Reviewing the Paradigm Signature S8 Speaker System is kind of like a BMW 3 Series salesman trying to come to grips with an M5 in terms of explaining the difference between a good piece of kit  and an outstanding one which transcends the normal boundaries of that type of product. To get a handle on how good these speakers really are, I've had to resort to my Dirty Tricks Manual - page 122 (more about that later).

   The picture doesn't do these speakers justice, in the flesh they are a superb piece of work, more like a sculpture than a speaker and the finish, available in Cherry, Gloss Black or Rosenut, is flawless. Big buggers too at 123 cm high, 52 cm deep and 21 cm across weighing 45 kgs each. They may be imposing but they impose gracefully.

   I won't even go into the technical specifications, you can read them at -

http://signature.paradigm.com/HTML_Site/SigProduct/S8/S8.html

   Bose pull the "no specification" trick as well, although for different reasons, more about that in my memoirs which I'll publish when I leave the industry (Bose are the biggest litigants in HiFi)

  Now, where was I? Ah yes, the Paradigm Signature S8's. These are the top of the range in Paradigms vast array of speakers and as one would expect from a manufacturer of their resources, the S8's are a technical and sonic marvel. Not cheap - although everything is relative - at A$11,200 a pair for the Cherry finish and $12,400 a pair for the Gloss Black and Rosenut finishes.

We teamed the Signatures along with a Marantz DV-8400 Universal Player and the Yamaha YPC-1 / MX-D1 amplifier (500 Watts per channel). My test disc is Joe Jackson's "Night and Day" as the production and recording is about as good as it gets (and it was recorded back in 1982). The haunting sounds of "Breaking us in Two" have never seemed so intimate than when played on the S8's, it was more of an experience than a speaker review, the vocals just placed themselves in the centre of the room with the piano, bass and drums spaced out in a sound stage just as I remembered from the 3rd row back at their State Theatre gig. Each instrument (including Jackson's vocals) sounded as if they were there in the room - I mean actually in the room - quite an eerie experience. Just to quench my thirst, I then played "Heart of Ice" from Jackson's "Body and Soul" CD (1984), this is a more up tempo, heavier sound and again the S8's shone through - I've never heard it sound so good. One gets the feeling these speakers can be driven up to and beyond concert levels without distress, a saving grace for me after a few glasses (or bottles) of wine.

Next I tried "No Doubt" giving their all on "It's my Life" and I've never heard it sound so bad, that's a good thing as the song is processed to the max with over EQ'd bass and distorted keyboards. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed the performance, it's just that I could pick up all the compression and equalisation that all of a sudden becomes apparent when using a speaker of this calibre.

Back to my Dirty Tricks campaign, the only way to really find out how well these speakers sit in the company of other flagships is to try the same CD on the competition using their best configuration so I sent my trusty pair of ears (not mine - they're screwed) around to a few of Sydney's top HiFi stores with the same CD to be played on the best speakers they had available - I made sure it was during a quiet time as I'd hate for a competitor to lose a sale on my account.

Result? - There are better speakers than the Paradigm S8's - at over 5 times the price! Obviously we couldn't compare them to every high end speaker in town but of those we did, nothing under $20,000 came even close and most under $50,000 didn't get a look in. At $125,000 there was a clear leader (no names - you don't really expect me to give them a free plug do you?) but hey, there's a lot I can do with the $112,000 difference. There are also better specialised speakers, generally ribbon types which are unsurpassed for acoustic music but they couldn't play Rock or R&B to save their lives. As an all rounder, the Paradigm S8's are as good as I'd ever need and at the money, a relative bargain.

For arguments (only the 5 minute ones, please) and splutterings from malcontents, click here.