Description
The most ideal center channel is to use the same speaker as the Front Left and Right channels. This is not always practical, especially when towers are being used. The Founder 90C was designed to capture the overall performance, dynamics, and realism of the larger tower models, but in a design that is more practical to use underneath a TV or screen.
Founder Series cabinets are offered in a variety of beautiful premium-grade finishes:
Walnut and Black Walnut have a smooth satin finish with distinctive wood figuring.
Our exclusive Midnight Cherry and Piano Black feature a luxurious hand-rubbed, high-gloss finish.
Precision. Control. Dynamics.
These are the pillars the Founder Series was built on.
Fire and ice, oil and water, Yankees and Mets fans. Some things just don’t mix. But what if form and function could? Every once in a while, something special comes along and changes the rules. The perfect blend of technology, design, and performance. At the start of Founder’s development, we knew one thing, when Art Embraces Science, anything is possible, and we exceeded our wildest expectations.
Founder is no ordinary loudspeaker. Every component, large and small, was scrutinized down to the tiniest detail. Every component has been thoroughly researched, designed, and engineered, exclusively for Founder’s. New patent-pending technologies were developed for the acoustic platform. The new cabinet platform is not just a stunning design, its unique shape and integrated structural bracing delivers acoustic performance that cannot be matched by traditional square boxes. By leaving no element unaddressed, Founder’s is so much more than the sum of its parts.
During our exhaustive research, design, and engineering process, we looked closely and carefully at how speakers interact with their environment. The contemporary home interior presents design challenges that have become even more prominent over the last decade. Stone, glass, and wood have become the materials of choice and open concepts dominate. Founder’s design has evolved with this trend and is perfectly suited to deliver its maximum performance in rooms that would challenge traditionally designed speakers. Whether you enjoy movies and music in a more traditional listening space, or your home is from the pages of Architectural Digest, you can be sure Founder will sound as good as they look.
Precision
When we say “precision” we 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.
Control
Packing incredible technology into a speaker means nothing if the benefits don’t reach your ears. By addressing every component, our engineers made sure that you could hear the results of their hard work in any environment.
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.
The Evolution of the Listening Space
The Oblate Spherical Waveguide (OSW™) tweeter waveguide helps Founder Series Loudspeakers maintain accurate tonal balance and imaging in rooms with more reflective surfaces. Using the shape of the rock we ride through space on, OSW™ employs an oblate spheroid form factor to manage the intensity of off-axis sound. As volume increases, sound projected to the sides decreases gradually so the listener loses none of the detail and nuance that creates a life like three-dimensional sound stage. We also significantly increased the motor’s magnet size to deliver higher efficiency and lower distortion.
AL-MAC™ High-Frequency Driver
The Founder’s tweeter is a 1″ (25mm) Aluminum Magnesium Ceramic (AL-MAC™) dome with a proprietary Oblate Spherical Waveguide (OSW™) and a Perforated Phase-Aligning (PPA™) Lens.
AL-MAG™ Midrange Driver
The Founder’s midrange is a 6″ (152mm) Aluminum Magnesium (AL-MAG™) cone with Perforated Phase-Aligning (PPA™) Lens, Advanced SHOCK-MOUNT™ Isolation Mounting System, and a 2” high-temp multi-layered voice coil with ventilated Apical™ former.
Ultra-High-Excursion CARBON-X Unibody Bass Driver
The Founder’s Bass driver is a 6” (152mm), 7” (177mm) or 8” (215mm) Ultra-High-Excursion Unibody CARBON-X™ Cone, over-molded Gen3 Active Ridge Technology (ART™) Surround with Vertical Mounting System, Advanced SHOCK-MOUNT™ Isolation and a 1.5” high-temp multi-layered voice coil with ventilated Apical™ former.
Art Embracing Science All Founder Series loudspeakers are researched, designed, engineered, tested, then crafted in Canada in Paradigm’s state-of-the-art 225,000 square foot facility. All parts of the newly created cabinet and its extensive Cascade-Fusion internal bracing is made from ¾-inch MDF cut by precision CNC machines. Top and bottom inserts are made from 1-inch thick MDF to ensure added structural integrity. After assembly, a robotic sanding unit preps the cabinet to accept either a fine-quality wood veneer, high-gloss Piano Black, or exclusive Midnight Cherry finish. Our high-level automated paint line brings our cabinets to life with breathtaking precision and accuracy. A catalytic infrared drying system ensures the final coating’s total permanence to ensure a long-lasting durable finish. The machined aluminum front baffle is then installed, which provides a seamless look that hides all fasteners and allows for beautiful sound from a refined package.
“There is no value in the absence of performance”
When Scott Bagby founded Paradigm in 1982, he built the company on the simple motto, “There is no value in the absence of performance.” His passion for audio design and engineering drove innovation for over three decades and continues to drive and advance the state-of-the-art today. The all-new Founder Series is his first project since reacquiring the company in 2019. We’ve taken the expression of ultimate performance from the Persona line and combined it with new cabinets and drivers that make Founder a perfect fit for modern interiors. Obsessive attention to detail has made small parts like driver mounts and feet an integral part of Founder’s overall sound. And we’ve addressed the price to performance ratios too. Founder is a value-oriented loudspeaker that outperforms many higher-priced products. With high-end finishes, Founder Series loudspeakers bring premium sound and a fine aesthetic to your listening space.
ADVANCED Shock-Mount™ Feet Founder Floorstanding Speakers include Advanced Shock-Mount™ Feet which decouple the cabinet from the floor, not just once, but twice, for extremely effective vibration decoupling. Interchangeable hardware is included for both carpet and hard surfaces. The feet can be adjusted from above to level the cabinet with ease
ADVANCED Shock-Mount™ System The Founder Series midrange and bass drivers are mechanically decoupled from the front baffle by our Advanced SHOCK-MOUNT™ Isolation Mounting System. This special mounting hardware uses an elastomer suspension to prevent any transfer of vibration from the driver to the cabinet, and from the cabinet to the driver. By eliminating resonance, the driver is free to render sound purely and efficiently with no audible distortion and maximum clarity
New look, same great sound!
We’ve changed our visual branding with a new logo. It has a simpler and sleeker look but still represents the same great sound Paradigm is known for. Look for it on the Founder Series and all-new loudspeakers going forward.
Cascade-Fusion Bracing
Cascade-Fusion Bracing inside Founder Series’ faceted cabinets increase rigidity and break up standing low-frequency waves. This delivers much tighter bass with greater clarity and accuracy. All bracing is extensively reinforced, making the cabinet into a monolith stronger than the sum of its parts. The inherent strength of the geometric cabinet profile distributes the load points across a larger cabinet area providing greater support and rigidity than can be achieved with traditional square cabinet geometry.
FOUNDER 90C SPECIFICATIONS
DESIGN:
4-driver, 2 passive radiator, 3 way center channel bass reflex
FREQUENCY RESPONSE ON-AXIS:
±2dB from 55 Hz – 23 kHz
HIGH-FREQUENCY DRIVER:
Coaxial 1″ (25mm) AL-MAC™ Ceramic Dome with Oblate Spheroid Waveguide (OSW™) and Perforated Phase-Aligning (PPA™) Tweeter Lens, ferro-fluid damped / cooled, Patent Pending Dual Gap Motor Structure
MID/BASS FREQUENCY DRIVER:
Coaxial 6” (152mm) AL-MAG™ Cone with SHOCK-MOUNT™ Isolation Mounting System, a 2” high-temp multi-layered voice coil with ventilated Apical™ former, Patent Pending Dual-Sync™ Continuous Flux Motor
BASS FREQUENCY DRIVER:
Two 7″ (177mm) 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
SENSITIVITY ROOM / ANECHOIC:
94 dB / 91 dB
PASSIVE RADIATOR:
Two 7″ (177mm) Ultra-High-Excursion CARBON-X™ Unibody Cone, Gen3 Active Ridge Technology (ART™) with Vertical Mounting System, Advanced SHOCKMOUNT™ Isolation, Passive
IMPEDANCE:
Compatible with 8 ohms
FINISHES:
Piano Black, Black Walnut,
Midnight Cherry, Walnut
WEIGHT:
48 lbs (21.8 kg) each
DIMENSIONS (hxwxd)*:
8.9″ x 35.7″ x 12.9″ (22.6cm x 90.8cm x 32.7cm)
LOW FREQUENCY EXTENSION:
37 Hz (DIN)
CROSSOVER:
2nd order electro-acoustic at 1,6kHz (tweeter/midbass)
FREQUENCY RESPONSE 30° OFF-AXIS:
±2dBfrom 55 Hz-17 kHz
SUITABLE AMPLIFIER POWER RANGE:
15- 260 watts
MAXIMUM INPUT POWER*:
200 watts
