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Paradigm Signature S8

post #1 of 14
7/17/07 at 8:17pm
Thread Starter 
I am still looking to hook up my living room with a 7.1 and was thinking of going with Paradigms Signature S8 for mains along with matching speakers for the rest of the setup. I am curious though. Will I be able to drive thee with a Pioneer 140wpc receiver or will I need some type of additional amp.
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post #2 of 14
7/17/07 at 8:56pm

Re: Paradigm Signature S8

That's a pretty serious speaker to run off a receiver, though I see no reason you shouldn't be able to. Their sensitivity is decent, though it annoys me that they call the impedance "compatible with 8 ohm". When you drop 6K on a pair of speakers you should get more detailed info than that. For optimal performance and speaker/amp interaction it is desirable to know how flat the impedance is across the spectrum and particularly what the minimum is. Their exclusion of that leads me to believe it fluctuates all over the place.

In the end, I think it is a bit foolish to spend that much on speakers and then let a receiver power them. I would definitely look into a good, solid, brute power amp at least for the front 3 channels. It doesn't need to cost a fortune. Something like an Adcom is a good place to start, or move up to Bryston or the like if the money is available. Really, the sky is the limit. Go with minimum 200 wpc. Just stay away from the ones which use electronic trickery to achieve their ratings. A big, heavy brute is probably the way to go.

If you spend 6K on a pair of speakers, it is entirely reasonable to spend 2K powering them.
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post #3 of 14
7/19/07 at 8:33am
Thread Starter 

Re: Paradigm Signature S8

thanks for the help. I was looking at the outlaw 7200. I know that it was not on the list however, I remembered the name and took a look. Does it have the "brute force" that you mentioned or are they "hyped"? Basically, I am in the process of building a list for my living room. I am going to listen to the S8s in the near future and start getting my components together one piece at a time. One other thing...If you had to pick, which sub would you prefer? The HSU HO, the SVS PB13-Ultra or the Paradigm Signature Servo?

Thanks again..I just want to make sure I do this right and I want to put a 7.1 in my room that I can keep until it wears out.
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post #4 of 14
7/19/07 at 12:44pm

Re: Paradigm Signature S8

I'm sure that amp is fine. You don't necessarily need 7 channels. You can run the surrounds from the receiver. I'd like to see an amp that increases power more than 50% from 8 ohm to 4 ohm, but it should be fine.
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post #5 of 14
7/19/07 at 2:47pm

Re: Paradigm Signature S8

The Sigs are definitely nice speakers and I agree, you will want some decent amplification for them as well as the matching center probably.

IMHO, the Sig Servo isn't going to give you the same abilities as the other two mentioned. I would go with the Ultra.
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post #6 of 14
7/19/07 at 3:33pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Paradigm Signature S8

Thanks all. I found a place about 60 miles away to have a listen so I will set the appt for a couple of weeks out. Any suggestions on what I should take with me to make the listening less biased? This is my last question hopefully and we can kill this thread.
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post #7 of 14
7/19/07 at 3:43pm

Re: Paradigm Signature S8

You want your listening biased basically, so bring what you are going to listen to on them
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post #8 of 14
7/19/07 at 10:33pm

Re: Paradigm Signature S8

Like John said, take the stuff you will listen to and you are familiar with, and try to include a variety. Demanding, dynamic stuff as well as subtle stuff. Electric and acoustic. Use the same ones every time you audition speakers. If they resist letting you listen to your own music, go somewhere else.

There's no need to kill the thread. Report back once you audition them and let us know what you think.
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post #9 of 14
7/20/07 at 6:47am
Thread Starter 

Re: Paradigm Signature S8

Will do and I plan on taking my:

xbox 360

Movies:
Shooter, finding Nemo, Superman returns, Episode 1 and maybe a couple of others.

My XM radio adapter

And then if I can just get the money together in the next few months. If I do not really like them and I mean $6k like them, I will keep looking and ask for suggestions. My other challenge is getting something that my wife will want to look at. She loves the look of the JBL Studio and so do I however; I am trying to upgrade a bit for the living room.


Thanks again.
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post #10 of 14
7/20/07 at 7:42am

Re: Paradigm Signature S8

Are you going to listen to music on them? If so, be sure to take music. In fact, music is probably more truly revealing of the quality of the speakers. Listen to them in plain old stereo. No sound modes.
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post #11 of 14
7/20/07 at 10:41am
Thread Starter 

Re: Paradigm Signature S8

Understood
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post #12 of 14
7/20/07 at 1:29pm

Re: Paradigm Signature S8

I rarely use movies to audition speakers, unless it is a concert. Music will tell you fine details about a speaker much more quickly than the typical movie.
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post #13 of 14
9/14/08 at 5:19am

Re: Paradigm Signature S8

The Pioneer will work but a dedicated amp will work better. I have Paradigm S4s and a C3 which I originally drove with a Marantz 105WPC receiver. I upgraded to an Anthem MCA30 (3 channel amp with max of 225WPC). A huge difference, especially with music. The Anthem never tires or distorts. It has a warm sound without the metallic harshness which you have noticed with your receiver (or will notice after an upgrade). Bass is punchy.

Anthem is the sister company of Paradigm so the synergy is there. I recently purchase an Anthem A5 and A2 to complete the 7.1 system. Consequently, the MCA30 is for sale if interested. I will sell for the average resell price on Audiogon.com bluebook page.

jasonmjasper@hotmail.com
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post #14 of 14
9/14/08 at 12:45pm

Re: Paradigm Signature S8

+1 for the Ultra.
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