Paradigm Premium Wireless Play-Fi Series Speakers/Amp Preview

At CEDIA 2014, Paradigm and MartinLogan announced that they were going to develop DTS Play-Fi enabled wireless products. At CEDIA 2015, they delivered. Paradigm was showcasing three Play-Fi products, the PW 800 speaker, PW 600 speaker, PW Link pre-amplifier, and the PW AMP amplifier.

Because each of the products uses Play-Fi, they can be controlled via the Play-Fi app and accept wireless streams at up to 24-bit/192kHz over an existing wireless network. Unlike other wireless platforms, Play-Fi is open, meaning that users can mix and match Play-Fi products from across brands. You could control a Paradigm PW 800, MartinLogan Vision X soundbar, and a Definitive Technology W9 all from the same app. That’s pretty cool.

What makes Paradigm’s Play-Fi offerings unique from anything else on the market is that they all use Anthem Room Correction (ARC). Unlike similar room correction offerings that use the mic built into your phone, ARC uses an actual separate calibration microphone. The microphone measures sound output, compares it to optimal response curves, and adjusts the speaker’s output for best sound. This is a standout feature that online makes the Paradigm wireless speakers worth considering.

Below is a rundown of each of Paradigm’s new Play-Fi speakers.

PW 800

The PW 800 is marketed as a “premium wireless speaker,” and with an MSRP of $799 it certainly has a premium price tag, but not unreasonable. It’s double the price of the SONOS Play5, but still less than it would cost to install a pair of in-ceiling speakers in a room and hook them up to a Play-Fi enabled amp.

It sports two 1” S-PAL dome tweets and two 5” S-PAL woofers. The drivers are powered by a 230W RMS, 460W dynamic peak, Class D amplifier. That’s some serious power for any speaker to handle, let alone a portable speaker. It also features a subwoofer output to help fill larger rooms or simply play deeper bass.

 

Paradigm PW 800

PW 600

The PW 600 is very similar to the PW 800. It sports the same drivers and a subwoofer output. However, the amplifier is slightly less powerful (400W dynamic peak, 200W RMS), but that loss of power is pretty minor. The biggest difference is the form factor. The PW 600 looks like a small bookshelf speaker instead of a tabletop stereo. I think it would fit well on a kitchen countertop, or a pair of them would work well on opposite sides of a bookcase. The MSRP is a cool $599.

 

Paradigm PW 600

PW AMP

The PW AMP allows you to power any passive speakers, such as in-ceiling speakers used as part of a different multi-room music system. It features stereo RCA inputs, Ethernet to hardwire the unit to your network for increased reliability, and a USB port for firmware updates. There are two pairs of speaker terminals on the back, enough to hook up a single pair of speakers. The built-in Class D amp is rated at 2x100W RMS into 4 ohms. The fact that it’s rated to work with a 4 ohm load is nice, as it means you could hook up two pairs of 8 ohm speakers.

 

Paradigm PW AMP 

PW LINK

There are no details out yet about the PW Link, other than that it’s a pre-amplifier. This means that it will have some array of outputs (stereo RCA, optical, digital coax) to allow you to integrate existing stereo systems into your Play-Fi network. It will likely have an Ethernet jack and retail for less than the PW AMP, but I’m speculating at this point.

Conclusion

Paradigm, and pretty much every other AV company on the market, let SONOS define wireless streaming for far too long. It’s great to finally see premium brands jump into this market, and it’s especially nice to see some brands using a standard streaming protocol. Paradigm’s new Premium Wireless series seems like it will compete well with similar offerings from other competitors. However, the defining feature is the inclusion of ARC. If you’re look into a wireless speaker system, it’s worth your time to stop by your nearest Paradigm dealer and check these out.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.