Напольная акустика — Paradigm Electronics Founder 100F

Paradigm Electronics designs, engineers and builds its Founder range at its own factory just outside Toronto, and the Founder 100F is the passive tower of that range, laid out as a 5-driver, 3-way design in a ported enclosure. Paradigm lists it at USD 2,799.99 each. Standard veneers and paints are Walnut, Black Walnut, Piano Black and Midnight Cherry, with the Founder Forty-One Collection colours Azure Ice, Ruby Frostbite and Frozen Charcoal as extra options.

Key specs that matter

On axis, the maker quotes a response of 42 Hz to 23 kHz within plus or minus 2 dB, narrowing to 42 Hz to 20 kHz at 30 degrees off axis. Low frequency extension reaches 26 Hz by the DIN method. Sensitivity is 93 dB in a room and 90 dB anechoic, and the speaker is described as compatible with 8 ohm amplifiers. Paradigm recommends 15 to 350 watts of amplification and gives a maximum input of 250 watts. The cabinet measures 106.5 cm high, 32.8 cm wide and 40.9 cm deep, and each speaker weighs 32.7 kg.

Engineering and use context

The 25 mm tweeter uses an AL-MAC ceramic dome, damped and cooled with ferrofluid, set behind an Oblate Spheroid Waveguide and a Perforated Phase-Aligning lens. A 152 mm midrange with an AL-MAG cone carries its own PPA lens, sits in a SHOCK-MOUNT isolation system and is driven by a 51 mm multi-layered high-temperature voice coil on a ventilated Apical former. Low frequencies come from a trio of 177 mm CARBON-X ultra-high-excursion unibody cones with Gen3 Active Ridge Technology surrounds, vertical mounting and the Advanced SHOCK-MOUNT decoupling hardware, each with a 38 mm voice coil on a ventilated Apical former. The crossover works at second order, handing over from the woofers to the midrange at 500 Hz and to the tweeter at 2.1 kHz, the latter as an electro-acoustic slope. The cabinet is faceted rather than a square box, and Paradigm pairs that shape with integrated Cascade-Fusion bracing, which it says raises rigidity and breaks up standing waves. The SHOCK-MOUNT hardware mechanically decouples the drivers from the enclosure to stop vibration passing between them. Every model in the Founder series can be bi-amped or bi-wired, so two amplifier channels can feed one speaker, and the company states the speakers are hand-built.

Pairing

Such sensitivity and an easy load leave a broad choice of stereo integrated amplifiers and separate power amplifiers, provided the continuous input stays within the maximum rating given for the speaker.

Alternatives

Within the same Founder range, Paradigm offers the Founder 120H, a hybrid floorstander whose three 8 inch bass drivers run from an internal 1000 watt amplifier.