Paradigm S8 vs. Sonus Faber Cremona M

Have not heard the Paradigms but the Cremonas are incredible speakers that are not only beautiful and well built, but will also hold their value better than the Paradigms I think.

I demo'd the S8's and Cremona's right next to each other in the same store. The rep kept pushing me to the S8's however the Cremona's in my and my wife's opinion clearly sounded
superior. After going back and forth the rep also agreed.

They simply to our ears sounded better.

We went back and compared them on 3 different occasion prior to purchasing the Cremona's

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.