Paradigm Signature S8 vs KEF R900

[bursman1]

Hello all, my first time here. I am taking the plunge and buying a McIntosh C50 pre-amp and MC302 amplifier. I was hoping to get some advice or thoughts on which speakers to get. I heard the KEFs in the store but the Paradigms S8's have gotten a lot of positive press and are roughly the same price.

Also, was considering the MCD301 SACD unit, but was hoping to get some advice on how to stream music from my apple laptop to the C50.

Any ideas or suggestions are welcome. This is my first nice system and I want to do it right, and could use some advice since my experience and expertise is minimal.

Thanks

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

You'll have to listen to some Paradigm yourself, like the Studio 100 if you cannot audition the S6 or S8.

Our opinions will greatly vary.

Some of us are not great fans of any speakers from Paradigm, and some of us are great fans of Paradigm.

But I wouldn't believe a single review. They want advertisement money, so they have to rave about every speaker they "review".

Some people who have heard the Paradigm S8 think the Salk & Philharmonic speakers sound a lot better than any Paradigm, including the S8.

And Some people don't believe that.

You will have to listen for yourself.

BTW, I can get the R900 for around $3700 delivered. How much can you get the S8 for?

As far as the MCD301, it looks like an analog player without any kind of network capability (DNLA) so I don't see how you can stream anything to it.

 

[GranteedEV]

Hello all, my first time here. I am taking the plunge and buying a McIntosh C50 pre-amp and MC302 amplifier. I was hoping to get some advice or thoughts on which speakers to get. I heard the KEFs in the store but the Paradigms S8's have gotten a lot of positive press and are roughly the same price.

For the moment, forget hearsay and reviews..What did you think of the KEFs? When you say you heard them, how much time was spent in the audition listening to your own material? What were your observations?

 

[FirstReflection]

Well, I can't really help out here too much since I've not heard the KEF speakers. I have heard the Paradigm S8 speakers. I quite like Paradigm's Signature Series speakers - I very much like the beryllium tweeter. I'm not a particularly huge fan of the S8 in particular simply because the extra drivers are used to make the speaker play lower rather than louder. My personal preference is to ALWAYS use subwoofers, so I have no particular use for "full range" speakers. I happen to like the S6 towers the best out of the Signature Series. I'm not particularly gung-ho about any of Paradigm's other series or speakers. Don't get me wrong there, they are certainly still good and it's not as though I dislike them. They just don't strike me as a particularly good value in anything other than the Signature Series.

As others have said. When you're in this sort of price range, you really need to listen and decide for yourself

 

[bursman1]

Many thanks for the advice AcuDefTechGuy. I had been quoted 4700 for some of the KEFs in piano black. The S8's actually came in a little more than I was originally told, over 8k for the pair. I think I have t just go for the KEFs to be honest. Buying something unheard just seems like too big a risk, no matter what the reviews say.

I understand on the MCD301. is there any unit you'd suggest that can playback CDs and also be used as a network device to stream music from my apple laptop? or would you suggest a transporter for the CD and separate unit like a squeezebox for the digital files?

 

[bursman1]

Hello GranteedEV and thanks for the feedback/thoughts. I really liked the KEFs, in fact I liked them more than the more expensive B&Ws and a few other systems I heard. I spent about 20-30 minutes listening to them so feel ok with the purchase, just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing the boat and would just be upgrading to something comparable to the S8s within a year or two.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Many thanks for the advice AcuDefTechGuy. I had been quoted 4700 for some of the KEFs in piano black. The S8's actually came in a little more than I was originally told, over 8k for the pair. I think I have t just go for the KEFs to be honest. Buying something unheard just seems like too big a risk, no matter what the reviews say.

I understand on the MCD301. is there any unit you'd suggest that can playback CDs and also be used as a network device to stream music from my apple laptop? or would you suggest a transporter for the CD and separate unit like a squeezebox for the digital files?

Well, if you are like me, you will like the KEF better anyway - IF you are like me, of course.

So you are buying from a local dealer?

I use the Panasonic BD player. Two of them actually since I like it a lot. The model 210/310 has WiFi/3D video and can stream music, video, pictures, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and most of the streaming services. It is DNLA certified for networking. It plays BD, CD, DVD, and stream just about everything. It does not play SACD or DVD-A.

The CD sound quality from the Panasonic sounds just as good as from my 2 $2000 Denon players - as long as I bitstream all the sound and let my AVR do all the decoding/converting.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_5_12?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=panasonic+bdt110&sprefix=panasonic+bd,aps,354#/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_14?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=panasonic+bdt210&sprefix=panasonic+bdt2,aps,391&rh=i:aps,k:panasonic+bdt210

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

If you want a true universal player (SACD, DVD-A, BD, DVD, CD) with 3D video, Wireless N, & DNLA certified for networking & streaming, then I would recommend the critically acclaimed Opportunity BDP-93.

http://www.amazon.com/OPPO-BDP-93-Universal-Network-Blu-ray/dp/B004BLK24S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329229627&sr=8-1

OPPO BDP-93 Blu-ray Disc Player

Of course, if you truly want to waste some money, then the Opportunity BDP-95 is also available.

http://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-bdp-95/

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Hello GranteedEV and thanks for the feedback/thoughts. I really liked the KEFs, in fact I liked them more than the more expensive B&Ws and a few other systems I heard. I spent about 20-30 minutes listening to them so feel ok with the purchase, just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing the boat and would just be upgrading to something comparable to the S8s within a year or two.

I also think KEF sounds better than B&W & Paradigm, but again, that is just my personal taste and I won't say anything bad about B&W or Paradigm. It's just a matter of personal preference.

Another speaker to consider is the $3K Philharmonic-3.

I should have them in a few weeks to compare to my Salon2, Orion3, & KEF Reference 201/2.

Perhaps you might be lucky enough to find an owner near you to audition them.

If you are not able to audition the Philharmonic speakers, then the R900 may be the ticket since you have auditioned them. Audition again just to be 100% sure.

 

[GranteedEV]

Hello GranteedEV and thanks for the feedback/thoughts. I really liked the KEFs, in fact I liked them more than the more expensive B&Ws and a few other systems I heard. I spent about 20-30 minutes listening to them so feel ok with the purchase, just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing the boat and would just be upgrading to something comparable to the S8s within a year or two.

My suspicion, is that the R900s are a better speaker than the S8s.

But there's a lot of really, really good speakers in that price range you're looking at. Here's a thread you might do well to read:

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/loudspeakers/77246-dream-speakers-under-$6-000-retail.html

And I second the suggestion for the Philharmonic speakers. Here's the AH thread for more info on them:

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/loudspeakers/75266-philharmonic-audio-3-way-open-back-ml-tqwts-designed-dennis-murphy.html

 

[Nuance AH]

Hello GranteedEV and thanks for the feedback/thoughts. I really liked the KEFs, in fact I liked them more than the more expensive B&Ws and a few other systems I heard. I spent about 20-30 minutes listening to them so feel ok with the purchase, just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing the boat and would just be upgrading to something comparable to the S8s within a year or two.

I think the Kef's are the correct choice.

And I second the suggestion for the Philharmonic speakers. Here's the AH thread for more info on them:

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/loudspeakers/75266-philharmonic-audio-3-way-open-back-ml-tqwts-designed-dennis-murphy.html

And I third it's recommendation. You gents might be interested to know we'll be holding a Southeastern Wisconsin speaker GTG on April 14th in Manitowoc, WI. The Phil 2's will be present, as might Dennis Murphy. Jim Salk and his SoundScape 10's will also be there, along with some other goodies including the Ascend Sierra Tower RAAL's, and Salk HT2-TL's and SongTowers. For what it's worth, it was one of our previous GTG's in which the Salk's were voted better speakers than the Paradigm Sig 8's by all the members in attendance (including the SongTower's), even the owner of the Sig's. I will say that the Digms will handle higher SPL's much better, though; they can crank, so they'd be better for HT application. But for music the Salk's won hands down. With that said, the Phil 2's recommended will likely have the same sonic signature as the Salk's (neutral and accurate), so it's something to think about.

 

[GranteedEV]

it was our GTG in which the Salk's were voted better speakers than the Paradigm Sig 8's by all the members in attendance, even the owner of the Sig's. I will say that the Digms will handle higher SPL's much better, though; they can crank. But for music, well...

Would be cool to see Salk bring out an MTMWW speaker. Something similar to TLS Guy's speakers:

THE FINISHED WALBERSWICK STUDIOS - mdcarter's Photos

 

[icu4biz]

What KEF model do you like best for a larger home theater?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

What KEF model do you like best for a larger home theater?

I like the 207/2 (can get for $12,000) the best with Max Output of 117dB.

I think the R900 ($3,700) will do just fine. They are rated for Max Volume of 115dB.

With some subwoofers, you should be good to go.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

...the Digms will handle higher SPL's much better...

You mean from 110dB and up?

Or 100dB or 95dB?

 

[Nuance AH]

You mean from 110dB and up?

Or 100dB or 95dB?

Well, I've never heard the Phil's, but if I had to guess I'd say 95dB and up. The Paradigm's likely won't sound "better" at those levels, but they will maintain their composure better.