Paradigm Reference Studio 20 v.5 Bookshelf Speaker Reviewed

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Paradigm-Studio20-review.gifI've been a fan of Paradigm for years, owning and enjoying seemingly every speaker in their product line from the awesome and affordable Atoms to their flagship Signature S8s. Over the years there have been two Paradigm speaker designs that have struck a special chord with me, the Paradigm Mini Monitors and the Reference Studio 20s. The Paradigm Mini Monitors were my first ever audiophile speaker purchase and every model year I would simply upgrade them versus looking at another manufacturer. In college I was able to take the next step and scrounge up enough money to upgrade my Mini Monitors to Reference Studio 20s. Fast-forward to today and the pair of Paradigm Reference Studio 20 v.5's before me. I loved the previous four incarnations of the Studio 20s but have to admit that v.5 looks to be the best yet.

Taking more than a few stylistic cues from their big brother, the Signature S2s, the Reference Studio 20 v.5s look almost identical in appearance. They're not of course, for the Signature line comes in a variety of high gloss finishes and feature better veneers and thicker cabinets; however I'd hardly call the Reference Studio 20 v.5's ugly. Clad in your choice of Rosenut, Black Ash, Cherry or High Gloss Piano Black, the Studio 20v.5's have smooth, flowing lines void of any hard angles or edges. The Studio 20 v'5 retails for $1,198 a pair, which is a bit costlier than earlier models but still within the realm of extreme value for the money: a Paradigm staple. The Studio 20 used to be the entry into the Reference Studio lineup of loudspeakers, however that honor now falls to the Reference Studio 10, which is slightly smaller than the 20 and retails for $798 a pair.
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The Studio 20 v.5 is a two way front-ported design featuring a one inch dome tweeter mated to a single, seven inch bass/midrange driver. On paper the Studio 20 v.5 has a reported frequency response of 54Hz to 22kHz. The Studio 20 v.5 is also easier to drive than most bookshelf/monitor speakers in its class with its 90dB sensitivity rating and rather benign eight Ohm load, making it suitable for amplifiers ranging in power from a measly 15 watts on up to 180. Truth be told, I've powered previous Studio 20 designs with amplifiers with as little as two watts per channel, with stunning results provided I didn't get too crazy with the volume controls.

In terms of overall sound quality, the Studio 20 v.5 is a very smooth, refined, nearly colorless or characterless loudspeaker. I don't mean characterless in a bad way, actually quite the opposite. When you think about it, a loudspeaker should be characterless, it should simply be a messenger, one without any agenda or history of its own. Like the detective novels and television shows of yesteryear, the Studio 20 v.5 keep it to "just the facts." The Studio 20 v.5's midrange is sublime and among the best you'll find in its class, though it can seem a bit light at first, but stick with it and you'll begin to realize that other speakers simply sound syrupy in comparison. The Studio 20 v.5's high frequency performance is top notch though it does lack that magic sparkle and air you'll find from the Signature S2's Beryllium tweeter. The Studio 20 v.5's bass isn't what I'd call a foundation buster - for that you'll need a subwoofer or two; however what bass it does have is surprising and very agile and taut. If you have a smaller room and don't listen to a great deal of hard, driving rock or rap then you may be just fine with a pair of Studio 20 v.5s. However, if you plan on watching any sort of summer movie fare with them, be sure to pack the sub.

Competition and Comparison
You can compare Paradigm's Reference Studio 20 v.5 against its competition by reading our reviews for the Dynaudio Excite X12 loudspeaker and the Revel Performa M22 loudspeaker.  For more information and reviews on different products, visit our Bookshelf Speaker section.  You can also find additional information on our Paradigm brand page.

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  • Comment on this article

  • By Tank252ca

I must say that your review was spot on. I started out auditioning the Paradigm Mini Monitors, which did sound quite good, especially considering the size and price. I then upped my budget and checked out some big box stores. What a disappointment. The Polk towers were lifeless, lacking any detail. The Klipsh towers were much too strong in the upper mid-range. I figured I would find something good from Energy, but the CF-50 sounded thin (not enough bass detail although better mids and highs than the others) and when I saw the RC-70 get deeply discounted I checked those out too. At $2,5000 a pair (Cdn retail) I expected much more. The store had them placed poorly, so they were very boomy and the mids were not satisfying at all. Out of all the towers at the store, only the Energy Veritas V63B came close to meeting my expectations, and those retail for $3,800 a pair (Cdn).

I then went back to my local Paradigm dealer and asked to listen to the Monitor towers. I actually liked the Monitor 7 less than the Mini Monitor. There was something about the mids that sounded unnatural (too pronounced for my taste). The Monitor 9 sounded a bit better, but I still wasn't satisfied. My rep then suggested for reference that I should give a quick listen to the Paradigm Studio line. After days of testing, there finally were the beautiful natural vocals that I was looking for. All of the other speakers that I listened to coloured the vocals to some extent, but the Studio line has a nice neutral quality that give the speakers a natural sound, and at less than half the cost of other manufacturers ($1,400 Cdn retail for the Studio 20). More expensive than the Monitor towers, but even in bookshelf form they are in a different league. While they lack the depth of their tower cousins (The Studio 60 and 100), with the addition of a sub you can get close to the same sound for a lot less money. These are definitely worth the time to search for and audition.

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