Paradigm S8 vs. Sonus Faber Cremona M

"The Signature uses a state of the art Beryllium tweeter, JM Labs, Usher, TAD, Magico and several other top speaker manufacturers use Beryllium based on the metals combination of extremely low mass and superb stiffness which makes a fantastic tweeter."

So does the Revel Ultima Salon 2, which I eventually bought after also auditioning the Paradigm Signatures among other brands (B&W 802D, Wilson Sasha, Legacy Focus SE). The Paradigm tweeters were way too hot and harsh for me, so it's not just the material that matters, it's also the design and implementation. I frankly don't understand how they became one audio magazine's editor's new reference speaker or his assertions that they are worthy of discussion along with Salon 2s or Wilsons, but I suppose being provocative has its own value.

They did sound like they'd be good for heavy metal, as they certainly had the sizzle, but they weren't for me.

The Revels and Paradigms were at different stores. And the Paradigms were hooked up to the same nice Classe stuff that was also used with their B&W 802s, so neither were they being shortchanged gear-wise nor was the dealer setting me up to go for the more expensive speaker by using garbage gear on the Paradigms. Maybe they need better front end matching - but they certainly don't need to come any more alive, they need to be calmed down!

And yes, I am of course aware of the price difference, which I think dovetails not only with with my observations about what I heard but also my confusion as to how a reviewer could put them in the same league as the big boys.

If you haven't already, you might want to also audition the following:

Vandersteen 5A
Wilson Sasha or
Usher Diamonds
Eggleston Andras
Legacy Whispers

And there are many others in your apparent price range ($10-25K) - check out the used speaker listings here and filter the results by price to see what I mean. And while we're on that subject, another thing to consider is that you would get far more bang for your buck if you bought used.

Finally, your room may make a huge difference in what speakers would sound best - as well as your listening preferences - so you should let folks know what those factors are to get suggestions more tailored to what you want instead of hearing what floats our boats.