Paradigm points out that this has never happened before as the speakers delivered to dealers are shrink-wrapped with multiple cartons onto sturdy pallets that must be handled with fork-lifts––a far more secure transport method. Despite this track record, the company is also looking into ways of beefing up the mounting, as well. We don’t expect a consumer to have a similar experience as ours, but––as always––we suggest careful handling.

The silver lining here is that I was able to get an up close and personal look at the subwoofer’s driver, which is a far more impressive unit than I would expect to find in a sub of this class, with a massive dual-magnet structure and vented pole piece. It’s the kind of driver one typically finds on more expensive subs.

I used both stereo and multichannel music discs with clean vocals to check the timbre, or tonality, of the front speakers. The 110 CT system provides a surprisingly uncolored front soundstage that somewhat reminds me of the type of sound quality I was getting from an excellent $3,500 surround speaker system I reviewed a few weeks earlier. I couldn’t discern any obvious tonal flaws, which is remarkable given the very reasonable $799 price for the whole 110 CT package.

Further listening with powerhouse DVD movies and additional low-frequency sweep testing confirmed that, as is usual with compact ported subwoofers, one simply can’t get the low-frequency extension of the big boys. But as long as it’s not being driven too hard, the sub sounds good with only some lumpiness noted, also a common trait with small subs.