Hi-Fi: Paradigm Cinema Phantom Floorstanding Speakers – Review – 76
Since I’ve been at Tone, I’ve enjoyed reviewing some of the best hi-fi and home theatre gear available; some of it is so far out of reach financially it really is the stuff dreams are made of. It’s great having the gear for a few weeks, but sadly it always has to go back from whence it came.
So what of the audio gear we can afford? What I’ve seen over the years is that while the performance and quality of hi-fi have improved at the high end, the same can also be said of the lower end. There are no hi-fi manufacturers producing audio stinkers these days, and while a speaker may sound slightly bright or boomy, it’s just a matter of choosing the 
right amplifier and source to tone down the offending trait. Voila! Synergy is found and the sound thus becomes enjoyable and involving.
And so continuing the more affordable theme of my 
opening statement, we have on review a pair of floorstanding speakers from Paradigm, a Canadian company renowned for its price/performance ratio. Sure, the company makes expensive models as well, but its meat and drink is the budget to mid-level.
The Cinema Phantom is Paradigm’s least expensive floorstanding design, its slim enclosure containing two 140mm polypropylene bass/mid drivers and a single 25mm metal dome tweeter. Outrigger feet are supplied to extend the rather narrow footprint and couple the speaker to the floor. These feet must be screwed into each cabinet and the supplied spike threaded in; luckily my trusty cordless drill made this operation a breeze.
The Phantom has both a rear and front bass reflex port and, with an easy 8 Ohm impedance and high 92dB sensitivity, will be an easy match with just about any amplifier in the market.
In fact I had a great time pairing the Cinema Phantoms with my Kingrex class-D 12W amplifier. This in turn was connected to possibly my favourite budget audio products of recent times, Logitech’s Squeezebox Duet and Cambridge Audio’s stunning new DacMagic.
At this price point I wasn’t expecting santos rosewood or palisander real wood veneer, and my suspicions were confirmed as the Cinema Phantoms were clad in stunningly realistic black vinyl. Well, what did you expect for $1300?
Once all the gear was connected I ran the Cinema Phantoms in with a steady diet of Pink Floyd, The Cure and some Café Del Mar to broaden the neighbours’ horizons somewhat.
At first I was aware of a certain plumminess in the bass and the metal dome tweeter made its presence known, but after a couple of days these characteristics settled down and the Paradigms started to sound pretty good. They are still slightly on the bright side of neutrality (probably voiced for home theatre excitement – they are Cinema Phantoms, after all) but they made a good fist of most music I played through them. They throw a convincing soundstage, and although there is a slight boxiness to the sound it was a pretty enjoyable experience.
In fact if I didn’t have my high-efficiency Klipsch Synergy B2s I’d consider buying a pair for my second system; they’re certainly a good match for low-powered and warm-sounding class-D and tube amps. Hell, I like ‘em.
GARY PEARCE
TECH SPECS
Cinema Phantom
Floorstanding loudspeakers
$1299
Enclosure type: Two-way reflex
Bass/mid: 140mm ICP Cones
Tweeter: 25mm PTD Dome
Frequency Response: 64Hz-20kHz +/-2dB
Sensitivity: 92 dB
Impedance: 8 Ohms compatible
Dimensions: 84.8 x 16.5 x 26.8cm (H/W/D)
Weight: 10.7kg each
Pros
- Good overall sound
- Good for low-powered amps
Cons
- Boring black box
- Slightly boxy sounding at times
Verdict
- A genuinely viable budget option for hi-fi and HT
CONTACT
This Review is from Tone Issue #76.
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