{"id":22181,"date":"2026-10-31T11:10:49","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T10:10:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/audio-2g.com\/?p=22181"},"modified":"2026-10-30T17:51:58","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T16:51:58","slug":"paradigm-premier-120b-v2-the-little-one-that-learned-from-founder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/audio-2g.com\/en\/paradigm-premier-120b-v2-the-little-one-that-learned-from-founder\/","title":{"rendered":"Paradigm Premier 120B v2: The Little One That Learned from Founder"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Founded in Toronto in 1982 by Jerry VanderMarel and Scott Bagby, Paradigm has built its reputation on a simple principle: measure a lot, listen even more, and charge a fair price. From the very beginning, the Canadian brand has worked closely with the National Research Council, the research center where Floyd Toole developed the double-blind tests and off-axis measurements that are still the gold standard today.<\/p>

The Premier series has always been at the heart of the catalog: ambitious enough to appeal to audiophiles, yet accessible enough not to scare them off. With the second generation, unveiled at AXPONA 2026, the company chose not to settle for a mere tweak. The six Premier v2 models incorporate much of the technology developed for the Founder<\/a> series (see our review of the 40bhere<\/a> ), the premium line launched in 2021 following Bagby\u2019s return to lead the company.<\/p>

The smallest member of the family, the Premier 120B v2<\/a>, is the one that benefits the most from this redesign. It costs 990 euros for a pair, just like the 100B it replaces, but it hides an additional speaker behind the grille.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The Founders' DNA<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Just remove the magnetic grille to see where the 120B v2 gets its power from. The tweeter is a 25-mm dome dubbed AL-MAC: aluminum and magnesium with a ceramic coating, damped and cooled with ferrofluid. It\u2019s the same type of driver found in all Founder models, from the small 40B to the flagship hybrid 120H, and it replaces the pure aluminum X-PAL driver found on the 100B. The combination of materials with different densities and internal damping serves to attenuate the break-up peak typical of metal diaphragms, resulting in a cleaner and less fatiguing high-frequency response.
The most noticeable new feature is found around the dome: the Oblate Spheroid Waveguide, a flattened spheroid waveguide that the old Premier did not have.<\/p>

Paradigm introduced this feature on the Founder series with today\u2019s homes in mind\u2014spaces that are spacious, open, and full of reflective surfaces. Its purpose is twofold: on the one hand, it directs sound energy toward the listening position and reduces early reflections from the ceiling and side walls; on the other hand, it increases the acoustic load in the lower part of the tweeter\u2019s frequency range, allowing it to extend down in frequency with less distortion. This is the key to the entire design. The crossover\u2014a second-order design, as is the company\u2019s tradition\u2014has been shifted from 2.0 to 1.2 kHz. The dome therefore takes on a substantial portion of the upper midrange\u2014precisely where the ear is most sensitive\u2014while the woofer hands off the signal before its dispersion pattern begins to narrow. The two sound fields blend with similar directivity, and the result, as we\u2019ll see, is audible.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The finishes include Piano Black lacquer, two real wood veneers\u2014Walnut and Black Walnut\u2014and a Satin White finish exclusive to this model and the 520LCR v2<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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In front of the tweeter, integrated into the waveguide, is the Perforated Phase-Aligning Lens\u2014the perforated grille that Paradigm has been using since the Persona series. It functions as an advanced phase plug: it blocks out-of-phase components generated by different areas of the diaphragm and smooths out the response, while also protecting the tweeter from accidental impacts. The 100B already had this feature; what has changed is its integration with the waveguide, which is identical to that of its larger siblings.<\/p>

The 140-mm mid-bass driver is also all-new. The carbon-filled polypropylene cone has been replaced by one made of an AL-MAG aluminum-magnesium alloy\u2014a material originally developed for the midrange in the Founder series and already used by the 40B in its 150 mm woofer. Compared to plastic, metal provides greater rigidity for the same mass and thus a more extended piston-like motion; the downside is pronounced break-up at high frequencies, which is another reason why the 1.2 kHz crossover frequency is appropriate.<\/p>

The unit is rated for very high excursion (we noticed this when we took it apart) and features a 25-mm multilayer voice coil designed to withstand high temperatures. It is wound on an Apical polyimide bobbin, featuring ventilation openings that facilitate heat dissipation and limit dynamic compression at high volume levels. Rounding out the package is the third-generation Active Ridge Technology suspension, the same used in the Founder series: a factory-molded corrugated edge that allows for wide excursion without sacrificing linearity, paired with the new Vertical Mounting System.
On the rear panel, next to the reflex port, there are two pairs of terminals for bi-wiring and bi-amping, which were absent from the previous version. The grille is magnetic, and on the white model, it is gray instead of black: an aesthetic detail that speaks to the manufacturer\u2019s attention to detail. The finishes have also changed: Piano Black lacquer, two real wood veneers\u2014Walnut and Black Walnut\u2014and a Satin White finish exclusive to this model and the 520LCR v2.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The mid-woofer features a long-throw design and a dual ventilation system. Note the unique design of the suspension.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Audio Sample<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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We listened to the 120B v2s paired with the Marantz 70, along with the Denon PMA 2000 NE integrated amplifier, mounted on rigid stands and placed at least 50 cm from the back wall\u2014the distance at which they seemed to perform best. Moreover, the depth of the cabinet makes them unsuitable for a bookshelf; they belong on a dedicated stand.
The sound is very good, and the first thing that stands out is the soundstage. The soundstage opens up wide, well beyond the edges of the speakers, and doesn’t collapse as soon as you move away from the ideal listening position: this is where the waveguide and crossover really make their presence felt.<\/p>

Listeners who enjoy music in the living room\u2014perhaps while reading or chatting\u2014will appreciate a tonal balance that remains consistent even when off-axis.
The soundstage is excellent. The vocals remain anchored in the center, the instruments occupy precise and stable positions, and the depth of the soundstage is surprising for a monitor of this size. The granularity is also remarkable: the texture is fine, the orchestral sections and distorted guitars do not blend into a single mass, and the sound remains clear even when the recording becomes dense.
With a sensitivity of 90 dB in a listening environment and an 8-ohm impedance, the Paradigm is easy to drive and pairs well with a wide variety of amplifiers: the manufacturer specifies a power range of 15 to 130 W, and a good integrated amplifier with 50 W per channel is more than sufficient. Its power handling is impressive: you can turn up the volume without the midrange becoming harsh or the bass losing control, thanks in part to the vented voice coil and the woofer\u2019s generous excursion.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Note the bi-wiring capability and the excellent input terminals<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Where the 120B v2 falls a bit short is in micro-detail and naturalness. The finest nuances, reverberating tails, and subtle ambient sounds come across as slightly less refined than what higher-end monitors offer, and the slightly warm timbre is pleasant but not entirely neutral. These are real limitations, but they must be put into perspective: you can\u2019t expect a thousand-euro speaker to sound like one that costs three thousand.<\/p>

At the low end, the physical limit is 140 mm. Up to about 60 hertz, the range is full and well-defined; beyond that, the sound pressure drops: listeners who enjoy electronic music, organ music, or movie soundtracks would be wise to add a subwoofer. The same applies to home theater setups, where the small Paradigm is a natural choice as a front speaker in compact systems or as a surround speaker behind the 720F v2 and 820F v2 towers, with which it shares tweeters and crossover settings.<\/p>

Conclusions<\/h2>

In our opinion, the Premier 120B v2 is the most successful update in the new series. At the same price as the 100B, it offers technical specifications in a whole different league, and the crossover frequency lowered to 1.2 kHz proves that \u201ctrickle-down\u201d isn\u2019t just a marketing ploy but a design reimagined around Founder\u2019s components. In exchange, you\u2019ll have to accept a bulkier cabinet that requires stands. For those who own a 100B, the leap in performance is substantial; for those looking for their first serious bookshelf speaker under 1,000 euros, it should be at the top of your listening list.<\/p>

Technical specifications:<\/strong><\/p>