Paradigm Tribute (ex)owners - advice required

Saying that the Tributes use Studio woofers isn't accurate at all. The mid is very similar to the dedicated Studio v5 mids, but the bass woofers have the Active Ridge Technology that make them superior to all but the Signature v3 as far as the Studio and Signature era goes. I see nothing thst indicates the Tribute woofers aren't on par with Signature v3 (I haven't weighed Sig v3 woofers vs Tributes, but I would be shocked if there is much difference, especially given the overall weights and bass specs I will cover later). Also according to Paradigm's own specs, +/- 2 db bass tops out at 46 Hz for the S6 v3 and a better 44 Hz for the Tributes. That same gap also translates to listed bass extension which is 26 for the S6 and 24 for the Tributes. The S8s do even better extending down to 39 for +/- 2db, but interestingly, only match the bass extension of the Tributes at 24.

Long story short, the Tributes are much closer to Signature than Studio. Think of them as a Signature S7 with tweeters and bass woofers on par with Signature v3 while the mids are closer to Studio v5. Then it is clear the cabinets are unsurprisingly based off of 100 v5 cabinets, but they actually seem to end up besting even the Signatures with the beautiful Plinth in place of the lesser front plate and individual feet. Weight is often an indicator of cabinet and magnet quality so it is interesting that weights are as follows S8 v3 100#, Tributes 92#, 100 v5 78#, S6 70#. 

Recently, I finally acquired a long desired pair of Tributes, so now I currently own all of the speakers in question and even though the S8 v3 should beat the Tributes based on the spec sheet (higher end mid cone material, extra bass woofer, and extra cabinet space), I found that the Tributes are my favorites by a small margin over the Signatures. I have never owned Persona towers, but I did get a nearly 1 hour demo from a customer and am not sure I would even rate them ahead of the Tributes sonically, but I would need more time with them to know for sure.

The Tributes are very nice but not better than the S6 and S8. The latter have better woofers with bigger magnets. That’s why you get more forceful bass from both S6 and S8. Basically Tributes use Studio series woofers in a higher end cabinet though their middles and highs are comparable to Signature models. Both Tribute and Version 3 Signatures are voiced a bit brighter with a slightly rising response (better for HT?). V1 and V2 Signatures are not as bright. Crossover parts quality is very good and about the same in all model.

Thanks for your replies! Yes, I indeed pulled a trigger on them and am a very happy user. Whole new level of clarity, sound stage, details for me.   And yes, they look awesome too :)

Regards,
Andrej

So much time has passed that I imagine that you are enjoying the Paradigm Tribute’s with their awesome beryllium tweeters. But I wanted to respond regarding the Paradigm Tributes which I have owed for several years.  I bought the Tribute's based on several things.

1)They are NOT rear ported speakers, so they can go quite close to the walls, depending on the configuration. They are predictable to set up.
2) They can be biwired. This is important if you are running a fully balanced differential system, using a power amplifier(s) which offers two sets of connectors for each channel.
3) The beryllium tweeters are extremely nice.  Stacy Kent is conquered at last!

This is not to say, that they don’t have a weakness. After owning them for 5 months, I decided they needed  a subwoofer. Now, I run my balanced lines through the SVS, and it is a significant improvement.

Yes, they sound great and look good. The slim towers cannot provide sufficient bass, but otherwise, they are outstanding speakers.

*  Correction to my prior:   Comparison to the Revel Should have read to the 'Revel Studio' ... not 'Revel Studio Salon'.
>>> Rich

Good Morning Andrei,
     I imagine by now you've already moved on in one direction or the other on a pair of speakers, but in the event you are still pondering....
     I do own a pair of Paradigm Tributes which I purchased from a dealer out of France in 2014.  They are truly amazing, and the very few professional reviews which do exist are not exagerations.  To specifically address your questions though:
     I find them to be very flexible with regard to rear wall placement.  While I am surprised that with such a huge room, you can't pull them 20" out, you should be fine at 12", so long as the left/right flanks of the speaker is not confined by furnishings.  They will need to breathe, especially if placed closer to the back wall.  Mine are currently at 16" from the rear wall, and I found that their toe in angles are far more critical to their performance than anything else, with regard to placement.  Most professional reviews of Studio series and Signature Series make detailed mention of how Paradigms toe-in greatly impacts their performance, and I've found that to hold true of the Tributes.  
     With regard to your tube amp, I would caution you there.  Yes, Tributes are highly efficient, and yes, I have been pondering going with a tube (Carver Cherry or Pass Labs are my primary considerations at this point), as I have come to believe they would perform beautifully with the right tube.  However, you may find 65W too light from a tube for this speaker, given your room size (especially if it is carpeted!).  I have not done any reading on your amp, other than coming across mentions of it in the chat rooms, so I am not very familiar with its strengths/weaknesses/etc ... but given a tubes propensity to be light, or not tight, in the bass arena, a higher power tube, or a tube known for unusually high quality bass, would be my recommendation.  Or, a set of used, hi quality, inexpensive solid state amps to bi-amp would be another solution,,,using the solid state for the bass only...  used rotel or monoprice monolith comes to mind that would fit the bill very nicely and affordably.
     Either way, I can tell you, if you did, or you will, pull the trigger on the tributes, I don't believe there would be any way you could be happier without jumping to a $16,000 pair of Revel Salon Studios, or maybe...maybe ... a pair of $9000 Paradigm Sig S8.  The tributes are better than the Sig S8 in many regards, though the Sigs will give slightly greater depth to music, and more bass punch (though tributes bass is more refined and tonal in nature).  Honestly the Revels would be the very first speaker in the price band that one could honestly say does everything as well as the Tributes, and does 1 or 2 things better.  Plus up of 10 grand (166%) to do 1 or 2 things better, while towing the line on all other areas, is one hell of a compliment to the Tributes.  Throw in that you could not drive Revels with a tube amp unless it was one of the elite massively powered tubes with serious bass drive, and I really don't thing one can go wrong with the Tribute, unless you prefer your music to sound completely laid back.  These are musical speakers which breathe life into a room.  
     One final note...I've found that given the revealing nature, and 3 dimensional staging ability of the Tributes, they are highly reactive to Speaker Cables...in that they truly bring out whatever the cable is doing, or capable of.  For example...I started with Kimbers, and found them very dry sounding through the Tributes. I moved to lower priced Blue Jeans my brother lent me, and enjoyed their balance and musicality, though my gut told me there was much more to be heard.  I moved to MIT3....these were beautifully warm while still accurate and detailed, though not as detailed as the Kimbers.  While I was very pleased with the sound of the MITs, I knew there had to be a way to get the warmth and the detail, and was realizing the Tributes would show me every nuance of the equipment and cables.  To experiment further, I then went to Silnote Morpheus II Ser II and found them amazing, neutral, spacious, with the only very very slight downside of  being almost too detailed....every so slightly too crisp, because of how revealing the Tributes are....  I called back to Silnote 2 months after purchase, and they let me trade-up with a 100% return credit to the Poseidon II....NOW I am in complete heaven.  All the detail of the Morpheus without any tinned sounding edge, with the Warmth of the MITs, and a musicality and soundstage I've never experienced before.