Anyone heard the new paradigm signature series?

I am going to disagree with Mr hosehead. At my store we carry both companies and even have them next to eachother. The best Paradigms still sound muddy, they do put out a good amount of sound, however if its quality you want i would have to say that the B&W's would be a better choice, but then again it does depend on the type of music you like.

Disagree away - no problemo! I'm probably frickin' deaf by now so who knows what the heck I was really listening to...

Actually, I do know. And I very briefly listened to some B&W's in the same room (the one that's nearer to Hell). They were OK. Not drooling drop dead I-gotta-have-these, but really OK. I could live with them - they were very tasty. It's just that I was just blown away by the soundstage and the quality of the sound from the little S2's - no real comparison, but then not a totally fair test 'cause I wasn't in total control of all the parameters. I can't guarantee that the electronics weren't juiced in favor of the S2's 'cause I didn't have time or access to crawl through all the parameters.

I was probably responding more to my original scepticism re: the Signatures than any absolute superiority. The little S2's just oozed more quality than I ever expected. Again, B&W's aren't exactly chopped chicken liver and they sounded fine. If I could have a set of both brands (S8's for this part, please) for about 5 years I'm sure I could come up with a more definitive review...

Any individual preference will depend on their gender, age, musical preferences, acoustic environment, history, etc. etc. I just liked the S2's a whole lot. But I'm probably frickin' deaf by now, so YMMV...

So would anyone like to settle this once and for all? Just send the B&Ws and S8's to me & I'll write a comprehensive, well-researched review. In ~5 years.

Don't worry Mr. hosehead, I will agree with you for a couple of reasons. 1. Bookshelf speakers (good ones) really can amaze people because of their size and ability to simply disappear from the room. It is harder for a large speaker to do this, however a large speaker can reproduce bass, real bass while a bookshelf needs a good sub to do this with music. 2. Most dealers have no idea how to setup a paradigm speaker system, especially the nicer studio 100s and the S8s. These speakers are power hungry and most Paradigm retailers do not have the proper equipment to make them really shine. Matching the speaker with the appropriate amplifier is crucial to proper speaker performance. I have not found a Paradigm retailer yet to get it right.