Paradigm Signature S2 Demo (1 Viewer)

[Brian Fitterman]

Durning lunch yesturday the Paradigm/Anthem Rep paid a visit to my local Dealer with a Demo Pair of S2's finished in Birds Eye Maple.

My dealer called me, but by the time I got the message the rep had already packed up the speakers.

But, they do look fantastic. Furniture quality finish. Best I have ever seen.

Also, Everything is different. Not just the finish. The cabinet is different, the xover, the drivers...everything.

As for the sound, everyone who was at the demo when they were hooked up said it was night and day difference between the V3 studio's and the Signatures.

On the good side, I did get a nice Paradigm Shirt.

 

[Paul Chalk]

I talked to a guy who has heard the S2 already. He said the new Paradigms impressed him so much, with the sound quality and the gorgeous finish, they're now his second favorite bookshelf speaker after the Dynaudio Special 25. He said the new Paradigms offer a huge value, giving high end brands a run for their money.

That comment got me really excited about them. I can't wait until my dealer gets them. I must audition them.

 

[Brian Fitterman]

I did re-visit the dealer again yesturday...one of the salesman still thinks they have the same driver, so that is still up in the air. I guess we still have to wait for the office release from Paradigm to get the real answer.

 

[Mike Veroukis]

Durning lunch yesturday the Paradigm/Anthem Rep paid a visit to my local Dealer with a Demo Pair of S2's finished in Birds Eye Maple.

My dealer called me, but by the time I got the message the rep had already packed up the speakers.

That sorta happened to me about 3 weeks ago as well. We walked into our Paradigm dealer (who had pre-warned us about the Paradigm rep's visit) and sure enough there was Jef Armstrong, the Paradigm rep for our area. He was getting ready to put the speakers away, and in fact they were already disconnected, but he remember my buddy and I from last year's visit and hooked them back up again. All I can say is WOW!!! We listened to the S2's and were blown away. It was rather convenient that the room they were set up in they also had the complete Studio v3 line up as well. First we did some A/B switching between the S2 and the Studio20's. Night and day difference! The S2's made the 20's look like crap! I couldn't believe the difference. The S2's have a similar sound, just cleaner and tigheter all around. It's like getting an upgrade to your eye-glass prescription. Then we A/B tested them with the Studio 100's, which are priced about the same as the S2's. Again the S2 came out ahead with clean and tighter highs. The 100's only managed to pull out ahead in the bass output department, but over all I think the S2 sounded better.

Also, keep in mind this was running off a Rotel amp. Jef told us that to really make the Signature series shine you really need a heavy duty amp.

Also, as for the driver differences... Yes, there are driver differences between the signature and studio series. He actually told us the details but I forgot them... sorry. I do remember that the magnets on the Signature series were much beefier then the studio series, plus they all come shielded.

As for the aesthetics, well, let's just say the new Signature series not only sound like exotic high-end speakers but they look it too. Beautiful cabinet that tapers off towards the back (which apparently also plays a factor in the tighter sound quality).

Unfortunately that's all we had time to demo. He also had some new sub which looked really neat but we never had a chance to demo it. Although the new Signature series are priced out of my (current) price bracket, I too am excited about this new line and can't wait to see the rest of the line up!

- Mike

 

[DelRay]

I heard the sigs ( the big boys) saturday. All Mac. equip. Sounded extremely sweet. Was really impressed by the bass output. And, like everyone else who has seen these beauties, the cabinets are magnificent. The center channel is something to behold also. This thing is huge (6 drivers I believe) about 80 or 90 lbs. Bottom line, me likey likey.

 

[James Hibbert]

Hey guys. What do you want to know about the sigs? I have all the specs. I also posted some specs at the sound and vision forum.

Cheers

 

[Frank La Rocca]

Anybody know what finishes the new signature series will come in?

 

[James Hibbert]

They will only be shipping in maple this year with the other finishes to be out sometime next year. The cherry finish is standard with b-eye maple, rosewood and high gloss black are premium finishes which will cost more.