Paradigm SE Series Speaker Monitor Overview

Paradigm’s first two speakers, the Model 7 and Model 9 were unveiled at the Toronto Audio Show in 1982. Today, Paradigm is still located in Canada -- only now they have their own research facility and their own 33,000 cubic foot anechoic chamber. The largest in this hemisphere.

Paradigm's Monitor lineup has been around for quite a while and is considered by many to be one of the best value speakers around. Many speaker brands will “refresh” a successful lineup every 3-4 years, but this time Paradigm went completely back to the drawing board. The result is a new line known as Monitor SE, which consists of just four simple models -- two towers, a bookshelf, and a center channel.

The pricing for these speakers is extremely reasonable with the bookshelves going for $298 a pair, the towers are $698 and $898 a pair respectively, and the center channel rounding things out at $199.

First, we’ll discuss some of the commonalities across the line before diving in and discussing each model individually.

What All of the Monitor SE Speakers Have in Common

Paradigm leverages the learnings from the research and development of their higher end speakers, and cascade them down to their less expensive models.

When Paradigm introduced the Prestige Series, they included a new tweeter technology known as X-PAL. This pure aluminum dome tweeter has a perforated lens that sits over the dome. Through the use of lasers and countless hours of testing, they designed this lens in such a way that it blocks out any out-of-phase frequencies. This gives you a smoother top end with zero added coloration to the sound. The lens also protects the tweeter from those little fingers of curious children that always seem to love pressing in a brand new tweeter! Amazingly, all of the new Monitor SE series use this X-PAL tweeter!

The drivers used for the midrange and lower frequencies are an updated design. They use a mineral-filled polypropylene cone with an inverted dust cap. This design keeps the woofer cone light and rigid.

You have a choice of two colors on all four models -- your typical matte black found on lots of speakers, or a pretty stunning gloss white. Best of all, this modern white finish is the same price as the matte black! Perfect for a more modern home.

Now let’s take a look at each model.

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Paradigm Monitor SE Atom Bookshelf Speaker

Paradigm’s Atom speaker has for many years been considered one of the best values in bookshelf speakers. The improvements to the new SE Atom take it to another level.

The Paradigm Atom SE is a relatively large bookshelf speaker that will be right at home on a tabletop, speaker stand, or bookcase. If you do use a bookcase, you will want one that is fairly deep as the Atom SE is 11” deep and has a rear-firing port. You’ll want to position it so that the back is a few inches away from the wall or rear surface. It stands almost 13” tall but gives a slim appearance with a width of just slightly over 7”.

Using one tweeter and one 5 ¼” midbass/woofer driver, the Atom SE is a perfect example of a classic two-way speaker. It actually gets down very low for its modest size, with its 3db down point at 55hz. At 89 dB sensitivity, we consider the Atom SE moderately efficient. We tested it with the Cambridge Topaz AM20 which is a small, but great-sounding little integrated amp and it drove them quite well.

Paradigm Monitor SE 2000C Center Channel Speaker

The 2000C uses two of the 5 ¼” drivers coupled with the X-PAL tweeter. It is quite substantial at almost 20” wide, 7 ½” high, and a little over 11” deep.

Paradigm Monitor SE 3000F Floorstanding Speakers

The Paradigm Monitor SE 3000F is a three-way design using the same drivers as found in the Atom SE -- just more of them. One of the 5 ¼” midbass drivers handles the critical midrange from 800hz up to about 3k, which is where the tweeter takes over. Two of the 5 ¼” drivers are then used to give you deep bass, reaching all the way down to 42 Hz -- pretty deep for a speaker with this footprint!

Paradigm Monitor SE 6000F Floorstanding Speakers

We spent the most time listening to the SE 6000F. Like the other speakers in the series, the Monitor SE 6000F uses the same drivers. By using 3 of the 5 ½” woofers, Paradigm was able to increase the efficiency of the 6000F to 93db, which is very high for a speaker of this type. What this translates into is a ton of slam on dynamic passages, plus you are able to hear subtle volume changes easier, which pull you more into the performance. The 6000F is the same width as the 3000F but adds a couple of inches of depth, coming in at 14” deep.

They stand just slightly over 41” tall. The included outriggers give the speaker a pretty serious look. Please see our comments above on the 3000F for the importance of this outrigger system.

Finally, just like the 3000F, the 6000F is rear ported.

We connected these up to one of our favorite integrated amps, the Cambridge CXA80. Boy, what a great combination this turned out to be! You’ll want to spend some time fine-tuning the placement of the 6000F. In the listening room where we tested, they sounded best about 20” off the back wall and spread the same distance apart that we were sitting from them, which in our case was about 9’. We also liked them toed in about 5 degrees (this means aiming them slightly towards the center).

Paradigm Monitor SE 8000F Floorstanding Speakers

With the success of the 6000F Paradigm added another model to the line in early 2021, the SE 8000F.  This new tower speaker takes the dynamics and slam the 6000F offers and moves it up to a whole new level!

Just like all of the other speakers in the Monitor SE line, you’ll find the exact same driver technology which means you can mix and match any of them for a perfectly matched home theater system.  

The 8000F uses the same 1” X-PAL tweeter, coupled with larger, more robust drivers for the midrange and bass.  You move up to 6 ½” midrange drivers and 3 8” woofers.  Obviously, this type of driver configuration is going to increase cabinet size quite a bit.  These speakers are almost 4’ tall, 12” wide and a little over 17” deep.  They have the same outrigger system the other towers use and weigh in at 69 pounds!

Overall Recommendation

Since their beginnings, Paradigm has been known for producing high-value speakers. This tradition continues with the completely new Monitor SE series. You’ll find a lot of the same technology used in their more expensive series at very affordable price points. For the music or movie lover on a budget, you will be amazed!

High Notes

Perfectly Matched Theater Choices

Using the same drivers in all of the models means you can put together a perfectly matched home theater system. Nothing is better for surround sound than when all the drivers match!

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