Paradigm Reference Signature Series

I have heard the 100 v.3 next to the S8 with the same electronics. They both of course, sound wonderful. But the S8 to my ear was meatier, with better low end definition, and tremendous high end detail (these had been broken in very well at the dealer). I must say that I am now trying to find a way to get these into my house. I am a Maggie addict, and never thought that I would commit the sacrilege of buying "box" speakers, but I MUST HAVE THEM! I was about to buy some Maggie 3.6R's, which my lovely and talented wife will tolerate since they can be slid behind a decorative screen. What I am going to do with the Signature S8's I have no idea, but I am formulating a plan. Great speaker, and I hate box speakers. For he price, it's just a rediculous value. Similar to Vandersteen's in that you just can't believe they don't charge more.

"Once both speakers were in the same room, it was no contest, really. The S8 was more detailed, and I could hear things in the music that I hadn't heard with the Vandersteens. Better imaging, and just more musical. But they did all this without being bright or brash or fatiguing (which I am very sensitive to).

The Vandersteen 3As are fine speakers, I thought the S8s were finer for the music I listen to. I'll be placing my order for a Paradigm Signature surround system anchored by the S8s this weekend. Guess I've gone Canadian".

Funny, as I recently had the opposite occur. I've been using Paradigms for 10+ years, so as I went to upgrade my speakers for the first time since 94, I immediately listened to the new Paradigm Sigs. Liked them a ton, beautiful to look at as well. Then, at another dealer listened to the Vandersteen 3A Sigs, and these are what I now own. I'm a 2 channel guy first, and these just sounded more musical to me - never been as emotionally involved to the music while listening as I am with these.

I think both are great choices, the Vandersteen being less $$ and more musical to me though.

I have a pair of the Studio 100 V2 and a pair of Studio 60 V2 I think they're both great sounding speakers.  When I purchased them I actually went to buy the Paradigm Signature 100 and 60's  I let the owner of the store talk me out of it and looking back at it I think he was more concerned with price than the sound.I was not able to compare the Speakers using the same equipment so I couldn't really tell you the difference, but I'm very happy with what I purchased!

I began my Paradigm experience with the affordable initial Studio 100s and settled in with the version 2s for their smoother but still noticeable treble until a few years after the introduction of their S series. 

I was able to audition the early S8s at home. During that time I made very attractive offer on a pair of well used Avalon Acoustics Eidolons and was able to compare the V2s, S8s, and the Eidolons at home.

Granted the used Eidolons were more expensive but it simply didn't diminish the shortcomings of the Paradigm presentation. What this taught me is that my listening experience was limited to - this speaker has more bass or this one's treble sparkles - which is what an affordable speaker can do. I found that system dissatisfaction and the electronics merry-go-round stemmed from these speakers inability to portray music.

So when I initially auditioned the original Studio 100's next to a pair of two way Avalon Eclipse in the store the Paradigms seemed obvious choice. Wrong! You want good controllable bass? Get a subwoofer/s, I did. Frankly, there are many LPs that sound awkward with the subs on, digital hardly ever.

To put it another way the Paradigms are a three way speaker that allowed my ear to constantly hear all three ways. The Eidolons are a three way that sounds like a single source. The Paradigms sound their best at a certain loud-ish volume. The Eidolons sound wonderful at most any volume level. The staging and depth is on a whole other level. Another surprise was that much of the electronics I had upgraded from actually preformed very well with the Eidolons even though their like microscopes into ancillary equipment. Consequently, I haven't had an inkling of upgrading any part of my core system in years. 

There are a few affordable well designed speakers out there. While measurements shouldn't be the ultimate guide to choosing a speaker, in my opinion effective time and phase measurements are a must have place to begin.

Good luck with it, have fun.