Customer Reviews

Paradigm Cinema 110 CT 5.1 Home Theater Surround Sound System (Silver)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

These are no doubt great speakers. However, when you buy from Amazon you will have some difficulty with warranty. Here's the actual cut and paste from their manual

"Warranty begins on date of original retail purchase from an Authorized Paradigm Dealer only. It is not transferable."

Amazon is NOT a retail purchase, it is not an authorized paradigm dealer.

Note - you may think what's so big deal about it? These are just speakers. Think twice, you have sub-woofer which has it's own electronics and power and amplifier. I just got mine, connected and find the woofer's a dud.

In case required, advice owner to directly call Paradigm, they might initially not honor your purchase from Amazon, but if persisted - they will give you the option of taking out the components yourself and sending the same in a very secure packaging to their factory in up-state NY, USA of course with owner bearing the shipping costs and responsibility of all damages arising due to packaging. The problem is as my friend explained - Paradigm reported the sub-woofer amp didn't have any problems but the shipment caused a critical component to get loose, even though 1.3 yrs. old (within warranty) my friend was asked to either pay for the repair ($145.00) or pay the shipping back, since shipment issues aren't fault of Paradigm.

Purchased this system two weeks ago to replace six-year old Onkyo HTIB speakers for my home theater room, used for movies (and TV) and not so much for music. (For music I am using a 40 year old Sansui system with JBL loudspeakers. Love them). Onkyo, imho, makes the best HTIB systems. I had been happy but was cognizant of the limitations of the system. I wanted a fuller sound but didn't want to spend a lot of $$$ or buy large speakers. I had been looking at the Energy Micros but when Amazon offered the CT 110 system in silver for $499 I knew this was the one for me. First of all Paradigm makes great systems and they are made in Canada (not in China). I happen to like the silver better than the black. The sound of the CT 110 is full, dialogue is crisp and clear and the surrounds (dipole) are a steal at this price. The sub does perform differently than the Onkyo (not as boomy - that's a good thing).

Right now I am using the Onkyo HTIB receiver and I need to push up the volume more to get the speakers to respond. I'll be looking at an Onkyo receiver in a few months and I am sure it will be a better match for these speakers.

What I deal (imho). Half price, the color I prefer, and a huge step up from my HTIB set - I don't think you can wrong with this system. I have been jumping out of my seat a bit with some of the sounds coming out of the speakers. I compared the speakers to my HTIB with a couple of movies (Public Enemy) - where Christian Bale is at times hard to hear. The Paradigms did a good job deciphering his somewhat inarticulate utterings during the movie - I could understand it all whereas the Onkyos were unable to keep up. The machine gun scenes were realistic with the Paradigms - very sharp. I then plunked in GI Joe and gave the speakers a good workout. The reports from the gunfire, roar of the machine engines and the clang of the swords were all very satisfying. No complaints.

I talk a lot with a guy who buys high end audio - he has the "upgrade" addiction. I tell him I am sure there are "better" speakers out there - but as long as one is satisfied with the quality one has why look for more? Maybe in 6 years I'll be looking to upgrade again but for now I am very happy with these speakers.

For the reviewer who was missing brackets and had a problem with the subwoofer - I'd recommend calling Paradigm customer service. The system is covered under warranty (Amazon is an authorized retailer) and being a good company I'm sure they will try to help you.

I paired these up with the Onkyo HT-RC160 receiver. I was using Onkyo HTIB speakers with the rc160 and I thought they sounded great, until I plugged these Paradigms in. To do a test I hooked up only the right paradigm front to listen to the difference. WOW the clarity is a night and day difference. My ears were drawn to the paradigm speaker, it was more clear the sound carried much farther. The Onkyo speakers sounded muffled/lacked clarity in comparison to the paradigm 110 cinema speakers. I was pleased with that alone. The install guide is great, giving you ideas for speaker placement for 5.1 and 7.1 setups. I am only running 5.1, I may in the future pickupe a pair of rears for full 7.1. I put the crossover in the receiver at 120hz. The receiver/sub do a great job with the transition of the bass from the satellite to the woofer.It's hard to put how good sound quality is into words.

Movies sound great surround sound is crisp clear and great on the ears. The bass is not boomy. Explosions in movies come more to life. Cheap woofers will pop and crack, the paradigm does a great job reproducing the sound.

They come with wall mount brackets for the front L/R and center speaker. They are pretty basic and do not allow much in the way of adjusting the angle of the speaker. I am considering grabbing the paradigm ones that are on a ball joint, they seem to work great (my father has these on his cinema 90's ) The rear speakers do not come with a brackets but can be mounted with a screw. The front speakers do not stand vertically by themselves very well. They can stand vertically on a table, but they really need to be mounted on the wall. You can put the included rubber feet on it and it helps quite a bit. I am planning on mounting on the wall once I get my tv mounted.

for the black friday price these CAN'T be beat.

Looks and sounds great. I use this with a sony 7.1 channel receiver. Both pair well. Only down side is the bulky look of these speakers, they are well constructed though (tough).

I bought this system for 1/2 off based on overwhelming positive statements by other reviewers on various websites. Playing movies and video games the system is fantastic. I have a new Denon 790 receiver powering these with auydssey automatic calibration your seating position is taking into consideration and what you experience is enveloping sound at every seat.The one major drawback I have to say is that playing music with these speakers you'll be left wanting more there is just not enough sound coming from them. Another drawback is if you like rattling bass this system is not for you. It has a crisp subdue bass. Also I had problems with shipping amazon ships this in the retail box instead of a reinforced shipping box leading to my first system being damage and second system came in pretty bad condition. I am afraid of early component failure due to this damage. However amazon was more than helpful in sending me a replacement immediately.

Overall I would recommend these speakers instead of buying a HTIB.

I love the size a style of this Cinema 110 surround system. I am no audiophile but I instantly noticed the clarity difference between this and my other outdated system that utilized some 1980 15 inch sub. fisher speakers. This is a great system for directional sound effect and the subwoofer produces clean bass that is suitable for movies and games. I cant say enough of the great quality of the sound. Still a fairly expensive setup, and this review is with the system being over 50% off. Would I buy it again at full price? Heck NO, but at the reduced price you can't get more out of speakers with a small footprint. Save space and get yourself a set of Cinema 110's you will not be disappointed unless you would rather have four 12's pumping bass without clarity.

This is my first home theater system hence it does not mean too much to others as my knowledge with music and the technical aspects are primitive. But Cinema 110 CT 5.1 was very easy to install and the setup is pretty quick.

I had a problem with the first speaker package that i received from Amazon but when i reported it to them they sent the replacement with in a day which is great and kind of Amazon. Once got it working it really rocks. I am running this with Onkyo NR 807. I know which is far more powerful for the cinema 110 paradigms but it is for future usage.

For now i have the basic audyssey setup saved. I am going to play with it and then keep updating this review.

My friend who lives next door has a Bose V30 system but i can tell you the paradigms beat them big time.

I am eagerly awaiting for the weekend to watch a few blueray movies.

I bought these speakers on a whim because of the price and relatively good reviews. I was nervous dropping that much money on a speaker set not knowing if my newbie ears would even notice a difference between my HTIB speakers and these new, more expensive ones.

Boy was I wrong. When I finally got them hooked up and in position, I was nervous, But after playing the intro video for the Xbox 360 through the speakers, my face must have looked like I was 5yrs old on Christmas morning. I was and am still blown away by the amazing sound that these speakers deliver. Like the other reviewer, I can't put how much an improvement these speakers are over standard HTIB speakers into words.

If you have the extra bit of cash, definitely buy these. They will change your general TV watching experience. Enjoy!

They are selling the silver versions of this speaker for half of what they are selling the black ones. At this price ($499) they are hard to beat.You would have to spend significantly more to get this level of sound. They are not as good as higher end paradigms, but for 499 they are a must buy. I have them paired with an Onkyo tx-sr707 receiver and a PS3 for bluray. couldnt be happier.

I purchased, on sale for $499, the Cinema 110 CT in silver. As soon as I opened the box, I noticed one of the wall-mount brackets was missing. I sent an e-mail to Amazon to notify them and request one to be sent to me. I continued to unpack and get the speakers out, and when I was pulling out the sub I noticed something rattling. It turns out that one of the "legs" (stand-offs) was completely broken off and rattling in the plastic bag. I sent another e-mail to Amazon to report that and asked for a replacement. The responses I received from Amazon was that they don't have the model in stock, so I could either keep it and get 15% off (response to 1st e-mail), $50 off (response to 2nd e-mail), or return it for refund. I actually want to keep the set, just not with a broken piece. Since the black version is available I figured to call Amazon's customer service and ask if they would replace my set with a black one considering it's pretty much "like-for-like". You can guess from the title the answer I got was a "no." Since I purchased the silver ones on sale they can't replace them with the black ones even though they are exactly the same. The problem is not that something was damaged or missing. Quite frankly I think Paradigm shipped the set out that way since there's no visible sign of damage bad enough that could have done the damage. The box didn't look like it had been opened, so the bracket must have been missing from the factory. What Amazon has failed is to do the simple, right thing and deliver the customer service it promises. I'm sure Amazon can either get a sub from Paradigm for replacement or replace mine with the black ones and send mine back to Paradigm for credit. But why bother, right? I already bought the receiver, speaker wire, connectors and ceiling mounts to go with the speakers. Why bother giving me, a customer, service. My advise is to think TWICE before you THINK TWICE about buying anything worth more than a couple of hundred dollars. If you do after all the thinking then just pray that it shows up in perfect condition. Otherwise you may end up with lots of frustration and phone time with customer service agents who can't really do anything for you.