Tower Speaker Reviews

The Servo sub reinforced the bottom end of the S4 with a gut-thumping live feel. Not quite as distinct and aggressive in its attack as the MartinLogan Descent subwoofer (still the one to beat in my book), the Servo was nevertheless capable of laying down an all-enveloping foundation to music—once it had been properly adjusted. My initial setup attempts were perhaps a bit too casual. An hour spent tweaking the Servo's Level, Phase, and Contour (60Hz boost) settings proved invaluable in improving integration of the sub and satellites.

I was aided in this process by Santana's "Oye Como Va," whose deliberately behind-the-beat bass line becomes slightly more elongated and exaggerated with the wrong phase setting. The Servo's 15-inch driver was in league with the 18-inch driver in my reference Velodyne when it came to moving masses of air; once dialed in, it also projected a hair more of the nuance necessary to emulate realistic, believable bass. The Servo went from simply powerful bass to bass with a message.

Chapter Two of High Fidelity (DVD, Touchstone 20349) puts John Cusack on an elevated train platform; in this scene, the sounds of traffic down at street level and off in the distance should be accurately depicted. One of the advantages of running identical or timbre-matched speakers front and rear is the prospect of a holistic soundstage where just such a sonic event can occur. The Paradigm rig hit its mark with this scene; the subtle but believable sounds of the city were kept at arm's length while I remained within Cusack's inner circle.

Digging into something darker, chapter four of Seven (DVD, New Line Platinum N4997) fills the room with the sound of a pouring rain slapping dirt into mud. The Paradigms dragged the cloying wetness of the rundown neighborhood into my home theater, making me wish Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman would wipe their feet instead of tracking mud into the crime scene.

Another Brad Pitt movie, with equal numerological significance, Seven Years In Tibet (DVD, Columbia TriStar 21819), contains a fantastic, mood-enhancing soundtrack. In chapter 15, the quiet reverence of monks chanting in the distance as Pitt prepares for his meeting with the Dalai Lama lends an air of solemnity to the scene.

At first, I wasn't completely pleased with the system's performance in this scene, expecting a more enveloping surround from this oft-watched chapter. I suspect that, because physical restrictions forced me to put the rear speakers closer than normal to my listening plane— and because I didn't, for the sake of the remaining listening seats, toe them in to any greater degree to compensate— I was effectively sitting more off-axis than usual. In addition, I was using higher stands for the rears than for the front, which put the rears in a vertical plane different from the front-channel S4s. Without reworking the physical setup, however, I got better results by simply reducing the center-channel level a bit and increasing the rear surround level a dB or two. The stronger back wave now established a more reassuring presence and merged more completely with the front.

Trying to compare and contrast with speakers I no longer have on hand is always tricky, but the Dynaudio Contour S5.4, at three times the Paradigm S4's price, was my most recent dynamic speaker and still fresh in my memory. There's no doubt that the Dynaudio Contours are in a completely different class, as should be expected of a speaker that sells for thrice the price. However, the Paradigm S4 offered a slightly different set of sonic virtues that made the most of the limitations required to create a truly enjoyable and convincing, if not completely accurate, sonic experience. The Paradigm's treble range was more extended than the Dynaudio's and just a tad more pronounced in the presence region, but that's never a liability with home theater.

The extra upper-frequency energy of the Dynaudio Contour could be problematic with some pop and orchestral music, violins occasionally sounding thinner than they should. The Dynaudios could also be aggressive in the lower treble, unfavorably so with some recordings, though to a lesser degree than the Paradigms. Finally, by virtue of its nature as a floor-standing speaker, the Dynaudio Contour S5.4 didn't have the issues of bass-to-midrange integration that I experienced with the Paradigms. On the other hand, it was surprising how well integrated the Paradigm S4 and Servo sub were, given a little bit of effort and experimentation.

Enjoying a hi-def broadcast of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones on the Fujitsu plasma well before nightfall, a pleasure long denied by my CRT front projector, the Paradigm system proved capable of revealing an unending amount of inner detail. While I sat patiently waiting for battle, the pastoral score accompanying the many (endless, actually) scenes of Anakin courting Padme were skillfully reproduced by the Paradigms. Though I was distracted by the banal onscreen conversation, the speakers nonetheless successfully created a deep, layered soundstage replete with beautiful orchestration. The seismic charges launched in the meteor belt by Jango Fett, the bounty hunter, in the meteor belt cut through me like an ultrasonic saw—they were visceral and satisfying beyond reproach.

In some ways, the Paradigm Signature system could be too revealing, making some Foley effects obvious to a fault. For instance, the thunder and rain welling up in Jango Fett's quarters rushed in with the unsubtle insistence of a sound engineer trying to stuff 100dB of sound into a 50dB bag. That's the price you pay, though, for the degree of resolution the Paradigm speakers provide. Dialog was exemplary in all cases, the C3 center providing a very good match to the S4. The slight upper-frequency energy worked well at establishing superb dialog intelligibility.

While I was able to meld the Servo subwoofer with the Signature system to great effect, ultimately, in my room, the system had a slight dip between the upper bass and lower midrange, at least relative to the rest of the midrange and up. For my tastes, the system seemed to require just a smidge more warmth, something I compensated for by boosting the subwoofer output level, though, of course, that did nothing to actually correct the area immediately above the sub's effective range. On the other hand, after two full months of daily use, the speakers had to be considered broken in, but the upper midrange and lower treble still seemed slightly elevated in level.

Conclusion
When Attack of the Clones ended, I couldn't resist cranking up the system during the credits. With the limits I set, I didn't sense much, if any, dynamic compression. My room is large, my listening habits occasionally even larger, but the Paradigms didn't flinch. If I had some concerns with what I ultimately perceived as a certain uptilted tonal quality during the review period, bear in mind that the abundance of hard surfaces in my listening room would easily exacerbate the situation. Also if the upper-bass-to-midrange integration never quite hit sterling, I concede that my room—really, any room—could be at fault. Varying speaker placement, subwoofer levels, and crossover frequencies—all the things a speaker owner would do anyway—could ameliorate even this tiny problem.

Overall, the Paradigms are easily recommendable for auditioning. If their sonic palette lures you in, makes you propose, and sends you over the Falls, I'll understand. They're beautiful to behold and built like brick houses. Best of all, they're great speakers. With high resolution that pulls out the smallest details, from finger cymbals to chair squeaks, and the ability to look into the soundstage and achieve that sense of depth that turns some 2-channel recordings into perennial audiophile faves, the Paradigm Signatures will be in-stantly appreciated for what they get right.