There are two speakers within the Paradigm family of products that will forever hold a special place in my audiophile and home theater heart; the first is the Monitor 7 floorstanding loudspeaker and the second the Mini Monitor reviewed here. The Mini Monitor is now in its seventh (v.7) incarnation much like the rest of the Monitor line of speakers and like its larger brothers the updates go beyond the physical. Another "update" for the Mini Monitor is its price, up from previous generations, at $279 each or $558 a pair.

Additional Resources
• Read more bookshelf speaker reviews written by the staff at HomeTheaterReview.com.
• Explore subwoofer options to pair with the Mini Monitor v.7.
• See receivers in our AV Receiver Review section.

Like the Monitor 7 floorstanding loudspeaker, which I reviewed a few months ago, the Mini Monitor gets a similar facelift, featuring the same flush façade (behind the magnetic grill) clad in soft-touch rubber like material. Finish options for the Mini Monitor include Black Ash and Heritage Cherry. The Mini Monitor itself measures 13 and a half inches tall by nearly eight inches wide and 10 and a half inches deep; and it tips the scales at a respectable 17 pounds.

Behind the scenes the Mini Monitor employs a six and a half inch bass/midrange driver and a single, one-inch S-PAL dome tweeter. The combination is good for a reported frequency response of 75Hz to 22kHz. The Mini Monitor's sensitivity is rated at 90dB with an impedance of eight Ohms, making the Mini Monitor well suited for a wide range of electronics, be it an AV receiver or budget separates.

While I consider v.7 of the Mini Monitor to be a whole new speaker for both the Monitor line and Paradigm there are elements of its sound that remain unchanged from update to update; mainly its coherence. Monitors, especially the Mini Monitor, are good when it comes to presenting the listener with an accurate and seamless vocal presentation. Since the Mini Monitor doesn't really do deep bass (though the bass it does have is nice) the focus can be placed on the midrange and high frequencies, which the Mini Monitor excels at reproducing. While ever so slightly lean the Mini Monitor's midrange and treble performance still feels natural. Boxy colorations are minimized here giving the Mini Monitor a more focused presentation than previous generations. The high frequencies are smooth and largely grain free provided you don't throttle the volume too hard and overwhelm the speaker, if you do you'll notice the Mini Monitor's sound will thin throughout and become decidedly two-dimensional. The Mini Monitor is well suited for small to medium rooms or to serve as rear/effects channels (though there are dedicated rear channels within the Montior line of products) in a multi-channel setup. For deep bass you'll have to be sure and mate the Mini Monitor's to a capable subwoofer or two.

Read about the high points and low points of the Mini Monitor v.7 on Page 2.