Five years in the making, Paradigm's Persona is the company's new top line. It includes four towers, monitor, center, and sub.

These are Paradigm's most ambitious speakers yet. Their tweeters and midrange drivers are pure beryllium, prized for stiffness and accuracy. The material is mined in Utah—and is not, the company emphasizes, a hybrid with beryllium substrate.

The flagship 9H powered tower has four woofers in a "differential drive" formation with two of them operating unseen inside the seven-layer cabinet. They driven by dual 700-watt amps. ARC (Anthem Room Correction) is built in. "Perfect phase alignment lenses," the perforated metal grilles covering the tweeter and mid, are more than cosmetic; they also widen dispersion.

Like the rest of the line, this big guy has a 96 dB efficiency rating, so you'd have wide latitude in mating amps. Woofers throughout the line are aluminum, with 8.5-inch woofers in the two top towers and seven-inchers in the other two towers. The sub drives a half-dozen eight-inch drivers with 1700 watts RMS.

Prices: Persona 9H tower, $17,500/each; Persona 7F tower, $12,500/each; Persona 5F tower, $8500/each; Persona 3F tower, $5000/each; Persona B monitor, $3500/each; Persona C center, $7500/each; Persona SUB, $6500.