Any value to Paradigm Be tweeters and Aluminum cabs?

[blitz1856]

Hi. Since I have a pair of S1s with damaged woofers and replacement parts are absurdly expensive, possibly more than the repaired speakers would be worth, I'm curious if there might be any value to a DIYer in the Be tweeters and/or the supposedly resonant-free aluminum cabinets. The way the S1s are designed I'm not sure if any other midbass drivers would fit, but I assume the tweeters could be reused in a project??

[mikee3333]

I have blown paradigms too, what do ya know!

I don't think they're good speakers. Only ones I ever blew so far (knock wood).

[system7]

People do seem to overdrive these little speakers a lot. I expect the tweeters would be of value to some enthusiast, but I'd quite fancy my chances of reverse engineering a replacement bass/mid unit there:


SoundStage! Equipment Review -Paradigm Reference Signature S1 v.2 Loudspeakers (12/2007)

I'll wager the tweeter is heavily attenuated on an 84dB efficiency design which gives some flexibility. The crossover is doubtless full of driver specific tweeks too and some value changes might be required, but these things are doable. You'd want to have them in bits, find out the bass/mid resistance (4 ohms?) and estimate the Qes to find a driver of similar properties and dimensions and the PCD of the fixing holes. Curiously, these things are often standard. Worth a look at least to salvage $1500 speakers.

[blitz1856]

Thank you for the information system7. They are nice sounding speakers and it is actually rather sad in my case -- I have two pairs of them -- 1 set of v.2s and 1 set of v.3s which I bought because it was an unusually good deal to use after one of the original ones developed a loud buzzing noise at higher SPLs. I presume it was overdriven but they were also somewhat protected with a 100hz crossover point and I know it's conceivable that something is just loose inside but I haven't taken it apart at this point. Then, before I even swapped in the v.3s I turned off my projector one night and in the pitch black forgot they were on the floor next to my monitor and managed to put my foot right into the midbase and crunched it up. Even though I know it is a 3db mismatch, for a brief while I was using the functional one from each pair and the 2nd v.2 midbass stopped working entirely and I was even being more careful with them at this point.

Paradigm said they might be able to re-cone the v.3 and repair the other (talked to them before the 2nd one blew) without replacing the entire unit which would not be economical on a speaker that is worth at best $400 used. A Paradigm dealer in Portland that is also a long-time speaker repair shop will take a look at them and possibly perform the same work without me shipping them to Canada. It'll likely make sense to fix the one v.3 with the electronics still good to make a pair, but not so sure on the two v.2s.

So...hence my question on this forum. I could do enough research to maybe deal with a replacement, non-OEM driver, but the crossover modification would be beyond my skill so they would have to find a new home if someone wanted to work a deal for the parts/project if it isn't economical for me to get them fixed professionally. As an aside, if they can't re-cone and/or repair the voice coil, etc... then Paradigm has no replacement v.2 drivers on a model that is only a few years old and the v.3s are only sold in a tweeter/mid kit for a measly $800 LOL! Other than offering for me to ship them to Canada so they could see what they could do without any up-front idea of the possible cost, I'm rather dissapointed in the parts support.

[john dozier]

Paradigm has been bought by a rapacious "corporate" entity. Expect to seem them in box houses before long. When under the original ownership, they provided excellent service and back up. Sic transit gloria mundi! I too have a pair of sig1v3. I use them for classical in a semi near field set-up. They are wonderful especially when driven by triode tubes. They would not be my first choice for high volume home theater. They are best used as professional near fields. Sorry about your problems, they WERE a great company. BTW they have fired all their reps and so you must deal with THEM. Regards

[john dozier]

I might add the basket for the mid-woofer is an integral part of the cabinet design so I suspect that any idea of replacing it with another model is doomed to failure. Regards

[system7]

I was just looking at the Paradigm brochure. Lovely high-tech speakers!

The woofer might be a bit tricky to replace with a special fitting. Maybe new cabinets instead...

You know the S1 v2 might not have much wrong with them...buzzing at high SPL could be a loose crossover coil. A dead one could just be a broken solder lead. I'd have them in bits like a flash!

[blitz1856]

John, I hear you. I started with Paradigm 20 years ago and always had great support (mostly the local dealer though) and was happy with the product, but went with smaller company products and Ellis kit speakers in the interim, but this latest experience will probably be the last. Although I agree with you that as a nearfield monitor they would be great. If I get the v.3s working I intend to move them to the bedroom where it's more about quality than quantity. The HT definitely needs better power handling capabiliy as it is nearly impossible to get dialog loud enough while avoiding the big booms and crashes. I should have known better considering this 5.1 set was barely used and traded back in to the dealer from a Portland woman's HT because she needed more volume. She had a large HT and mine is large-ish.

system, I don't doubt you would. Too bad you are across the rather large pond or I'd make you a great deal. While I'm no good at soldering I do have basic multimeter skills though so I should open them up this week before making any decisions. I already swapped my Ellis 1801s in their place so they are just sitting there at the moment.

[sakellogg]

Originally Posted by john dozier

Paradigm has been bought by a rapacious "corporate" entity. Expect to seem them in box houses before long. When under the original ownership, they provided excellent service and back up. Sic transit gloria mundi! I too have a pair of sig1v3. I use them for classical in a semi near field set-up. They are wonderful especially when driven by triode tubes. They would not be my first choice for high volume home theater. They are best used as professional near fields. Sorry about your problems, they WERE a great company. BTW they have fired all their reps and so you must deal with THEM. Regards

Crap! Who bought them?

I was thinking about some S8's in the next year or so...
Looks like ill be expanding my diy from amps and preamps to speakers too.
Not to change subject,someone said triodes with these.
Can you give more info?

[john dozier]

I think it is the same "people" who bought Martin Logan. That shold give you some idea of the "quality" of their operation. Scott Bagby and crew really did a great job producing world class speakers at reasonable prices. I trusted their ears and their facilities more than perhaps anyone else. Small companies just cannot afford the engineering talent and test facilities needed these days to really design a superior product. Paradigm for example built the largest anechoic chamber in Canada-larger than the NRC. As to triodes, I am currently using ASL Monsoons in triode for 60 watts per channel. They have been modded with teflon coupling caps. I find the combination superb. However, they use 8-EL34s each monoblock and weigh around 70lbs. Not for the faint-hearted. Regards Dr. John Dozier