Acdvd:
Regarding the tweeter of the S4: The Beryllium tweeter is the same for the entire Signature line. The same high end I get with the S8 is the same you would get (assuming the room is not completely padded etc..). Now regarding the rest....
The mids will be just as nice, but given the mid unit is a mid/bass driver and NOT a dedicated mid driver the mids will be SLIGHTLY different, but I cannot say. As I write this the Signature Line brochure is to my left, and from that I can tell you the S4 is different in the mids. As to how it will sound, well, it is hard to say. A dedicated mid unit will be a bit more refined, but that is hard to say as anything you will notice unless under direct comparison to the S8. Not likely in your sound room. Obviously the bass will be different. I am not saying bad, but different. The S4 will not go as deep or with as much force as the S8 will, but for music it would be satisfying, especially if the room is smaller. In fact, in some of the reviews on Paradigms' web site some allude to the fact a S4/sub combo is a cheaper way to get an S8. The only downside is making sure the sub/sat integration is proper, which is hard to do. But as a speaker alone they are very satisfying IF you are not into bass heavy music OR are NOT into bass rich music sound in any way. Imaging is excellent as is texture and quality, but compared to the S8 it is hard to expect to get the same sound given the obvious differences. Teamed up with a sub, or dual subs and proper tweaking, I cannot see how the S4 could not be as good, or even superior, to the S8.
The only reason I did not go the S4/sub route was the fact my amp was a high end unit that has excellent low end and I felt teamed up with a capable floorstander I could do away with a need for a sub. I do NOT use it for movies in any way. But IF I did need a sub the crossover point would be in the high 30's, so you can see a sub is irrelevant. Crossing over any later would waste the S8 and amp and that is not what I want to do. Not to say I would not do it later if I had a larger room or whatever, but for now running the S8 full range with the amp I have is fully satisfying. My Telarc Digital discs do just fine as is. In fact, running a sub (that I have) adds nothing except to rob power from the wall that the amp could use to its fullest need.
Regarding the tweeter of the S4: The Beryllium tweeter is the same for the entire Signature line. The same high end I get with the S8 is the same you would get (assuming the room is not completely padded etc..). Now regarding the rest....
The mids will be just as nice, but given the mid unit is a mid/bass driver and NOT a dedicated mid driver the mids will be SLIGHTLY different, but I cannot say. As I write this the Signature Line brochure is to my left, and from that I can tell you the S4 is different in the mids. As to how it will sound, well, it is hard to say. A dedicated mid unit will be a bit more refined, but that is hard to say as anything you will notice unless under direct comparison to the S8. Not likely in your sound room. Obviously the bass will be different. I am not saying bad, but different. The S4 will not go as deep or with as much force as the S8 will, but for music it would be satisfying, especially if the room is smaller. In fact, in some of the reviews on Paradigms' web site some allude to the fact a S4/sub combo is a cheaper way to get an S8. The only downside is making sure the sub/sat integration is proper, which is hard to do. But as a speaker alone they are very satisfying IF you are not into bass heavy music OR are NOT into bass rich music sound in any way. Imaging is excellent as is texture and quality, but compared to the S8 it is hard to expect to get the same sound given the obvious differences. Teamed up with a sub, or dual subs and proper tweaking, I cannot see how the S4 could not be as good, or even superior, to the S8.
The only reason I did not go the S4/sub route was the fact my amp was a high end unit that has excellent low end and I felt teamed up with a capable floorstander I could do away with a need for a sub. I do NOT use it for movies in any way. But IF I did need a sub the crossover point would be in the high 30's, so you can see a sub is irrelevant. Crossing over any later would waste the S8 and amp and that is not what I want to do. Not to say I would not do it later if I had a larger room or whatever, but for now running the S8 full range with the amp I have is fully satisfying. My Telarc Digital discs do just fine as is. In fact, running a sub (that I have) adds nothing except to rob power from the wall that the amp could use to its fullest need.