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Best Bookshelf Speakers 2011 - Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity
"... a great alternative for audiophiles who don’t want to compromise on performance, but who also don’t want to spend a ridiculous amount of money ... soar into the stratosphere while keeping your budget firmly grounded." Jeff Fritz, Ultra Audio
The third series of Paradigm's Signature speaker range were designed to improve on the previous model's supreme accuracy to create the ultimate in music and home theatre sound.
The pinnacle of Paradigm’s lineup, Signature speakers are a medium for music, an open window on the original performance. They take us from the mundane to the magical, beyond the ordinary to the extraordinary. They are a reflection of character. Not the sonic character of the speaker, since speakers claiming to be the finest must be devoid of acoustic personality. Rather, the finest speakers deliver an intimate unfolding of the songwriter’s mood, the composer’s message, the director’s vision. They allow us to feel the music, hear the magic, and see through the mind’s eye, into the very heart of the performance.
For the ultimate in music and home theatre, there is no more sonically coherent choice than Paradigm Reference Signature … revealing everything the artist intended.
"flawless ... utterly pure ... completely transparent ... beautifully articulated ... magnificent" Doug Schneider, Soundstage!
Paradigm Signature speakers deliver truly high-end performance that are unmatched regarding their technical design. The version 3 models, which feature elevated output of an impressive three dB, include redesigned bass/midrange and bass drive units that reassert the line as the value and performance leader among reference quality speakers.
Thousands of "no-holds-barred" Paradigm research and engineering hours went into developing the Signature Series v.3 speakers, which are the highest-output, most dynamic high-end loudspeakers ever produced.
Contributing to v.3's 50% increase in output are extensive modifications to the bass/midrange drive units. Bass/midrange drivers are fitted with extreme low-density NLCTM (Non-Limiting Corrugated) TPE surrounds, FEA-optimised and overmolded onto the cone.
The state-of-the-art surround material is 10 times more effective than standard thermoplastic elastomers in damping vibrations and resonances and the new corrugated design has increased peak-to-peak cone excursion from 20-mm in earlier versions to a full 30-mm.
A new long-stroke split-coil motor system takes advantage of the extreme excursion by doubling the linear portion of the stroke without requiring a larger magnet. The redesigned motor also keeps mass and inductance of the voice coil low for breathtaking midrange clarity.
Bass cones on Signature v.3 speakers were re-engineered for increased stiffness and better equipped for higher output with new NLCTM SantopreneTM surrounds. To support the extended excursion, the motor structure was also redesigned, increasing the linear portion of the stroke through voice coils almost double the original in length. New core parts including a yoke and pole piece were retooled and FEA-optimized and even the magnets were thickened to accommodate double-distance cone travel.
Value-conscious audiophiles will appreciate the option of Paradigm Reference G-PALTM (gold-plated pure-aluminum) dome tweeters on the compact S1, C1 and ADP1 models, making the Reference Signature experience even more attainable.
The following information looks at some of the highlights of these stunning speakers.
UltraAudio by Jeff Fritz - March 2010
Can you imagine your audio buddy’s shock when you tell him that you’ve just bought a set of speakers that are better than his, for half what he paid?
The Reference Signature S2 v.3 could compete in the highs with virtually anything I’ve heard at any price. It was neutral and extended, clean and precise, without being harsh or brittle. And I threw some hard tests at it: Reference Recordings HRx discs, hi-rez recordings on Blu-ray and downloaded from 2L Records, and my best "Red Book" CD recordings.
Whereas beryllium-dome tweeters can be found in much more expensive speakers, Paradigm manages to offer their Signature models with 1" P-BE tweeters at prices that many audiophiles can afford. That P-BE tweeter isn’t the only trick up the S2 v.3’s sleeve -- there’s a lot of advanced thinking packed into this small two-way, stand-mounted speaker...
The bottom line is that Paradigm has optimized the drivers in the S2 v.3 for the clean, loud, and linear reproduction of sound. When you have the resources of a Paradigm, in terms of both technical talent and manufacturing efficiency and capability, you have some strong advantages. The drivers in the S2 v.3, it seems to me, would be right at home in products costing many times as much.
The sound was so clearly detached from the speaker cabinets that one visitor to my room simply could not believe the sound was coming from the little S2 v.3s -- until he got up from his seat, walked over to the speakers, and checked it out for himself. "Amazing!" was all he said.
There’s no doubt that a system like the Paradigm Reference Signature S2 v.3 and Sub 2 can compete with many speakers costing twice or thrice as much -- or more. It will have the frequency extension in both the highs and the lows to match any of them. It also can make magic between those frequency extremes that will compete with almost all, and destroy many, speakers with price tags dearer than ten grand. In fact, around the Paradigm’s price range, I don’t know of a better alternative.
Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity by Chris Heinonen - June 2011 - Best Bookshelf Speakers 2011
What I was most impressed with at CEDIA had been the upper-end clarity of the S2s on the recordings that we heard. Higher pitched instruments and sounds were detailed without being edgy or harsh as many speakers can often be. Additionally, the soundstage the the S2 managed to project in that room was far better than I had expected to hear.
When I fired the system up and listened to Eric Clapton Unplugged, these qualities came through in spades. The soundstage of the S2s was very wide, but most notably was very deep. Much of the music seemed to radiate from beyond the back wall, really bringing the depth of the stage that it was recorded on back to your listening environment. The picking of a guitar came through with the metallic notes of the strings coming across, but it was a very easy sound to my ear. The Beryllium tweeters were very detailed, but still smooth and very relaxing to listen to with a guitar.
The soundstage was wider than the speakers and again extended well beyond the rear wall in depth. The musicians and their instruments had their own clear space on the recording. There was a bassist over to the right of the stage, with a pianist in the center-rear. The sense of being next to the studio while they recorded was brought home to my basement. I sat back to enjoy the show, only getting up from my seat to flip the record.
The weeks that I had the Paradigm setup in my listening room were nothing less than a joy. While many people would scoff when you might say that close to $4,000 for a set of speakers is a bargain, when a setup like this can provide so much enjoyment and remove the desire to need to upgrade anytime soon, I really feel that it can be classified that way.
Audio Video by Deon Schoeman
... engaging, revealing and ultimately compelling ...
... so transparent ... completely invisible as point sources ... the kind of sound picture many a larger floorstander could only dream of achieving: expansive and three-dimensional; accurately scaled and thoroughly convincing.
... a class act ... just the right levels of critical precision and revelation ... a core musicality and approachability ... should please even the most critical listener.
Design 2-driver, 2-way bookshelf / stand-mounted
Crossover 3rd-order electro-acoustic at 1.8 kHz
High-Frequency Driver 25-mm (1 in) P-Be™ dome, ferro-fluid damped / cooled, rear damping chamber with ARB™ fins and integrated heatsink, dual super-neodymium ring magnets, die-cast heatsink chassis, IMS/SHOCK-MOUNT™
Bass / Midrange Driver 178-mm (7 in) Co-PAL™ cone, overmolded NLC™ surround, 38-mm (1-1/2 in) split voice-coil, hard ferrite magnet, AVS™ die-cast heatsink chassis, IMS/SHOCK-MOUNT™
Low-Frequency Extension* 36 Hz (DIN)
Frequency Response:
On-Axis `±2 dB from 52 Hz - 45 kHz
30° Off-Axis ±2 dB from 52 Hz - 20 kHz
Sensitivity - Room / Anechoic 91 dB / 88 dB
Suitable Amplifier Power Range 15 - 225 watts
Maximum Input Power† 140 watts
Impedance Compatible with 8 ohms
Dimensions (H x W x D) 38.1 x 21.0 x 35.6 cm
Weight (Unpacked) 12.7 kg
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