Paradigm Studio 100 vs Signature S8

[tallnick]

Who's heard both?
For home theater/music 50-50, can I justify the HUGE extra expense for the s8's?

I have never heard the s8's and probably wouldn't be able to before I bought them.

Who owns 100's and is happy?
Who's heard both and doesn't think the jump in money is "worth it"?
Who thinks breaking the bank for s8's is the way to go?
Help, please!

 

[JerryLove]

I have at heard both in a previous generation: but I can't answer your question My favorite turned out to be S2's with subwoofers.

 

[tallnick]

also to be factored into this equation is the face that I live in new zealand where the prices (msrp) for these speakers are as follows:

studio 100: $NZ 6000

s8: $NZ 16000

as you can see, things here are hugely more expensive, especially the s8's.

 

[oppman99]

I own both. I will say that if I had never head the S8's, I would have been perfectly happy with the Studio 100's. Do you have a good sub? Jerry's comment about the S2's is a good one. I have a pair of these as well. In my opinion they also outperform the Studio 100's in every category except for the low frequencies. If you are concerned about cost, this might be a good compromise between price and performance.

It's difficult to spend that kind of money on a speaker you've never heard. To me, it was worth the extra cost to get the S8's considering how much use they get. If it helps, I've been auditioning other speakers just for fun to see if there is anything I'd maybe like better. I've found speakers that image better (electrostats) ect, but so far I still perfer the overall presentation of the S8's.

Just out of curiosity, what are you using now?

 

[tallnick]

thanks for the info. I agree buying a speaker blind will be difficult.
now I have a 7.1 klipsch set-up. (mish mash of synergy series and reference). they are grating and I'm moving them to another room so my wife can listen to her ipod.
I'm not an experienced audiophile, but my dad is. I grew up with my dad's magnepan 20.1's in the living room so I know what great speakers sound like.

to me, I'm not sure if I could hear $10000 difference between the 100's and 8s. Tomorrow I'm comparing the studio 100's to some Monitor Audio rx8's, which I heard and thought were great.

 

[oppman99]

Can't blame you for wanting to get rid of the Klipsch. That's what I started with.

I actually listened to some Monitor Audio RX6's a couple of weeks ago. Heard some from the gold line as well. I thought they were ok for the price but nothing about them really drew me in. I thought the bass response was fairly good. They were hooked up to the Peachtree Nova and a Mac tube amp. I'm hoping to audition some Magnepan 1.7's tomorrow. I bet your dad's 20.1 are amazing.

 

[tallnick]

wow, you are a wealth of speaker demo information!

so you'd say hands down paradigm over monitor audio?
(i.e. studios over silver, reference over gold?)

look forward to hearing what you think of the magnepans.

the 20.1s are unbelievable. my dad used to put on a cd and make me close my eyes and point out where all the various instruments were located. I swear it was better than being there. amazing stuff.

 

[oppman99]

wow, you are a wealth of speaker demo information!

so you'd say hands down paradigm over monitor audio?
(i.e. studios over silver, reference over gold?)

look forward to hearing what you think of the magnepans.

the 20.1s are unbelievable. my dad used to put on a cd and make me close my eyes and point out where all the various instruments were located. I swear it was better than being there. amazing stuff.

It's a little tough to make a definitive call since the Monitor Audio speakers were hooked to very different electronics compared to what I use. No head to head comparison in the same room obviously. The Monitors might have the edge in bass, but their tweeters sounded a little different to me. Don't know if I'd say better or worse, just different. Take this comparison with a grain of salt because I didn't spend that much time with the Monitors (maybe an hour). We were there because my friend was considering the Peach Tree Nova, so that's what we were focusing on. I'd say the Silver line is somewhat comparable to the Studio line. Maybe a bit less clear. The other issue is I haven't used my Studios for music since I got the Signature S8's, so my memory may not be completely accurate either.

 

[Docks]

+1 to oppman, I have the S8 V2's as well, Everything sounds amazing except accuracy down to 20hz - the S8's are so accurate at everything the fact that they taper off is easily heard. Id like an SVS or JL sub to have a smooth response to 20hz.

If you want the best of both worlds on a budget, check the S2's with a JL or SVS sub. You will have the imaging of a smaller speaker but with huge bass.

 

[j_garcia]

There is no question the Sigs are better speakers by far than the Studios. I really liked the S2s also.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

You better audition the speakers before you buy them.

I auditioned the Studio 100 towers at a local dealer recently.

I thought they sucked.

I know it's probably personal preference, but you better listen to them first.

More importantly, you better audition as many other speakers as possible.

The "best" speaker is only relative to all the speakers you've heard.

 

[s2000zr]

what about s6, do they sound as good as the s8 with a sub25? I want to upgrade to the signature line too. but the s8 cost so much. I got dual sub25 and thinking about geting a c5, either s8, s6 or s2. If they dont sound any different with a good sub then i probably get the s6 to save some $$. what do you guys think

 

[GranteedEV]

I got little to add regarding paradigms but I hope you are considering other brands, considering the type of money we're talkin' here. Paradigm is only one brand in a sea of thousands. For the cost of an S8 you could possibly order a Salk HT2-TL or something. I think you can audition a PMC PB1i out there where you are too, just to name one cool high end speaker! If you really want to take your system to the next level you have to be open minded and both auditon carefully and have a wide selection to choose from! I know as an EMP owner I'd be interested in the higher end RBH offerings like the Titus, T-1, and SX-8300 - but I definitely wouldn't want to restrict myself to just them! At the end of the day, brand loyalty is a shackle.

 

[KEW]

For me, the thing that sets the Signature series apart from other high quality speakers is the tweeters. To my ear, they offer outstanding high frequency extension with an openness I have not heard on any other metal dome tweeter (except for other Beryllium tweeters).

Although modern Aluminum tweeters are much better than they used to be, they still have a component of distortion which can translate to "harsh" or "fatiguing", IME.
I think the Studio's Al tweeter is about as good as any, but when I listened to a Studio20 v.5 side by side with a S-2 v.2, I could hear some subtle "sizzling bacon" sound out of the Al tweeters, while the Be were open and clear. For me the Be tweeter offers the clarity of a soft dome with the extension of a metal dome - best of both worlds!

A good ribbon tweeter will get you virtually identical extension and clarity, but they are more sensitive to speaker/listening position. Whether this matters for you depends on your listening habits. If you listen consistently in the same position, a ribbon is a very good option.

But back to my main point, if at all possible, listen to any Signature speaker before you buy and make sure the high frequencies are "right" for you.

Naturally, the tweeter is not the only aspect to evaluate, but, IMHO, it is the biggest difference between the Studio and Signature series.

As Grant says, the more speakers you can listen to, the better decision you can make. However, you really need to listen to the speakers level matched in the same room to make fair comparisons. Inexpensive, but decent, speakers in a room which has very good acoustics will completely devour excellent speakers in a mediocre room!

 

[KEW]

what about s6, do they sound as good as the s8 with a sub25? I want to upgrade to the signature line too. but the s8 cost so much. I got dual sub25 and thinking about geting a c5, either s8, s6 or s2. If they dont sound any different with a good sub then i probably get the s6 to save some $$. what do you guys think

With a nice dual sub setup, the S-2's will handle the rest of the frequency range fine.
The best arguments I can think of for spending the money on the S-6 or S-8 over the S-2 are:
1) They can get louder - more efficient and have greater maximum SPL output. This would only be a consideration if your room is large and/or you listen very loud.
2) You simply want floor standing speakers!

You might PM Warpdrv to ask if he listened to S-6's before he bought his S-8's. I know he listened to many good speakers before making his decision, but am not sure if he compared the 6 and 8.

 

[GranteedEV]

As Grant says, the more speakers you can listen to, the better decision you can make. However, you really need to listen to the speakers level matched in the same room to make fair comparisons. Inexpensive, but decent, speakers in a room which has very good acoustics will completely devour excellent speakers in a mediocre room!

Very vital point. Any comparison should be done with as many CONTROLLED variables as possible.

The only variables should be

-The speakers
-toe-in

the constants should be

-sufficiency of amplification / electronics
-room acoustics
-time spent listening
-level matched SPL's
-distance between each pair of speakers

 

[clouso]

I own both. I will say that if I had never head the S8's, I would have been perfectly happy with the Studio 100's. Do you have a good sub? Jerry's comment about the S2's is a good one. I have a pair of these as well. In my opinion they also outperform the Studio 100's in every category except for the low frequencies. If you are concerned about cost, this might be a good compromise between price and performance.

It's difficult to spend that kind of money on a speaker you've never heard. To me, it was worth the extra cost to get the S8's considering how much use they get. If it helps, I've been auditioning other speakers just for fun to see if there is anything I'd maybe like better. I've found speakers that image better (electrostats) ect, but so far I still perfer the overall presentation of the S8's.

Just out of curiosity, what are you using now?

Hi oppman99 just by curiosity also...what version are your 100's?

 

[clouso]

what about s6, do they sound as good as the s8 with a sub25? I want to upgrade to the signature line too. but the s8 cost so much. I got dual sub25 and thinking about geting a c5, either s8, s6 or s2. If they dont sound any different with a good sub then i probably get the s6 to save some $$. what do you guys think

hummm...wait the s8's cost too much but you have dual sub25??...humm ok...

 

[oppman99]

Hi oppman99 just by curiosity also...what version are your 100's?

My 100's are v.4. There is very little difference sound wise between v.4 and v.5 IMO.

 

[clouso]

My 100's are v.4. There is very little difference sound wise between v.4 and v.5 IMO.

OK...well not according to me and ALL experts reviews....apparently there is a big step up between the v4's and v5's....just to mention to the OP....