Great! Some Paradigm buyer hints for you.
Written: Jun 16 '03
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Pros: Sound. Resale value.
Cons: Thumpy if put close to a wall.
The Bottom Line: Buy used. It's worth the savings.
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| dfichtner's Full Review: Paradigm Mini Monitor Main / Stereo Speaker |
I could go on like everyone else has about these speakers. They have been great. But I want to provide some very helpful information about buying them.
For starters, Paradigm speakers are made in Canada, and to buy them in the USA, you usually have to purchase them from an overpriced (often snotty) audio boutique. In fact, if you are planning to sink any significant amount of money into Paradigm speakers, DRIVE TO CANADA! The reason is that a pair of Paradigm speakers selling for, say $500, in the USA is sold for roughly $500 Canadian in Canada. You do the math -- savings is huge. I swear this is the truth. In fact, a few years ago when Ebay and the internet really took off, it became a HUGE issue with Paradigm. People started figuring this cost issue out, and began buying online from Canadian dealers and having them shipped to the USA. Of course, when people saw the online prices they could get from Canada, they went into the local USA boutiques, and when greeted by the snotty sellers, got a real kick out of responding with, "I can buy your speakers for 40 percent less!" This really angered the snotty audio boutiques beyond belief, and they ganged together and as a group, told Paradigm they would not carry their speakers any more. Paradigm responded by forcing the Canadian stores to end selling to USA buyers. No shipping allowed, of they would no longer be allowed to sell Paradigm. Don't believe me? Call a Canadian shop, and they'll tell you the whole story. I bought mine used locally, but sometimes you can find someone in Canada who buys a pair of Paradigms and sells them on Ebay as "slightly used" or "like new" to turn a profit. You can still save a ton, but you will not get warranty work done if the local guys find out you did that. Also, there are CUSTOMS FEES -- especially if you ship via UPS. My fee was $39 on a CC350 Center Channel Speaker. I learned this the hard way, but it was still cheaper. The seller put the full value of the speaker, so I got nailed by customs (hint). Good luck. These are great speakers, and due to all of this, the resale in the USA on Ebay is very good -- something people don't think of in speakers.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 175 Used
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Epinions.com ID:
dfichtner
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Reviews written: 4
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