Paradigm was founded in Toronto in 1982 by Scott Bagby and Jerry VanderMarel, who introduced their first loudspeakers, the Model 7 and Model 9, at that year's Toronto Audio Show. The idea was to build high-performance loudspeakers in Canada, starting with measurement. In 1988, the company built its first anechoic chamber, and in 1993, it opened the Paradigm Advanced Research Center in Ottawa, staffed by two researchers from the National Research Council of Canada.
Since 2001, production has taken place in the approximately 225.000-square-foot facility just outside Toronto, where loudspeakers are still designed and built. After several years with a US investment fund as the majority shareholder, Scott Bagby reacquired the company along with the group's Anthem and MartinLogan brands in 2019; the first entirely new line under his management was the Founder Series, introduced in 2021.
A recurring element is the PPA (Perforated Phase Alignment) lens, the perforated grille mounted in front of the tweeter and midrange which acts as a phase corrector. faseIn the Monitor SE series, the X-PAL aluminum dome tweeter works with mineral-filled polypropylene cones; the Founder and Premier v2 use aluminum-magnesium alloy tweeters and midrange drivers with CARBON-X woofers, while the Persona features Truextent beryllium tweeters and midrange drivers. ART (Active Ridge Technology) surrounds the woofers of the Founder 120H and Defiance X subwoofers. For bass in the room, Paradigm relies on Anthem Room Correction (ARC), integrated into the Founder 120H, which has a 1.000-watt active bass section, and controllable via an app on the Defiance subwoofers.
For sale you will find the Monitor SE with the Atom bookshelf, the 3000F, 6000F and 8000F columns and the 2000C center; the Premier v2, redesigned in 2026, with the 120B v2, 220B v2, 720F v2, 820F v2 and the 520LCR v2 and 620C v2 center speakers; the Founder with the 40B, 80F, 100F, 120H, 70LCR and 90C; the Persona with the Persona B, 3F, 5F, 7F, 9H, Persona C and Persona Sub. For bass there are the Defiance V8, V10, V12, S10, S12 and X10 subwoofers, for in-walls the Millenia LP.
In a small or medium-sized room, the Monitor SE Atom or the 3000F are a sensible starting point; the 6000F is already a true three-way, with a dedicated midrange that improves clarity and bass control. If the living room requires more extension and a refined finish, the Premier v2 is the next step, while the Founder 120H makes sense if the room creates rumble: the ARC correction works precisely on the low range. For a home theater system, it's best to choose a center speaker from the same series as the front speakers, so the timbre remains consistent.
The practical difference with subwoofers lies in calibration: the Defiance X10 includes the ARC microphone, while the V models have to be purchased separately. Those with a stereo system who simply want to boost the bottom octave can start with an app-controlled V10 or V12.
In our Carpi showroom, you can listen to Paradigm speakers in the listening room, compare them with other options, and receive advice on matching them with your amplifier. The same models can be ordered online at audiocostruzioni.com with shipping, asking us for advice first by email if necessary.
