Paradigm Loudspeakers Factory Tour: Production Facilities
by Doug Schneider

As mentioned in the Tour Introduction that we published in June, Paradigm not only produces all their loudspeakers in-house, they produce the majority of parts for their loudspeakers too. While not necessarily the largest speaker manufacturer in the world, they rank among the big ones. This not only allows them to build large volumes of speakers and reap the benefits of economies of scale, it also allows them opportunities to research and experiment with all aspects loudspeaker design and production. The level of sophistication and scope of production are very impressive indeed.

Paradigm's speakers are produced entirely in Canada. The bulk of the production is done in two facilities spaced about 20 minutes apart by car, providing Toronto rush-hour doesn't get in the way.  If it does, 20 minutes can easily turn into two hours. One factory is located in Mississauga, while the other is in Woodbridge, both in the immediate Toronto area.

The Woodbridge location is the facility that also houses the loudspeaker research-and-development area, the anechoic chamber and the blind-listening room. Paradigm builds almost all of its drivers in the Woodbridge location, about 95%. In the rare case where it's better to outsource a part, they do that. For example, their lowest-priced Micro speaker uses a tweeter from another company. On the other hand, when they need a new driver, perhaps unique to a specific loudspeaker design, they can design all necessary pieces of it, including the basket and the shape of the cone, right in their factory. Paradigm designers, therefore, have the freedom to design any new loudspeaker from the ground up and are not bound by constraints of someone else's products.

Drivers aren't the only parts manufactured in this facility. Paradigm creates their own inductors, builds their own amplifiers for active speakers, and even do all plastic work down to cosmetic faceplate finishing and ports. There is a staggering amount of automation at Paradigm, including injection-molding machines and all necessary tooling to produce the dies for metalwork. Again, the majority of this type of work is done at this location.

The Woodbridge location is sectioned off into different production areas. The first main manufacturing area we visited houses driver production. On this day a number of minimonitor woofers were making their way through the process. Walking in, you first see an enormous number of finished drivers stretching halfway down assembly-line tables (see photo upper right). This is the end-result that actually begins on the other end of the floor where baskets, spiders and cones are first fitted, surrounds are attached and then leads wired though. There are a large number of workers on hand for these tasks; however, much of the precision work is done by machines located at key positions in the line. Like Paradigm's philosophy for designing speakers, some of the machines are stock while others have been created right at Paradigm for specialized tasks.

Having full control over all design and production allows for innovation. Paradigm's Mark Aling is shown right holding a woofer basket. An innovative feature of it are the heat-sinks and fins for cooling, which can be seen on the bottom ring. When the cone moves, air is brought in and forced out through these slots. This helps to reduce excessive heat build-up when the loudspeaker is driven hard by, say, a kick drum or when planes take off, elevators crash down and bombs blast during your favorite movie. Discriminating audiophiles will note that many of Paradigm's driver frames are cast (including the woofer used in the Atom) as opposed to a stamped frame. Inherently this makes for a stronger, more reliable driver. However, stamped frames are still used where cost is prohibitive.

When Paradigm went looking on the open market for voice coils, they found consistency of production to be a problem. While a "half turn here and a half turn there" discrepancy may be suitable for some, they wanted no discrepancy in the number of turns on their voice coils. As a result, like with most things, they brought the production of voice coils in-house to achieve the desired level of quality.

What's quite interesting is that extensive testing is not required for their driver production as the baskets, cones and voice coils get assembled. Instead, key points have been addressed during production that negate the need for some of the testing until the final part of the production line. If any driver fails the test when it reaches the end of the line, it is routed back to the beginning, completely disassembled and rebuilt from scratch. Paradigm not only creates the woofers and midrange drivers, but most of the tweeters including faceplates. 

Making active loudspeakers, as well as the acquisition of Sonic Frontiers, has stepped up amplifier production at Paradigm. In this location, only the active-loudspeaker amplifiers are currently manufactured; however, there are plans to move the Anthem production here from Sonic Frontiers' Oakville locations since the production of these components is so similar. A brief look at amplifier production is shown below.

Transistor inserter

Transformer production

Active 20 amplifier done

We missed rush hour, so the trip to Mississauga took the requisite 20 minutes.   This location is another very large, modern building without a hint on its exterior of what goes on inside. Paradigm may have a high profile at retailers, but their factories are inconspicuous. There are no large signs or emblems, just a simple street number that labels the building.

The total area of the Mississauga location is massive, spanning some 115,000 square feet. All raw speaker components, once completed, are shipped to this location, where all woodworking, assembly, packing and final shipping is done. The plant is divided into three key areas: on the front left is the speaker assembly and packing area (shown above right), adjacent to this area is the woodworking shop, and behind both of these areas is the warehousing and shipping section.

Countless supplies of MDF and particle board abound, ready to be shaped into loudspeaker cabinets. All cabinet work, including veneers and finishing, is done by Paradigm. Unlike the assembly area, which is fairly quiet, the wood shop is extremely loud with persistent machine noise that would likely be deafening with long periods of exposure. Walking in to this area, it's hard to gauge exactly how loud it is. However, once we tried to talk it was very difficult to hear someone only a couple feet away. This makes hearing protection mandatory, which all workers use.

Using precision saws and routers, all necessary pieces are cut for each loudspeaker. What's amazing to see is the precision with which each panel is cut, along with the V-shaped grooves that will eventually shape each speaker. This V must be precise since it will eventually form the corner edge of each loudspeaker, making an exceedingly clean joint.

On one of the assembly lines, Paradigm's flagship passive speaker, the Studio/100 Mk 2, was making its way through the assembly process. For the Studio/100 Mk 2, the internal construction is far more elaborate than for the less expensive speakers. Notably, it contains a cross-braced structure that increases the rigidity of the entire cabinet, reducing cabinet vibrations. All cross-braces are pre-cut and assembled prior to being inserted into the cabinet. Shown in the picture above right is the cross-bracing structure waiting to be attached to the Studio/100 side panels. If you look carefully underneath the cross-brace structure, you can see a number of boards cut with necessary grooves that will form the next set of braces for the next speaker. Not shown is a midrange cabinet that is also inserted inside the main box to isolate the midrange driver from interactions with the woofers. Like all speakers, the Studio/100 Mk 2 makes its way down the line until it is finally tested and then packaged up.

Studio/100 Mk 2 braces attached to side panel

Studio/100 Mk 2s completed

On another line the $139 CC-70 center-channel speakers were also being made. The wood for all sides is first cut from a single board, veneered and V-shaped grooves cut to just the right depth.  The V-shaped grooves allow the cabinet to be "folded" into shape once crossover components are attached inside. Each board is also carefully beveled so when the speaker is finally assembled, each side and edge has a clean and finished appearance. Next the drivers must be installed and final inspection and testing performed.

CC-70 center-channel speaker prior to being "folded" into shape	Glued and "folded" into shape, the drivers go in next
Drivers in place and ready for computer testing	Inspection passed, packaged up and ready to go somewhere in the world