Paradigm's Founder series ranks second in the company's product hierarchy after the top-of-the-line Persona line and includes six models. The entry-level model is the two-way Founder 40B bookshelf monitor. For a home theater surround sound system, the series includes two center channel speakers. The lower-end model, the Founder 70LCR, as its name suggests, can be used in both horizontal and vertical orientations, meaning it can be used for more than just the center channel. This three-way model features four drivers (a coaxial midrange/high-frequency driver and two bass drivers) housed in a sealed enclosure. The higher-end model, the Founder 90C, features six drivers in a bass-reflex design.
The Founder series also includes three floorstanding speaker systems featuring a bass-reflex design. The entry-level model, the Founder 80F, features a 2.5-way design and four drivers. The two higher-end models, the Founder 100F and 120F, each feature five drivers, with the same tweeter and midrange driver. The Founder 100F features larger bass drivers (215 mm in diameter versus 177 mm in the Founder 100F), but the flagship's main distinguishing feature is its active low-frequency section with a Class D amplifier delivering 1 kW (up to 2 kW peak). The amplifier is controlled by a DSP-based system that incorporates Anthem's proprietary room correction technology in its Genesis version.
The Founder series speakers feature custom-designed drivers with high-power magnet systems, multilayer voice coils, and long-throw cones. All models in the line feature an aluminum-magnesium-ceramic (AL-MAG) dome tweeter housed in an OSW spherical waveguide. The Founder speakers' low-frequency drivers feature Unibody CARBON-X cones and are mounted in enclosures reinforced with a Cascade-Fusion design and an advanced Shock-Mount system. A similar approach is used for the floor-standing speakers' supports.
The new Founder series incorporates Paradigm's most advanced developments, fully living up to its ambitious name. But the list of innovations doesn't end there. For example, the drivers are attached to the enclosure using an advanced Shock-Mount technology. Instead of being mounted directly to the enclosure, the driver is secured through specially designed vibration-damping spacers, which significantly alter the transmission of vibration from the drivers to the speaker enclosure. A similar design is also used in the vibration-isolating feet that support the speakers.
You'd expect a powerful presentation, high overdrive capability, and the ability to create a truly expansive soundscape from Paradigm speakers. In other words, they're a great choice for upbeat rock, including the heaviest variations. And the Paradigm Founders live up to this expectation—turn up the volume and you'll get a wall of sound without any sign of distortion or overload. The fast, punchy, yet quite deep bass adds dimension to familiar tracks that typically lack expressive low-end, and the impressive attack in the high frequencies sometimes makes you want to loosen your tie.
At the same time, the Paradigm Founder demonstrates genre versatility—both chamber jazz compositions and large-scale symphonic works are presented with expressiveness and naturalness. Paradigm Founder speakers are available in piano black, walnut, black walnut, or midnight cherry finishes.
Paradigm Founder 120H Specifications
- Nominal power, W 300
- Recommended power, W 15 – 400
- Sensitivity, dB 92
- Impedance, Ohm 8
- Frequency range, Hz – kHz 22 – 23
- Number of speakers, pcs 5
- Number of bands, pcs 3
- HF speaker 1 x 25 mm, AL-MAC
- Midrange speaker 1 x 152 mm, AL-MAG
- LF speaker 3 x 215 mm, CARBON-X
- Bass reflex In the floor
- Crossover frequency, Hz / kHz 2.4 kHz / 500 Hz
- Dimensions, mm 1153 x 354 x 441
- Weight, kg 41.7
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