Woochifer
01-05-2004, 04:47 PM
My local dealer started getting the Paradigm Reference Signatures in a couple of weeks ago, so I ventured down there over the holiday weekend with my usual assortment of test discs and spent a couple of hours doing some listenings. For comparison, I also got my first listen to the Studio 20 v.3s.
The demo room where I did the auditions is acoustically treated, and I listened to everything through a set of Anthem multichannel separates and an Arcam DVD player. My test discs ranged from electronica to acoustic jazz (recorded direct-to-two-track) to multitracked rock music to classical (in high res 96/24).
First thing's first, the Studio 20 v.3s are wonderful sounding speakers. For their price, I have never heard anything as transparent and open sounding as those speakers. Their imaging is remarkable with a huge soundstage and the tonal balance is excellent. Short of panel speakers, I've never heard a pair of speakers disappear as effectively as the Studio 20s did. I actually had to double-check and make sure that the dipolar surround speakers were switched off! The refinement and imaging compared to the Studio 20 v.2s that I use at home as surround speakers is a noticeable step up, and those speakers were already great with their imaging capabilities. All the way around, the sound is an improvement over the v.2 version.
The Studio 20 v.3s held up very well through a wide assortment of music and struck a very good balance between refinement and appropriate punch. It was only when I cued up the 96/24 Gershwin orchestral disc that the Studio 20s seemed to lack some dynamic weight. But, with all music sources, I thought the 20s had excellent layering between different sounds, good transients with the highs, and good differentiation with bass notes.
Compared to the Studio 40 v.3s that I auditioned previously, it seems that the Studio 20s don't have quite as weighty a sound, but their imaging capabilities exceed those of the 40s, which are not exactly slouches in that department. The tonal balance on the 40s is every bit as good as with the 20s, but the 40s just seem to have slightly more pop behind them. I'd have to say that I prefer the tonal qualities and general mannerisms of the 40s, but the imaging of the 20s is astonishing. Pretty much the same verdict as with the previous v.2 versions, except that I don't think that the 40s have the advantage over the 20s in the midrange that the previous versions did. (My first impressions of the Studio 40 v.3 are linked below)
http://forums14.consumerreview.com/crforum?14@143.IyuuaYQqmgD.3@.ef9e447
http://forums14.consumerreview.com/crforum?14@143.IyuuaYQqmgD.4@.ef9e447/0
Of course, the purpose of my visit was to try out the Signatures, so after running through the full complement of evaluation discs, I switched out to the S2s.
As for the Signature S2, I have to preface my comments by adding that the demo models that I tried out did not have a lot of playing time on them, so these comments should be considered somewhat preliminary. With that said, I had a decidedly mixed impression of the S2s.
On the whole, the S2s are noticeably more refined in the highs and midrange, with probably a fuller bass than the Studio 20s. With that Gershwin disc, the S2s had a much fuller and more dynamic sound. It seemed to carry the weight of an orchestra better than the Studio 20s. And with percussive sounds, the cymbal pings were precise and the drums had appropriate kick.
But, as I went on with the auditions, I started making note of audible flaws that I did not detect as much with the Studio 20s. With certain mid-to-high frequency sounds like hollow body electric guitars and flutes, I noticed a fair amount of ringing. And occasionally, the overall sound was fairly compressed with different instruments, sometimes blending together rather than staying coherent and differentiated.
Even though the S2s have excellent imaging and a nice wide soundstage, they did not disappear the way that the Studio 20s did. I made minor adjustments to the speaker placement, but it was no different.
It seems as if the S2s are hinting at what they are capable of, but they're not quite there yet. If my first impression is really what the Signature series is all about, then I'd have to reluctantly say that Paradigm has not succeeded at producing a class-leading product.
I'm not a big believer in breaking in speakers, but I have to say that all of the Paradigms I have purchased did sound different out of the box than they did after a few hours of playing time. And their audible flaws out of the box were similar to what I noticed with the S2 demo -- compressed and somewhat muddy sound at times, and ringing with some types of sounds. The S2s that I listened to were relatively new and did not have a lot of playing time, so for now I'm willing to put my initial evaluation aside and try them out again in a few weeks after they've had a few more auditions under their belt.
A few additional notes ... the gloss finish on the Signatures is amazing, it's almost flawless in appearance. The less expensive cherry veneer finish is also very impressive, even without the gloss. The build quality on the Signatures is excellent, and somewhat heavier than the construction on the Studio series.
Overall though, for now the price/value bullseye is still squarely on the Studio series. At $800 a pair, the Studio 20 v.3 should be on anybody's audition list, if they're looking for something in that price class.
The demo room where I did the auditions is acoustically treated, and I listened to everything through a set of Anthem multichannel separates and an Arcam DVD player. My test discs ranged from electronica to acoustic jazz (recorded direct-to-two-track) to multitracked rock music to classical (in high res 96/24).
First thing's first, the Studio 20 v.3s are wonderful sounding speakers. For their price, I have never heard anything as transparent and open sounding as those speakers. Their imaging is remarkable with a huge soundstage and the tonal balance is excellent. Short of panel speakers, I've never heard a pair of speakers disappear as effectively as the Studio 20s did. I actually had to double-check and make sure that the dipolar surround speakers were switched off! The refinement and imaging compared to the Studio 20 v.2s that I use at home as surround speakers is a noticeable step up, and those speakers were already great with their imaging capabilities. All the way around, the sound is an improvement over the v.2 version.
The Studio 20 v.3s held up very well through a wide assortment of music and struck a very good balance between refinement and appropriate punch. It was only when I cued up the 96/24 Gershwin orchestral disc that the Studio 20s seemed to lack some dynamic weight. But, with all music sources, I thought the 20s had excellent layering between different sounds, good transients with the highs, and good differentiation with bass notes.
Compared to the Studio 40 v.3s that I auditioned previously, it seems that the Studio 20s don't have quite as weighty a sound, but their imaging capabilities exceed those of the 40s, which are not exactly slouches in that department. The tonal balance on the 40s is every bit as good as with the 20s, but the 40s just seem to have slightly more pop behind them. I'd have to say that I prefer the tonal qualities and general mannerisms of the 40s, but the imaging of the 20s is astonishing. Pretty much the same verdict as with the previous v.2 versions, except that I don't think that the 40s have the advantage over the 20s in the midrange that the previous versions did. (My first impressions of the Studio 40 v.3 are linked below)
http://forums14.consumerreview.com/crforum?14@143.IyuuaYQqmgD.3@.ef9e447
http://forums14.consumerreview.com/crforum?14@143.IyuuaYQqmgD.4@.ef9e447/0
Of course, the purpose of my visit was to try out the Signatures, so after running through the full complement of evaluation discs, I switched out to the S2s.
As for the Signature S2, I have to preface my comments by adding that the demo models that I tried out did not have a lot of playing time on them, so these comments should be considered somewhat preliminary. With that said, I had a decidedly mixed impression of the S2s.
On the whole, the S2s are noticeably more refined in the highs and midrange, with probably a fuller bass than the Studio 20s. With that Gershwin disc, the S2s had a much fuller and more dynamic sound. It seemed to carry the weight of an orchestra better than the Studio 20s. And with percussive sounds, the cymbal pings were precise and the drums had appropriate kick.
But, as I went on with the auditions, I started making note of audible flaws that I did not detect as much with the Studio 20s. With certain mid-to-high frequency sounds like hollow body electric guitars and flutes, I noticed a fair amount of ringing. And occasionally, the overall sound was fairly compressed with different instruments, sometimes blending together rather than staying coherent and differentiated.
Even though the S2s have excellent imaging and a nice wide soundstage, they did not disappear the way that the Studio 20s did. I made minor adjustments to the speaker placement, but it was no different.
It seems as if the S2s are hinting at what they are capable of, but they're not quite there yet. If my first impression is really what the Signature series is all about, then I'd have to reluctantly say that Paradigm has not succeeded at producing a class-leading product.
I'm not a big believer in breaking in speakers, but I have to say that all of the Paradigms I have purchased did sound different out of the box than they did after a few hours of playing time. And their audible flaws out of the box were similar to what I noticed with the S2 demo -- compressed and somewhat muddy sound at times, and ringing with some types of sounds. The S2s that I listened to were relatively new and did not have a lot of playing time, so for now I'm willing to put my initial evaluation aside and try them out again in a few weeks after they've had a few more auditions under their belt.
A few additional notes ... the gloss finish on the Signatures is amazing, it's almost flawless in appearance. The less expensive cherry veneer finish is also very impressive, even without the gloss. The build quality on the Signatures is excellent, and somewhat heavier than the construction on the Studio series.
Overall though, for now the price/value bullseye is still squarely on the Studio series. At $800 a pair, the Studio 20 v.3 should be on anybody's audition list, if they're looking for something in that price class.