Hi-Fi: Paradigm S6 V.2 Floorstanding Loudspeakers – Review – 77
Canadian speaker manufacturer Paradigm has been a favourite of many Kiwi music lovers over the years, and for good reason. The company’s products have offered true value for money, while their sonic performance has always been consistently good at the very least.
A few years back I sampled the Monitor 9 floorstanders in a favourable group review against five worthy competitors, while the entry-level Cinema Phantoms graced both my listening room and the hallowed pages of Tone 76.
Given the relatively modest cost of those products, it’s entirely possible to assume that Paradigm only makes speakers for the masses. But a surprise was in store for me at Tone HQ when I was asked to swing by and collect a pair of Reference Signature S6 V.2s and shuttle them back to my man cave.
Standing more than a metre tall and weighing 32kg per enclosure, the three-way S6 is one model down from the flagship S8 and has impressive statistics to back up its audiophile claims: a complement of two polypropylene bass drivers, a high-tech aluminium midrange and exotic beryllium dome tweeter are bolted into a beautifully finished and curved cabinet. The sample pair had a delicious cherry wood veneer, while little touches such as the metal outrigger feet and cabinet front logo plate provided a step up in terms of luxury over the less expensive Studio series.
In keeping with Paradigm’s philosophy the S6s are easy speakers to drive; sensitivity is a quoted 91dB, and with a nominal 8 Ohm impedance, amplifiers from 15 to 400wpc can be used with confidence.
Playing with hi-fi exotica is one of my favourite pastimes, so in addition to my regular amplification I had the Manley Neo-Classic 300B/Snapper monoblocks in for review (see page 63). These were hastily employed to put the S6s through their paces.
The S6s had been pretty much run in by a dealer before I could lay my sweaty mitts on them, and this was to prove crucial because beryllium domes can take ages to break in, let alone the plethora of other speaker drivers attached to each S6.
So it was on to some serious music replay, and once connected the big Paradigms impressed from the first note. I did notice the beryllium tweeter at the outset, but once a few days had passed the high frequencies integrated beautifully with the rest of the drivers to produce an extremely cohesive and potent sound.
Tracks such as ‘Private Investigations’ from good old Dire Straits sounded quite stunning, a particular highlight being Knopfler’s guitar work. Plucked strings had a visceral realism that was really involving; this and the finely detailed mid-band brought the performance into my room.
It was time for some female vocals so into the CD tray went Cassandra Wilson’s cover of U2′s ‘Love Is Blindness’, and once again the S6s lived up to their audiophile billing with a warm, beautifully voiced portrayal of this wonderful song. Wilson’s voice took centre stage, while the superb soundstaging qualities of the S6s extended the performance well beyond the speaker enclosures. Meanwhile, bass performance from the lusty Paradigms was quite phenomenal on Stanley Clarke’s ‘Justice’s Groove’, with extension into subsonic territory while remaining tight and tuneful.
To sum up, the Paradigm S6 V.2s are serious high-fidelity loudspeakers that can be used in a variety of systems, although at $9000 they don’t come cheap. That said, the excellence of build and magnificent sound quality should make them an essential audition for music lovers who can afford them.
GARY PEARCE
Tech Specs
Reference Signature S6 V.2
Floorstanding Loudspeakers
$8999
Enclosure type: Floorstanding, four driver, three-way reflex
Components – bass: 178mm mineral-filled polypropylene x 2
Components – mid: 178mm cobalt-infused aluminium cone x 1
Components – tweeter: 25mm pure beryllium dome x 1
Frequency Response: 50Hz-45kHz +/-2dB
Low-Frequency extension: 28Hz
Sensitivity: 91dB
Impedance: 8 Ohms compatible
Recommended Amplifier: 15-400W
Dimensions: 111 x 210 x 345mm (H/W/D incl outrigger feet)
Weight: 63.5kg per pair
Pros
- Crystal clear midrange combined with a fabulous bottom end and superb build quality
Cons
- I can’t afford them
Verdict
- Paradigm’s S6 V.2s offer serious sound quality in a beautiful yet bombproof enclosure
CONTACT:
This Review is from Tone Issue #77.
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