Subwoofers — Paradigm Electronics Persona SUB

The Persona SUB is the powered subwoofer of the Persona series from Paradigm Electronics, the Canadian maker based in Ontario. It sits in Paradigm's sealed subwoofer group next to the Signature SUB 2, and it is built as a six-driver acoustic suspension design inside a hexagonal cabinet that the company calls its Vibration-Canceling Design Architecture.

Key specs that matter

Six 203 mm X-PAL woofers do the work, each fitted with an overmolded Active Ridge Technology surround, a 38 mm four-layer long-excursion voice coil wound on a high-temperature composite Nomex former, and a 4.16 kg hard ferrite magnet. An Ultra-Class-D amplifier rated at 1,700 W continuous and 3,400 W peak drives the array. Paradigm specifies an on-axis response of 15 Hz to 235 Hz within 3 dB, a tighter window of 19 Hz to 220 Hz within 2 dB with the crossover bypassed, and usable extension down to 12 Hz. The enclosure measures 52.5 x 51.2 x 48 cm and weighs 53.6 kg. Four finishes are offered - Vanta Black and Harmony White in high gloss, plus Aria Blue and Sonic Silver in metallic gloss.

Engineering and use context

The drivers are aligned radially, facing outward from the six sides of the hexagon. Because opposing cones move in equal and opposite directions, the reaction forces they apply to the cabinet cancel each other, so the enclosure itself stays still instead of rocking or buzzing on the floor. Splitting the work across six mid-size cones rather than one very large driver keeps moving mass per cone low while the total cone area remains large. The sealed alignment avoids port noise and gives a gradual low-frequency rolloff. A digital signal processor handles filtering, and the power supply uses switching topology to feed the amplifier.

Pairing

Line-level signals enter through RCA inputs with a 10 kohm impedance or balanced XLR inputs at 20 kohm, so the sub can take a feed from a home cinema processor, an AV receiver or a stereo preamplifier with a separate sub output. The internal low-pass filter is adjustable between 35 Hz and 150 Hz, and a bypass setting hands crossover duties to an external processor that already manages bass. A variable phase control from 0 to 180 degrees helps time the sub against the main speakers, and the Persona floorstanders and bookshelf models from the same series are the obvious partners in a matched system.

Alternatives

The Paradigm Signature SUB 2 is the other multi-driver sealed subwoofer in the range, also using an Ultra-Class-D amplifier.