Some of us build home theatres in order to recreate the movie theatre experience at home. Some of us do it for bragging rights. Then there are enthusiasts who constantly upgrade their components in the attempt to reach ultimate home theatre nirvana. Whichever group you fit into, chances are that in your quest for components you will come across products from Paradigm Electronics and sister company Anthem Electronics.
Some of this success can be attributed to the fact that both brands have been around since the dawn of the home theatre and have continued to innovate and develop products that kept up with the times. Another part of this success stems from the fact that Paradigm manufacturers almost all the components required to build its speakers and audio video components β from crossovers right down to individual parts of a speaker driver such as cones and baskets.
Speaker manufacturer Paradigm Electronics was founded in by Jerry VanderMarel and Scott Bagby in Toronto, Ontario and enjoyed a steady growth throughout the s and s. In , the company acquired Sonic Frontiers Inc. This colossal facility is home to over employees and occupies roughly , square feet. Paradigm also owns an Advanced Research Centre in Ottawa, Ontario which houses a team of 18 employees.
My tour began with a visit to the research and development department where naturally all new products are conceived. The team of engineers at the Mississauga facility is responsible for new speaker and crossover designs with the aid of a massive tool β also known as the anechoic chamber.
The purpose of an anechoic chamber is to completely isolate all external noise and allow engineers to measure the sound of the speaker placed inside it. It is an indispensible tool in modern loudspeaker design. A 6 inch air gap isolates the chamber from the rest of the facility.
