Paradigm Studio/20 Bookshelf — Made in Canada, Rosenut, Bi-Wire

Paradigm Reference Studio/20 Bookshelf Speakers — Made in Canada, PAL Pure Aluminium Dome, Bi-Wirable, Original Boxes, Rosenut

The original Paradigm Reference Studio/20, built in Canada, in very good condition with its factory boxes — the speaker Stereophile called the finest under $1000 a pair they had heard.

What Stereophile Said

That is not our line, it is theirs. Stereophile reviewed the Studio/20 in February 1998, and Robert Reina’s verdict was that it was, by a wide margin, “the finest speaker under $1000/pair I’ve ever heard.” He added that he would happily own them as a reference. Paradigm still hosts that review on their own website nearly thirty years later, which tells you what it meant to them.

The Rosenut Finish

Paradigm called this finish dark rosenut, and it is the reason these photograph the way they do — a deep reddish brown with far more warmth than a black cabinet and far more restraint than a bright cherry. It was one of three shades offered across the Reference line, and the dark one has always been the one people hunt for.

Inside the Cabinet

The engineering is more serious than the size suggests. The tweeter is a 25 mm PAL pure aluminium dome in a die-cast heatsink chassis. The woofer is a 170 mm MLP mica-polymer cone with a 38 mm voice coil, in its own die-cast heatsink chassis. They meet through a third-order quasi-Butterworth crossover that Paradigm designed to be phase-coherent — built with high-power ceramic resistors, film capacitors in every signal path, and a mix of air-core and steel-core inductors. That is crossover construction from a considerably more expensive speaker, and it is where a lot of the money went.

The Bass

The bass is the part that surprises people. Reina measured solid output down to 50 Hz with a gradual rolloff below that and still-audible output at 32 Hz, from a cabinet fourteen inches tall. His own five words for it were extended, natural, quick, dynamic and tuneful.

Placement

The port fires from the rear, so give them some room to breathe — a foot or two off the wall behind them is where they come together, and they were reviewed at two to four feet out. On stands, out in the room, is where these belong, and we have a pair of Paradigm’s own J-60 stands available if you want the matching answer to that.

Bi-Wire and Bi-Amp

They are bi-wirable and bi-ampable, with two sets of terminals and the original jumpers still fitted. Run a single cable now and they work exactly as they should; take the jumpers out and the bass and treble sections separate for bi-wiring or bi-amping later. Nothing to source and nothing missing.

Amplifier Matching

On amplifiers: sensitivity is specified at 89 dB and measured at 86.5 dB, and the impedance drops briefly to 4 ohms in the lower midrange but is otherwise an easy load. A competent integrated amplifier of moderate power suits them well. They reward a good one — this is a speaker that shows you what is upstream of it.

Build and Weight

At 20 pounds each these are dense in a way that budget bookshelf speakers never are, and the weight is in the cabinet walls and the driver chassis where it does some good.

Original Boxes Included

The original factory boxes are included. That matters more than it sounds: it means these can ship anywhere safely, and it is the packaging a future buyer will want when their turn comes to move them on.

Condition and Service

Condition is very good, and both speakers have been tested here to confirm they perform as originally designed, which every pair we sell goes through.

The speaker that made Paradigm’s Reference name — Canadian-built, in very good condition, and still in its original boxes.

Features

• Original Paradigm Reference Studio/20 — the first of the series
• Built in Canada
• 25 mm PAL pure aluminium dome tweeter in a die-cast heatsink chassis
• 170 mm MLP mica-polymer cone woofer with 38 mm voice coil
• Third-order quasi-Butterworth phase-coherent crossover
• Film capacitors in every signal path, ceramic resistors, air-core and steel-core inductors
• Rear-ported — best placed out from the wall on stands
• Bi-wirable and bi-ampable with original jumpers fitted
• 20 lbs each — dense cabinet construction
• Original factory boxes included
• Sold as a pair

Paradigm Reference Studio/20 Bookshelf Speakers Specifications

• Model: Reference Studio/20
• Design: Two-way, rear-ported bookshelf loudspeaker
• High Frequency Driver: 25 mm PAL pure aluminium dome, die-cast heatsink chassis
• Low Frequency Driver: 170 mm MLP mica-polymer cone, 38 mm voice coil, AVS die-cast chassis
• Crossover: Third-order quasi-Butterworth at 1.5 kHz, phase-coherent
• Crossover Components: Ceramic resistors, film capacitors in all signal paths, air-core and steel-core inductors
• Frequency Range: 54 Hz to 22 kHz on axis
• Sensitivity: 89 dB specified, 86.5 dB measured (Stereophile)
• Nominal Impedance: 8 ohms, dipping briefly to 4 ohms in the lower midrange
• Terminals: Two pairs with original jumpers, bi-wire and bi-amp capable
• Finish: Rosenut
• Country of Manufacture: Canada
• Accessories: Original factory boxes
• Condition: Very good
• Dimensions: (Width x Height x Depth) 8.25 x 14.0 x 11.0 inches (210 x 356 x 279 mm)
• Weight: 20 lbs (9.1 kg) each

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