About The Paradigm Founder 80F Speakers
Barely taking up over 1 square foot of floorspace, the Paradigm Founder 80F is an incredibly approachable entry point into the world of high-end sound. Containing every new Founder Series technology in the repertoire, the 80F is a stunning, premium loudspeaker that can outperform many larger, and more expensive, models. The 80F allows you to experience the dynamics and scale that a floorstander is capable of while still being comparatively unimposing in a room. The Founder 80F - maximum performance, minimal footprint.
Founder is no ordinary loudspeaker. Paradigm have treated every part, large and small, as if it were the most crucial piece of the whole. Every component has been thoroughly researched, designed, engineered, and tested. Not only are the drivers completely new, so is their mounting hardware, the cabinet's internal structure and shape, and even the feet. By leaving no element unaddressed, Paradigm's designers and amazing engineers have created something that is much greater than the sum of its parts.
Precision
When Paradigm say "precision" they mean the nuance, detail, and realism that is achieved when a speaker "gets it right." Founder series includes many new advances in design, materials, and engineering to provide class defining levels of performance. Here's just some...
Aluminium Magnesium Ceramic (AL-MAC™) High Frequency Driver: Founder's tweeter is made lighter and stronger with Paradigm's special combination of Aluminium, Magnesium, and Ceramic materials. It has a natural resistance to uncontrolled resonance that makes it far more accurate and responsive than other designs. It doesn't just sound good on paper, it performs in the real world.
Aluminium Magnesium (AL-MAG™) Mid/Bass Driver: Founder's mid/bass driver is developed with listener sensitivity in mind. The midrange is, in many ways, the most important driver of any speaker design because it produces the most familiar sounds like the human voice. By using Aluminium and Magnesium, Paradigm have improved the realism and accuracy of the all-important midrange.
Two Ultra-High-Excursion CARBON-X Unibody Bass Drivers: To maintain clarity in the lowest frequencies, Paradigm's designers have created an ultra-stiff, ultra-strong bass driver made from mineral-infused carbon fibre. It's moulded in a single piece to maintain control at the highest volumes. Combined with their patented ART Surround, it is both detailed and powerful. And this is exactly what you want when you are either playing music or watching a movie with plenty of bass.
Control
Packing incredible technology into a speaker means nothing if the benefits don't reach your ears. By addressing every component, Paradigm's engineers have made sure that you can hear the results of their hard work in any environment.
Oblate Spherical Waveguide (OSW™): Paradigm's research into the evolution of modern home interiors led them to create the OSW™ Waveguide. This uniquely shaped part is used in Founder's tweeter and midrange drivers. By maintaining sonic focus on the listening area, less sound bleeds to the sides where it can be coloured by reflective surfaces. This makes Founder perfect for large, open-plan rooms with reflective surfaces like windows and hardwood floors. OSW™ gives you better sound where you want it, and less distracting sound where you don't. Real solutions for real life.
Perforated Phase-Aligning (PPA™) Lens: To protect Founder's tweeter and midrange driver cones, Paradigm developed the Perforated Phase Aligning (PPA™) Lens. Not only does it look beautiful, it ensures that all frequencies reach the listener's ears at the same time. This adds to Founder's realistic and precise presentation. It also makes them ideal for listening from farther away without losing sound quality and detail to the room.
Cascade Fusion Bracing: Speaker cabinets should be seen and not heard. To ensure that the driver's output is entirely uncoloured, Paradigm developed Cascade Fusion Bracing. This proprietary manufacturing technique utilises a reinforced and sealed longitudinal brace with cascading supports, which serves as the cabinet's foundation. The 'skin' or 'sleeve' is then wrapped and fused to form an ultra-rigid grid-style enclosure, free from unwanted resonance and vibration. You have to un-hear it to believe it.
Advanced Shock-Mount™ System: To lower distortion and further maximise driver performance, Paradigm have created the Advanced Shock-Mount System™ for both the driver mounting hardware and the cabinet feet. Drivers are mechanically isolated from the front baffle and feet are decoupled from the enclosure. That way, no vibration is transmitted from driver to cabinet, or cabinet to driver, or between the cabinet and the floor. The feet can even be adjusted from above, without moving or tipping the speaker making sure you get a perfectly level footing on any surface. Interchangeable hardware is included for both carpeted and hardwood floors.
Dynamics
Detail, clarity, accuracy, fidelity – these are words often thrown around to indicate the quality of sound, but what of the quantity? Recreating a live performance takes dynamics, or the ability to recreate quiet sounds, loud sounds, and everything in between. Let's look at how the Founder Series recreates the broadest and most powerful dynamics.
Increasing Useable Output by Decreasing Distortion: Speakers that can truly "play loud" do so because they have no audible distortion. Distortion is what makes a speaker harsh and fatiguing. Founder's technologies eliminate these unwanted elements so you can turn up the volume. With greater usable output, Founder can not only reproduce the subtlest nuances, it can rock out when you want it to.
High Output, High Efficiency Components: "Power Is Nothing Without Control." This famous quote is behind everything Paradigm do. All driver components are designed for maximum power handling and high output. High power density magnets, high excursion cone surrounds, and multi-layered voice coils work in concert to create the broadest possible dynamic spectrum. Fluid-cooled tweeters keep everything composed during the most demanding musical passages or intense action scenes. The driver designs have increased usable cone area while remaining the same size as competing products. More output and less bulk can only be a good thing.
Bi-Amp Capable: All models in the Founder series can be Bi-amped or Bi-wired to make the most of your electronics' power delivery. This not only provides a more direct connection to the components inside the speaker but raises the amount of power available to it.
Proudly Crafted in Canada: The Founder Series is completely designed, engineered, and built at Paradigm's state-of-the-art manufacturing facility just outside of Toronto, Canada. Their products are understandably made by people who love great audio. From the hand-chosen, specially engineered components and materials, to the precise workmanship of the non-resonant cabinets with their beautiful premium-grade finishes, Founder Series is truly hand-built for performance.
Sure, they could say "Made in Canada," or "Manufactured in Canada" so why don't they? The reason is that building loudspeakers is an art and not just a job. Everyone at Paradigm shares a passion for crafting speakers, and it's from this intense passion that "Crafted in Canada" was proudly born.
Paradigm Founder 80F Reviews
"A fantastic all-around speaker with the finest sound Muse Kastanovich has ever had in his home and luxurious looks, too. A 2½-way floorstander with 1" AL-MAC tweeter, 6" AL-MAG mid/bass cone, and two more 6" Carbon-X bass cones, the 80F incorporates a wealth of technological, material, and design advancements, including shock-mounted-driver and feet-vibration decoupling, an application-engineered material for each driver type, and a complex non-rectangular cabinet with extensive internal bracing to increase rigidity and break up standing waves. Detail, resolution, and dynamics were all off the scale, and the bass was ample, considering it is the smallest of the Founder series floorstanders." The Absolute Sound Editors' Choice Awards 2023
"I was unable to find any significant weaknesses in the performance of the Founder 80F. One shortcoming others might perceive in certain systems is that they are incredibly transparent and revealing of everything that is going on upstream. If you have a mediocre element in there somewhere, you will hear it. Nevertheless, I found I enjoyed even mediocre recordings through them more than through any other speaker I have had in my home. Also, they are not very finicky about the room they are placed in—one of Paradigm's stated design goals.
Competition near this price? You could find a few models in the same league. However, if you narrowed the list down to only those sharing its deep bass, high sensitivity, high power handling, and amazing dynamics on rhythmic music, it would become a very small group, indeed. I have personally heard two of the finer examples at AUD $8,000 and $10,000 price points with my amps, and they did not surpass the Founder 80F. In fact, they did not equal its sonic performance. It is extraordinary what Paradigm has been able to achieve at this price point.
It should be clear at this point that I was extremely impressed with the Paradigm Founder 80F. After becoming familiar with what they are capable of, I simply can't do without them. So, I am purchasing the review pair." Muse Kastanovich, The Absolute Sound
Our Take
One word springs to mind when you first lay eyes on the Paradigm Founder speakers and that is 'Sharp'. These things are as sharp as an Italian pin striped suit. In fact, these puppies look so good we think some people will buy them just for the looks alone. Fortunately the beauty is more than skin deep and, oh boy, do these things perform. "Power Is Nothing Without Control" has long been the foundation behind everything Paradigm do and the Founder series deeply embodies that concept to produce a range of speakers that feature vanishingly low distortion, incredible driver control and explosive dynamics which make them sound big and powerful without even having to try. The 80F is the smallest floorstander in the range and will appeal to people who don't want the speaker to take over the room but who still want ample performance even in an open plan environment. The sleek look of the Founder 80F will complement any décor and the well balanced sound will bring many years of listening enjoyment, no matter what your taste.
Main Features & Specifications
- Design: 4-driver, 2.5 way floorstanding speaker, rear ported enclosure
- High Frequency Driver: 1" (25mm) AL-MAC™ Ceramic Dome with Oblate Spheroid Waveguide (OSW™) and Perforated Phase-Aligning (PPA™) Tweeter Lens, ferro-fluid damped / cooled
- Mid/Bass Frequency Driver: 6" (152mm) Ultra-High-Excursion AL-MAG™ Cone with Perforated Phase-Aligning (PPA™) Lens, Gen3 Active Ridge Technology (ART™) with Vertical Mounting System, Advanced SHOCKMOUNT™ Isolation, and a 1.5" high-temp multi-layered voice coil with ventilated Apical™ former
- Bass Frequency Driver: Two 6" (152mm) Ultra-High Excursion CARBON-X™ Unibody Cone, Gen3 Active Ridge Technology (ART™) with Vertical Mounting System, Advanced SHOCK-MOUNT™ Isolation, and a 1.5" high-temp multi-layered voice coil with ventilated Apical™ former
- Crossover: 2nd order electro-acoustic at 1.8 kHz (tweeter), 2nd order at 500 Hz (bass)
- Low Frequency Extension: 28 Hz (DIN)
- Frequency Response On-Axis: ±2dB from 50 Hz - 23 kHz
- Frequency Response 30° Off-Axis: ±2dB from 50 Hz - 20 kHz
- Sensitivity Room / Anechoic: 93 dB / 90 dB
- Suitable Amplifier Power Range: 15 - 220 watts
- Maximum Input Power: 180 watts
- Impedance: Compatible with 8 ohms
- Designed, Engineered & Manufactured in Canada
- Available Finishes: Piano Black, Midnight Cherry, Black Walnut, Walnut
- Dimensions (WxHxD): 298 x 971 x 356mm
- Weight: 23.6 kg each
- Manufacturer's Warranty: 5 Years
Note: Features & Specifications Subject To Change Without Notice. E&OE.