Following some 10 years of study and continuous improvement in virtually all aspects of my system, I can finally say I'm done for now. These modifications have resulted in an order of magnitude improvement in what may seem like a budget system....it now can compete with the best of them.

The Paradigm Studio 100's (Version 1) have been rewired internally using DH Labs Q-10 cabling, every stock terminal has been replaced with gold plated quick-connects at each of the speaker terminals and crossover assembly interface terminals. The crossover itself has had each of the signal carrying capacitors replaced with Clarity Cap PX and SA series metallized polypropylene capacitors. The stock tweeter has been carefully replaced with the Scan Speak DS2905 since it has such close characteristics to the original. And with that said, this tweeter reaches into areas the Paradigm just can't. In addition, I've cascaded tweeter capacitors within the crossover high pass section which has opened the top end tremendously giving the system a degree of smoothness and transparency that just wasn't present with the original. The tweeter is decoupled to the cabinet in a "sandwich" of butal rubber gasket and a layer of felt which after much experimentation, gave the best result. I've also decoupled each speaker mounting screw using butal rubber O-rings and rubber gaskets between the speaker mounting basket and cabinet. I've added cross-bracing to the cabinet in the midrange and bass sections and have replaced all of the stock acoustic insulation with "pyramid" diffusing acoustic foam which as been glued to the cabinet throughout. By rolling 6 x 18" rubber sheets into 4 inch thick rolls and placing them in each corner of each of the 3 chambers of the inside cabinet, I suspect I've been able to reduce standing waves and interior reflections. The front grill frame is also now lined with a layer of felt to absorb any subtle vibrations that may ocurr between the cabinet and grill frame. All of these speaker modifications have been made using versious speaker modeling design software to ensure that none of the paramaters have been ill-affected. I've also taken numerous frequency response measurements and have verified that the frequency response is flat and no "dips" and "bumps" have been created as a result of replacing the tweeter or any other mods, for that matter.

Something inherently great about the Paradigm design is the bass extension. The bass is palpable, fast, tight and and has the right amount of weight. But I found by adding a small amount of lead shot to the cabinet (2 lbs), the speakers have gone from a slightly bloated home theater speaker to a nicely controlled audiophile speaker with nice extension that doesn't inflict damage to any of the critical midbass region. There's now a sense of rythym and phase coherency that just sounds right and when it sounds right, you know it.

I'm using DH Labs Q-10 speaker cable in 8ft runs and am very satisfied with it. I recently replaced the soft copper spades with gold plated crimp terminals and the difference has been unbelievable. This cable has gone from cold, analytical and slightly harsh on the upper end to smooth, articulate and musical. The (4) cable lifters I have were made by using a deck end cap and PVC T-joint that I cross sectioned across the top of the "T". Both purchased at Home Depot ....total cost of about $5 per lifter. The two were glued together so that the cable rests in the cross-sectioned groove. I sprayed painted them with gold metalic paint. They look better than their construction sounds and do the job as well as any others.

I've tried many different interconnect cables including PS Audio, Nordost Red Dawn and Tara Labs but none have been as well-balanced in overall presentation as this combination of JPS Labs Superconductor+ and Stealth Cross-Wrapped Silver (not to exlude the DH-75 Digital interconnect).

All of the stock power cables were replaced with DIY Belden 83802 cable and terminated with hospital grade plugs which has impacted the system and taken it to a new level. There's no amount of description I could give to convey it's impact. I think most audiophiles already know what I mean.

The most recent tweaks have included brass cones on all of the digital equipment and preamp and last but not least, a 5.25 inch floppy magnetic disc placed over the CD during play-back. Both of these improvements have been significant and very satisfying in creating a system that is much more than meets the eye.