interesting comment from the dealer re: paradigm signature & B&W. dealers in indy carry both, but no one store carries both brands. have heard B&W many different times, in the 600? line, 700 & various models in the 800 line, 800, 802, 803D & S & 805. has been too long since i heard the 800 to recall anything specific other than wow. several of the best systems i have heard all used 802 w/ either classe or macintosh components (don't recall specific mac pre-amp, 1200 or 501 amps, cary 303/300 or record player as source).
i wanted 802's but for the system i'm building would require 4 (front & dual center) which is a considerable investment in speakers alone, & would leave little money for anything else. have not heard one right after another, but have zero doubt that the 802 is a better speaker than my sig 8, & if price were no object there would be 4 of them sitting across the front of my living room. also heard the same mac setup as above w/ the 803D, & liked my sig 8's better, particularly considering the price difference & the components running the 803. this dealer is only about 20 min. away from home & listened to my discs in his system for several hours (at least once dealer got busy & I was able to get away from the big martin logans, they do sound lovely but just not for me) came home & listened to the same discs at home with my system. have alot less experience w/ the S2 & S4 & not enough to be able to comment between those & B&W.
if someone could afford the 802 or above in the B&W line, i don't see the signature line offering much competition, but imho the sig 8 offers stiff competition to the 803D at a lower price point & at least to me is a better looking speaker.
