About The Paradigm MilleniaOne 5.1 Speaker System
When a long-established brand like Canadian company Paradigm develops a new series of speakers you can be certain that they have put every effort and all their experience and expertise into the design.
With a first look over the stylish and diminutive Paradigm MilleniaOne 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker system, you may reasonably conclude that it's just another cute looking player in the typical and over-supplied lifestyle speaker market. But the saying "never judge a book by its cover" is very true here. The Paradigm MilleniaOne 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker system is part of Paradigm's 'Reference' collection … cool style and superb quality that includes 'cost no object' technology at below what you'd pay for any other genuine high-end speaker system with this much cool stuff included.
MilleniaOne 5.1 is a high-performance design that includes the award-winning Paradigm Reference MilleniaOne Satellite Speakers, winners of Sound & Vision's Product of the Year, feature cast aluminium enclosures and are one of the sexiest looking speakers in the world. These are paired with the 300 Watt RMS Millenia SUB which alone has turned Subwoofer design on its head! No more big "square" boxes, but rather a design that is compact and can be positioned either vertically or horizontally which literally opens up a 'zillion' location possibilities.
Compact Satellites: These feature a heavy die-cast aluminium enclosure that is acoustically inert. This is important as it minimises resonances which can destroy the all-important imaging. Included are both heavy metal bases for shelf mounting as well as wall-mounting brackets. The speakers are a 2-Driver, 2-Way design and include a 25mm S-PAL (satin-anodised pure aluminium) proprietary Paradigm tweeter and a 102mm S-PAL bass/midrange driver. Interestingly, the woofer surround overlaps the tweeter frame-plate allowing both to sit closer together and "blend" nicely. All speakers come with a snug fitting perforated metal cover that is held in by a thin rubber gasket that eliminates any rattles. The matching centre speaker comes supplied with a unique base that allows it to be placed horizontally. On the rear you will find some exceptionally (for the speaker size) heavy-duty speaker wire terminals. These will accept certain model banana plugs but will also accept bare wire like QED 79 strand which would be our recommendation.
The Subwoofer: Lets be honest and admit that subwoofers aren't the sexiest component and certainly don't get - from our experience - any votes from "the good wife" which creates some awkward situations from time-to-time here in the store. Yet, everyone knows that a subwoofer or two is essential if you want decent bass on either music or movies and particularly with small satellite speakers as featured here.
So with MilleniaSub, there must have been input from all the fine ladies associated with Paradigm because this sub ticks all the boxes. It can be placed either vertically or horizontally and even comes supplied with rubber bumpers for use on hard flooring surfaces. You could say that it is shaped more like a briefcase than a subwoofer and in the vertical position is only 179mm wide. There is also the option of wall-mounting (bracket sold separately) if you want it up off the floor a little. On either side of its curved corner extruded aluminum enclosure are two custom-shaped drivers - basically square with rounded corners - each measuring 383mm x 465mm which are configured in a push-pull formation. The idea here is to cancel vibration and deliver a quality performance. Each driver has a tough outer skin and a corrugated surround made of Santoprene - a compound in which rubber particles are dispersed in a thermoplastic matrix. The Class D amplifiers are not only energy-efficient but deliver a whopping 300 Watts RMS of continuous or sustained power ability right when you need it.
The difference this sub will make to your music and home theatre experience can't be put into words, but you'll hear it and you'll feel it. It's a humbling experience, one that takes you beyond the sub's slim and toned beach bass body to a place where you're absolutely lost in the music or movie you're watching.
Reference Bass: Your MilleniaSub is part of Paradigm's 'Reference' collection … cool style and superb quality that includes 'cost no object' technology at below what you'd pay for any other genuine high-end subwoofer with this much cool stuff. We guarantee you won't be able to keep the Paradigm difference a secret. In fact, we hope you don't. Spread the word! Talk about it. BRAG about it! Play your MilleniaSub and let others listen! Paradigm's mission is to rid the world of bad sound … and by 'bad' they mean the kind of subwoofers the big box stores stock, the ones that pretend to be dangerous and big-bass mean, but in the end couldn't give a fish in a fish bowl a fair shake.
Speaker Cable: Not included due to the fact that everyone has different requirements. We do offer home theatre speaker cable bundles of varying lengths at discount prices. We recommend QED 79 strand cable with this speaker package.
Paradigm MilleniaOne 5.1 Speaker System Review
In 2011 Sound & Vision Magazine (USA) awarded this system a coveted Product of the Year award which is testimony itself to the way the experts view this system. We liked this comment: "Rap a knucle on the metal enclosure and you'll hear a dull thunk similar to what you'd hear if you knock on the sidewalk (footpath). This speaker is far more serious than its size and price suggest...After an hour, I was convinced that the MilleniaOne & MilleniaSub combo is one of the best lifestyle systems I've reviewed...after 4 hours, I was convinced it's one of the best speaker systems I've reviewed."
Our Take On The Paradigm MilleniaOne 5.1 Speaker System
This system was first released in 2010 and is still one of our equal best-selling sub-sat speaker systems. This is not a "cheap" system and what may seem crazy at first is that the subwoofer costs almost as much as the five satellites combined! But that's how it should be as it has to carry the load and keep everything tied together. The Millenia One 5.1 speaker system sounds as good as it looks and is made to exceptional standards. Add a decent home theatre receiver in the $1000 to $2000 price category and a blu-ray player and you're good to go.
The Paradigm mission is to rid the world of bad sound … and by 'bad' they mean the kind of stuff the big box, mass market stores stock, the ones that pretend to be dangerous and big-bass mean, but in the end as Bob Gassal from Paradigm reminds us "couldn't give a fish in a fish bowl a fair shake!" And Bob, although you are now resting in peace, we still haven't forgotten your many words of wisdom and the drive you had at Paradigm to push MilleniaOne to its completion.
Main Features & Specifications
- Design: Six-piece Surround Sound system with five Satellite Speakers and a powered Subwoofer
- Frequency Response: Overall 21Hz - 20kHz (±2 dB)
MilleniaOne 5.1 System - Satellite Speakers
- Tweeter: 1 x 25mm S-PAL™ satin-anodised pure-aluminum dome tweeter
- Woofer: 1 x 102mm S-PAL™ satin-anodised pure-aluminum cone midrange/woofer
- Enclosures: Cast Aluminium with rear port (bass reflex design) to improve bass
- Grilles: Low-diffraction grilles maximise imaging and ensure smooth dispersion
- Speaker Terminals: Heavy duty and gold plated
- Frequency Response: 120Hz - 20kHz (±2 dB)
- Sensitivity: 89dB
- Impedance: Nominal 8 Ohms
- Stands: Adjustable tabletop/shelf stands/wall brackets included - wall hardware/screws not included
- Finish: Gloss Black or White
- Dimensions(WxHxD): 115 x 195 x 145mm (including table-top stand)
- Nett Weight: 2.96kg each (including stand)
- Manufacturer's Warranty: 5 Years
MilleniaOne 5.1 System - Powered Subwoofer
- Drivers: 2 x 355 x 76mm reinforced back-to-back polymer cones
- Voice Coils: Two 25mm to help deliver plenty of bass
- Roll Surround: Patented corrugated Santoprene® surrounds
- Enclosure:
- Extruded aluminium
- Sealed (Acoustic Suspension) delivers very tight and accurate bass
- Amplifier:
- Ultra Class D: 1 x 300 Watts RMS Sustained; 900 Watts Peak
- Auto-on, soft clipping, thermal monitoring
- Subwoofer Cut-Off Frequency: Variable 35Hz - 150Hz; With Bypass Option
- Frequency Response: 21Hz - 150Hz
- Mounting: Stand for vertical positioning
- Bumper Pads: Rubber feet to provide 15mm clearance when positioned horizontally
- Finish: Satin Black or White
- Nett Weight: 10.9kg
- Dimensions(WxHxD): 179 x 383 x 465mm
- Manufacturer's Warranty: 2 Years Electronics, 5 Years On Drivers
Note: Features & Specifications Subject To Change Without Notice. E&OE