Quote Originally Posted by Greekguy
RGA - I don't disagree with what you say, the Signature series certainly is better than the Studio series in terms of overall quality, no question about that. My point is that, for the more casual listener, when trying to compare the Studio lines to their Signature line equivalents, the price difference between the two lines is too high to justify the difference in sound quality. If you're really critical about your overall sound quality, you're a full out audiophile and have the cash to blow, you'll definitely want the Signature series. However, for those more budget-minded, the Studio line is more than adequate for almost any purpose.

Think of it like this... when comparing speaker cables, take a decent cable, such as the AudioQuest Gibraltar, and compare it to the Nordost Valhalla. By all rights, the Valhalla should absolutely kick the crap out of the Gibraltar, and in almost every sense, it does.... BUT, at a cost differential between the two of about $70,000 for a 10ft pair, just HOW much better will the Valhalla sound than the Gibraltar to justify spending $70k more? I know it's kind of an apples and oranges comparison, but you get the idea with the speakers too.

I'm totally not disagreeing with you at all, you make an absolutely valid point, and there's absolutely no question that Paradigm makes some of the best speakers on the planet for the money compared to offerings from other companies... it's just that when comparing their own lines, 2 - 3x the price does not get you 2 - 3x the sound quality. The same could be said for most speaker companies really when you think about it.
Neutrality can be offputting at first if one is not used to it. The Paradigm Signature S2 is very neutral and those expecting a little bit of extra upper midrange zing and so on may miss it. With the Signature Series, all you hear is the music. The S2 or perhaps the S4 are strong candidates for my next speaker upgrade.

I find the v. 3 of Reference Series a bit more coloured than the v. 2, although the dispersion above the crossover has been improved. They do image quite well.