing on McIntosh electronics, which can have an ever-so-slight softening effect.
- These are some very, very large loudspeakers. They reportedly weigh 190 pounds, so they aren’t super-easy to move around your listening room. Hell, you need to consider where the delivery guy is going to be able to drop off your speakers with a liftgate truck, as the crates for these Canadian-made speakers are just that big and heavy.
Listening to the Paradigm Persona 9H Speakers …
My main listening for the Paradigm Persona 9H speakers included a McIntosh CD/SACD player and a McIntosh integrated amp connected via Blue Jeans cables.
In testing the deepest of deep notes, we cued up the introduction to Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake (from Compact Disc), which was notable for the overall imaging. The detail between the left and right speakers was like sonically looking into the orchestra pit. The imaging did extend well outside of the physical speakers, but the resolution of detail was even more impressive than the dynamics. The level of layering that you can hear in the first few minutes of this work was thoroughly engaging on the Paradigm Persona 9H speakers.
I tell my staff writers that, when looking for musical material to examine the span of musical cliché from unknown and ultra-obscure records on one side and the most well-known and cliché on the other side. I suggest that they try to select music in the 66 to 75 percent range in terms of overall cliché. Well, for my next demo track, I went all in with the title track from The Eagles’ Hotel California (from Compact Disc). I was able to hear the difference with ARC in the drums, and it was preferable to no room correction. The depth of the recording was on full display with the Paradigm Persona 9H speakers. You could practically hear into the tracks, as they progressively build into the first chorus. Don Henley’s voice was focused and in front of the speakers. On the Paradigm Persona 9H, I just feel like I was listening in to the master tape. They just give you that in-the-studio feel, and I like that level of sonic transparency.
On “Only the Lonely (Know the Way I Feel)” by Roy Orbison (from Compact Disc), you get a very old recording that was remastered in 2006, and it shows off how to-the-source the Paradigm Persona 9H speakers can sound. This is a spacious mix from the early 1960s that really highlights Orbison’s iconic voice. The things that caught me were the subtle details of the percussive piano, which is pretty far back in the mix, but you can hear every nuance when listening on the Paradigm Persona 9H speakers. There’s a sonic snap to the drums, but not so harsh that it lacks anything.
Will the Paradigm Persona 9H Loudspeakers Hold Their Value?
Paradigm is about as blue-chip as it comes when talking about loudspeaker brands. While they aren’t known for speakers quite this expensive, these speakers should hold their value nicely over time. The powered low-frequency drivers and the Anthem Room Correction will not go out of style any time soon, either. You get Beryllium drivers, too, which are pretty high-value. One factor that might not help resale is the physical size of the Paradigm Persona 9Hs, as they are huge and quite heavy. If you can’t save the crates, shipping these speakers to exotic locations could be a problem. Otherwise, you should be just fine with your investment in the Paradigm Persona 9H speakers.
What Is the Competition for the Paradigm Persona 9H Speakers?
My reference speakers aren’t powered in anyway, but the Bowers & Wilkins 802 D4s at $28,000 per pair (read the review) match up well with the Paradigm Persona 9H nicely. Both are capable speakers, with the $35,000 Bowers & Wilkins 800 Diamond speakers perhaps being a closer price match. I’ve always liked the narrower footprint of the Bowers & Wilkins 802 speaker, versus the wider 800 speaker. The Paradigm Personas feels narrower like the Bowers & Wilkins 802s, but taller. Sonically, the Bowers 800 Series tweeter is really amazing and resolved. The imaging is comparably detailed. with the Paradigms coming across just a little bit more mellow. The ARC room correction on the low end of the Paradigm Persona 9H speaker gives it the nod in the lower-frequency range comparison.
The MartinLogan Renaissance ESL 15A is like a brother to the Paradigm Persona 9H. They are both made under the same roof, and they both have powered woofers. The MartinLogan ESLs are hybrid electrostatic speakers, meaning that they have a somewhat restricted “hot spot,” and are very room-critical in terms of their placement. The MartinLogans don’t use ARC on the woofer of their top Renaissance line ESL speakers, but it would be cool if they did. The high frequencies of the MartinLogan ESL 15A are incredibly open-sounding. The Paradigm Persona 9H is a much easier audiophile loudspeaker to listen to on many levels. More people can enjoy the Paradigm speaker because of its wider soundstage. It also has a drastically bigger sweet spot.
The combination of a powered speaker with room correction in the bass is pretty unique. Perhaps another comparison might come be with Meridian in their DSP7200 SE product for $52,000.This speaker doesn’t pack room correction like the ARC inside of the Paradigm Persona 9H does, but it does the work of your DAC, preamp and amp – all inside of the speakers. There’s no need for an external amplifier, which gets us back into the “why do audiophiles not like powered speakers” question. The Meridian speakers sound a little bit drier and more reserved, compared to the Paradigms. For a lot less money, you also get a much larger, higher-output loudspeaker.
Final Thoughts on the Paradigm Persona 9H Speakers …
Blessed is the best way that I can describe how many different cool loudspeakers that I’ve been able to test and/or own over the years. I think I’ve owned five pairs of Wilsons. Top-of-the-line Revels have been in my system, as have Focals, Bowers & Wilkins 800 Series, MartinLogan ESLs, and so many others. Perhaps my favorite of all time were my Paradigm Signature S8s. They were about $8,500 per pair and, at that unique moment, they were the highest-end speakers that Paradigm made. And they sounded absolutely fantastic in my Brentwood home. More than once, I have thought about that wonderful ownership experience, while working on the review of these Paradigm Persona 9H speakers.
For many audiophiles, a product like the Paradigm Persona 9H represents the end of the road with speaker upgrades. This is a large form factor audiophile loudspeaker that is capable of bringing that in-the-studio resolution to your music. Deep bass? The Paradigm Persona 9Hs can go lower than almost any instrument that you can think of. Have a tough room acoustically, the tried-and-tested Anthem Room Correction makes the Paradigm Persona 9H sound radically better in the lower frequencies, with other tangential benefits in the higher sonic registers. You also get the chance to pick your own amp to drive the mids and highs, which leaves you the ability to find the sweetest, most resolute-sounding power amp, as you never need a ton of power or current from said amp.
Any person new to our hobby would be well-advised to audition a pair of speakers like the Paradigm Persona 9H. That’s not because you need to spend $37,000 on a pair of speakers to “be in the club,” because you absolutely do not. You don’t have to spend anywhere near that amount on a highly capable starter audiophile system. What would be good about hearing a speaker like the Paradigm Persona 9H in a well-designed system is that this new audiophile will get a chance to hear what is possible when you evolve your system into a real killer. The Paradigm Persona 9Hs are killers, make no mistake. They have the right technologies. They are beyond easy to drive. They have ARC. They are all shades of awesome.
