Paradigm S8 vs. Sonus Faber Cremona M

I never thought I would see the day when Paradigm and Sonus Faber were compared. Paradigm must have a higher markup. Maybe it's time to find another store.

I am wondering a few things with some of the comments:

First with all comparisons were these the latest v3 versions?

Two were the systems identical?

Also in the comparison is that these are two different soundings speakers:

Sonus Faber is known for a very silky midrange, with a smooth top end, good dynamics and a slightly rich bottom

Paradigm is known for superb detail in the top, a very clean midrange, and tight, fast bass.

You would need warmer electronics to make the Paradigim's sing, and cleaner electronics for the Sonus Fabers to sound their best.

And by all accounts the Top of the line signature Paradigim speakers are very high end and have been compared to the likes of Revel and Wilson by many reviewers.

Excellent post, Audiofreakgeek. I will add that Paradigm makes outstanding speakers and as you get to the Reference and Signature series you then have speakers that can compete with anything at or beyond their price.

With Paradigm using their aluminum tweeters that give a lot of ultrasonic noise right above 20 kHz in their other models, I would lean toward something else. A lot is said that you can't hear this noise. But, a lot of people cannot tolerate it either. If you get fatigued by this, you most likely won't enjoy any music. I can't handle being in the room with this problem. I would lean toward something else (possibly Sonus) and enjoy the music, in my opinion. Links to this noise in a couple of tests on their other models with their aluminum tweeters and this resonance noise.[http://www.stereophile.com/content/paradigm-reference-studio100-v3-loudspeaker-measurements][http://www.stereophile.com/content/paradigm-reference-studio-60-v5-loudspeaker-measurements]

Agree with Audiofreakgeek comments reagrding the S8's. I had pair of S8's v1 and found that they require the right combination of warmth (amps, cables for the most part)to sound best. Could never get the bass out of them I had hoped for, but if your room is not too big they are quite nice. Midrange presence was good but not great. Again these were version 1.