Audiophilepure

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https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/equipment-reviews/1574-paradigm-founder-series-100f-loudspeakers

I’d already listened to this album often through several different speakers, so I knew its sound well. But no more than 30 seconds into track 1, “White Dress,” I could tell that there was something very different about the sound of the Founder 100Fs. This track has a bright, bass-light sound, with a wispiness to Del Rey’s voice that, through too-bright speakers, can be off-putting. Through the 100Fs it was still a bit bright, but not too much so, and that wispiness, while still quite audible, was now more pleasing than offensive. The track also sounded a bit smoother and richer than I’d heard it before. In fact, it was the best I’d heard it reproduced.

The four tracks that follow “White Dress” are less trebly, and without that wispiness in Del Rey’s voice. Here the 100Fs’ midband was as neutral as I’m used to hearing from my reference Revel Ultima2 Salon2 speakers ($21,998/pair), as well as clearer and a bit more detailed—which speaks well for the 100Fs at less than a quarter the price. And while the 100Fs’ highs weren’t quite as sweet as the Salons2s’ with these tracks, they were still clean, very refined, and with a good amount of air when the recording included that.

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