Paradigm Reference LCR-450 in high gloss black — front view with the grille off, twin woofers either side of the tweeter

Paradigm Reference LCR-450 — angled view showing the gloss black cabinet

Paradigm

Paradigm Reference LCR-450 — Made in Canada, High Gloss Black

Name: Paradigm Reference LCR-450 — Made in Canada, High Gloss Black
Brand: Paradigm
SKU: 16901
Price: 445.00 CAD
Availability: InStock

$445.00

A Canadian-built Reference monitor in a high gloss black we have not had this model in before — the line of this era usually turns up in black, light cherry or dark rosenut. Sealed MTM design with Paradigm’s pure-aluminium dome tweeter, and it works as a centre or as a left or right. Excellent, with its original box.

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Description

Paradigm Reference LCR-450 Loudspeaker — Made in Canada, High Gloss Black, Sealed MTM Design, PAL Pure Aluminium Dome Tweeter

A Canadian-built Paradigm Reference monitor in excellent condition with its original box, in a high gloss black finish we have not seen on this model before.

The High Gloss Finish

Start with the finish, because it is the reason this one stopped us. The Reference line of this era is normally found in black, light cherry or dark rosenut. This one is high gloss black, and in a good many years of handling Paradigm we have not had this model in this finish. It looks considerably more expensive than the model number suggests. The 450 series has been out of production for a long time and does not surface often in any finish.

Centre, Left or Right

The LCR designation is the useful part. Most centre channels are built into a sculpted horizontal cabinet and can only ever be a centre channel. This one is a rectangular box designed to work correctly on its side or standing upright, which means it can anchor the middle of a home theatre now and serve as a left or right channel, or a stand-mounted monitor, later. Very few speakers give you that choice.

Size and Presence

It is a substantial thing either way — 21 inches across and 28 pounds. Lying down under a television it has real presence rather than looking like an afterthought, and standing upright on a stand it reads as a proper monitor.

Reference Engineering

Underneath, it is a proper piece of Reference engineering. The layout is MTM — two mid-bass drivers flanking the tweeter — which keeps the sound centred on the tweeter axis whichever way round the cabinet sits. The tweeter is Paradigm’s PAL pure aluminium dome, the same one fitted to the Reference Studio series. The cones are the yellow mica-loaded polypropylene Paradigm used across that generation, including in the Studio 20’s woofer and the Studio 60’s midrange.

The Sealed Cabinet

The cabinet is a sealed acoustic-suspension design rather than a ported one, which is deliberate for a speaker meant to sit under a television or on a shelf, and it is magnetically shielded. There are two pairs of heavy-duty gold-plated binding posts, with the original jumper bars still in place. Leave them fitted and a single run of cable drives it normally; take them out and it bi-wires or bi-amps. These commonly turn up with the bridges missing, so having them is worth noting.

Amplifier Matching

It is also an easy speaker to drive. Sensitivity is 90 dB into a straightforward 8 ohm load, and Paradigm rated it from 50 to 175 watts — so a modest receiver runs it properly and a serious amplifier will not embarrass it.

Measure Your Shelf First

One honest note, because it decides whether this is right for you. Paradigm designed the 450 to roll off in the region of 70 Hz and to be run as a “small” speaker with the crossover set around 80 Hz, with a subwoofer taking over below that. Used that way it is excellent. Asked to carry deep bass on its own, it was never meant to. If you are building a system rather than filling a gap, plan on a subwoofer and this will reward you.

Condition and Original Box

Condition is excellent, and the original box is included — which makes it safe to ship anywhere and is the packaging a future owner will want. It has been tested here to confirm it performs as originally designed.

A Canadian-built Reference monitor that can be a centre channel today and a main speaker tomorrow, in excellent condition and in a finish we have not seen on it before.

Features

Made in Canada
High gloss black — a finish we have not previously seen on this model
Works horizontally or vertically — centre channel, left, right, or stand-mounted monitor
Sealed acoustic-suspension MTM cabinet, magnetically shielded
Two pairs of heavy-duty gold-plated binding posts with original jumper bars — bi-wire and bi-amp capable
90 dB sensitivity into 8 ohms, rated 50 to 175 watts
PAL pure aluminium dome tweeter, as fitted to the Reference Studio series
Mica-loaded polypropylene mid-bass cones
Original box included

Paradigm Reference LCR-450 Loudspeaker Specifications

Model: Reference LCR-450
Design: Sealed two-way MTM loudspeaker, horizontal or vertical
High Frequency Driver: 1 in (25 mm) PAL pure aluminium dome
Low Frequency Drivers: Two 6.5 in mica-loaded polypropylene cones
Enclosure: Sealed acoustic suspension, magnetically shielded, approximately 22 litres internal
Frequency Response: 70 Hz to 20 kHz (±2 dB)
Sensitivity: 90 dB
Nominal Impedance: 8 ohms
Power Handling: 50 to 175 watts
Terminals: Two pairs of heavy-duty gold-plated binding posts with original jumper bars, bi-wire and bi-amp capable
Low Frequency Rolloff: Approximately 70 Hz — designed for use with a subwoofer, crossover around 80 Hz
Finish: High gloss black
Country of Manufacture: Canada
Accessories: Original box
Condition: Excellent
Dimensions: (Width x Height x Depth) 21.0 x 8.06 x 11.5 inches (533 x 205 x 292 mm) lying horizontally; standing upright it measures 8.06 inches wide by 21 inches tall
Weight: 28 lbs (13 kg)

🔌 Speaker Cable, Bi-Wiring and Connectors

The dual posts here take bare wire, spades, pins or bananas, and they mean you can bi-wire or bi-amp if you ever want to. Our bi-wire speaker bridges replace the factory straps with something considerably better made. We hand-build speaker cable here in any length you need on our Custom Speaker Cable Builder, terminated with our own gold-plated banana plugs or spade connectors. 👉

✅ Buy With Confidence — The Radique Promise

Backed by Radique Audio’s Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty and our Perpetual Trade-Back Program. When you’re ready to move on, we’ll take it back. That’s the Radique difference.

📦 Watch how we protect your gear — our unboxing video.

📺 Curious about our business? Check out our YouTube channel for behind-the-scenes videos and more!

📞 Questions? Use the Ask a Question button above, or call us at 613-416-9995.

⭐ Don’t Just Take Our Word For It

Radique Audio holds over 600 customer ratings averaging 4.97 stars across six public platforms — Facebook Marketplace, Kijiji, Canuck Audio Mart, Google and others. Every rating lives somewhere we don’t control, so you can read the originals yourself, including the less flattering ones. See what our customers say. 👉

Additional information

Weight	30 lbs
Dimensions	15.5 × 25 × 12.06 in

About brand

Paradigm at Radique

Paradigm has designed loudspeakers in the Toronto area since 1982, with engineering roots that run through Ottawa: it took part in the National Research Council's loudspeaker research here, and its research lab has been in Ottawa since 1993. We've had more than 600 Paradigm listings so far, covering 193 different models, more than any other brand we resell. Every used Paradigm here is inspected, tested and serviced as required, then photographed in-house and covered by our Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty and Perpetual Trade-Back Program. Don't see the model you want? Tell us on First Dibs and we'll email you when one arrives.

Our five best-selling Paradigm models so far: the Cinema 330 v.3 on-wall speakers, the Mini Monitor bookshelf speakers, the Monitor 7 towers, and the PS-1000 and PDR-10 subwoofers.

The Paradigm story, 1982 to today

Jerry VanderMarel and Scott Bagby founded Paradigm in 1982 in the Toronto area, VanderMarel running sales and marketing and Bagby design and manufacturing. Their first speakers made their debut at a Toronto audio show that year, and Paradigm says 12 dealers signed on.

The Ottawa years. In the 1980s almost every major Canadian speaker maker measured its designs in the National Research Council's anechoic chamber here in Ottawa, and Paradigm took part in the research Dr. Floyd Toole led at the NRC, which paired chamber measurements with blind listening tests. Paradigm built its own anechoic chamber in 1988, sparing its engineers the five-hour drive to Ottawa. In the late 1980s and early 1990s it was one of several Canadian companies in the NRC's Athena project, which studied speakers that adapt to the room. NRC scientists Peter Schuck and Marc Bonneville then joined Paradigm, which says it opened its Ottawa research centre, PARC, for them in 1993. That lab went on to design Anthem's electronics and its room-correction system. A 1990s Paradigm Titan is now part of the collection at Ingenium, Canada's science and technology museums, here in Ottawa.

Growth. Paradigm moved into the US market in the mid-1980s, added its first in-wall speaker in 1989 and launched the Monitor series in 1990. The Titan was a hit by 1991, the Atom followed in 1992, and the PS-1000 of 1994 was its first powered subwoofer. By 1992 Stereophile counted about 256 Paradigm dealers in the US.

Reference and the new factory. The Reference line, with its Studio speakers, arrived in the mid-1990s; Stereophile reviewed the Studio/100 in 1997. In 1998 Paradigm bought Sonic Frontiers, which brought Anthem into the family. In 2001 it moved into a new Mississauga factory with what it calls the hemisphere's largest privately owned anechoic chamber, at 33,000 cubic feet. A tour that year found the plant finishing 1,500 speakers a day, with driver frames cast, cones moulded and voice coils wound in-house.

Changes of hands. Co-founder Jerry VanderMarel left in 2005, when the private-equity firm ShoreView Industries became Scott Bagby's partner; together they went on to buy MartinLogan. Compact lines such as Cinema were built overseas from the start, and from the 2010s Monitor was too, while Prestige (2014), Persona (2016) and Founder (2021) have been built in Mississauga. In 2019 Scott Bagby and his son John bought Paradigm, Anthem and MartinLogan back from ShoreView, and their company, PML Sound International, added GoldenEar at the start of 2025.

Which Paradigm is which?

Performance Series (1990s to 2006): the entry line, with the Atom, Titan, Focus, Esprit and Phantom. A 1990s Titan's label reads "Performance Series … Made in Canada". At the end of 2006 the Atom and Titan moved into the Monitor line.

Monitor (from 1990): the step-up line, and from 2006 the entry line; today's version is Monitor SE. In the early 1990s it was topped by the Studio Monitor tower, in real wood veneer.

Reference Studio (mid-1990s to mid-2010s): the Studio/20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 plus matching centres, with die-cast aluminium driver chassis and aluminium-dome tweeters, made in numbered versions. From the v.2 generation of 1999 the sides came in laminate or, for a little more, real wood veneer. A favourite here is the Studio/80 v.2, a slim 2.5-way tower from about 1999 to 2003; the pairs with real wood sides are the ones to find.

Signature (2004–2016): the flagship of its day, part of the Reference family.

Cinema (from about 2000): compact home-theatre satellites and centres in polymer cabinets, designed to be used with a subwoofer, later sold as Cinema CT packages.

Millenia (from 2006): slim aluminium-cabinet speakers made to suit flat-panel TVs. The little MilleniaOne was Sound & Vision's 2011 Product of the Year.

Stylus (from 1999): weatherproof outdoor speakers.

Today's lines: Monitor SE, Premier (2018), Prestige (2014), Founder (2021) and the Persona flagship (2016).

Subwoofers: from the PS-1000 (1994) and Servo-15 (1996) through the PS and PW series to Defiance (2018).

Buying used Paradigm: what to check

The rear label. Where a Paradigm was built depends on the line and the year, and some names were reused (the Atom and Titan moved from Performance to Monitor, and the Esprit name appeared in more than one line), so the label tells you exactly what you have.

Veneer or laminate. On Reference Studio models from 1999 on, real wood veneer sides were an option; look closely at the sides before you assume.

Woofer surrounds. Owners report foam surrounds needing replacement on some older models, including early Titans. Press gently around each one.

Powered subwoofers. The amplifier is the part most likely to have aged. Run a used sub at volume and check that auto-on still works.

Everything we list is inspected, tested and serviced as required here, and comes with our warranty.