Focal Electra vs. Paradigm Signature...?

I've heard only the chorus and they performed very well, Infact sounding better than the studio 60s. I would imagine the electras would sound outstanding as well.

Ever since paradigm raised their prices, it's getting harder not to consider Focals.

Well, there are the 1028 Electra, the 1038 Electra, the 1008 Electra, the 1009 Electra, the 1002 Electra, the 1003 Electra...lol. The 1038 Electra sounds nice, but for $13,000 there are better speakers.

Care to give us a clue which silly speaker you are talking about?

There is also more than one model of Paradigm Signature...duhhhh. Model numbers would really help a lot.

In any case, some of the best speakers in that range of prices are made by Dynaudio and Vandersteen; they would be the first thing I would consider.

The Dynaudio speakers that sell for comparable prices just totally blow away either Paradigm or Focal IMO.

Well the Focal 1038 are in a league above the Sig 8, price wise that is. The Focals are about $5K more money. So in that regard I would think they should be considered against speakers closer to their price. I have heard the lower line of Focal speakers, the Chorus line I believe. I found them a little more forward then I prefer, but to each their own. I love the Paradigm Sig line and if you find the right dealer you can get a closeout deal on a pair of Sig 8 or even Sig 6. Many dealers in my area are selling under MSRP, and some are selling demo models for well below MSRP.

Paradigm still offers the best bang for the buck. They also measure very well for those who put that high on their list.

BTW, I am not saying they measure better than the Focal, just that the Paradigm also measure very good.

I feel your pain. Focal is out of France, and as such they have to rely on a smaller distribution channel here in the US. Of course if you lived in France, you would have the opposite the problem, lots of store would carry Focal and not many would carry Paradigm.

To me you have already stated that you loved the Paradigm speakers that you listened to. Not to try and stop you from any further hunting, but If you are happy with the sound of the Paradigm I would go with the Paradigm. Yes there will always be better speakers out there, ones that you haven't yet heard and ones that you will probably never hear. At some point you just have to make a decision on a pair of speakers that you can readily audition and like.

Now if you hated the Paradigm's then I would say it would be worth it to seek out a dealer that offered other brands. But again if the Paradigm speakers do a great job to your ears, why pay substantially more for a speaker that may only sound as good or only a small fraction better.

Just my .02 cents of course.

There will always be people who prefer one speaker over another.
There are a lot of choices out there - and some, we may never get
a chance to listen to. With a budget like yours, you may need to
find a way to audition, before making a final purchase.
Some people prefer other speakers over Focal - however it is hard
to find a speaker, that will blow the Focal away at the same price
point.
For exploration, older Focal Electra here - close out pricing
http://www.musicdirect.com/c-729-foc...-s-series.aspx

They have a return policy - if you want to, at least buy the bookshelves
to sample their sound signature.

Since I'm your HT budget is well over 100K, flying somewhere to audition is not a bad idea. Go visit places like Danley.. But I'm guessing someone with that kind of budget don't have the free time to do this.

I'm also specifically interested in comparison between Sig S2 v3 vs. Electra 1008 Be2. Heard of S2 many times and impressed but never heard of 1008.

1008 is priced 30-40% higher but I'm trying to see if it's worth paying extra.

The Focal would sound much, much better

Have you considered looking at dynaudio offerings? Anything above the excites sounds really nice.

Looking for bookshelves at Sig S2 price range, maybe can go up a little more. What do you suggest on Dynaudio? There's a dealer about an hour drive from where I live and I could demo.

Focal is hard to get a demo.

Dynaudio Focus 220s if looking at price range. One step down would be the Excite X16s

The dealer nearby has Contour S1.4 listing price very close to S2. Contour should be better than Focus I suppose?

But they don't carry Paradigm so side by side comparison is out of the question

Another speaker you might want to put on your list is the KEF Reference 203/2.

Also the Dynaudio Focus 340.

I think they are in the same league with the Electras.

I have no idea where you are located, but I see that AudioVisionSF in San Francisco has Dali, Dynaudio, KEF, Quad, Thiel, Triangle, and Wilson speakers for sale, among others.

That might be worth a look if you are in the western US and can take a day or two to shop.

Please rank it for me Paradigm Sig S2, Focal Electra 1008 Be, Dynaudio Contour S1.4. Appreciate it! I'm looking for an easy-to-drive, all around performing well bookshelves.

Will be using with a powerful sub for both movie and a wide range of music (from classical to EDM).

Yes, I know Audio Vision but about an hr drive away.

Thanks in advance!

You don't want him to do that... It's common he will bust out back issues of home theater magazine or something.

I can't stress this enough... You're about to spend a lot of money.. listen before you buy... Even if you have to take a day trip to do it. You will thank yourself in the end.

His room is going to be 20' wide x 28' long x 10' high with a 16 foot wide screen. I don't think these speakers are suited to this.

I have demoed the S2 against the S1.4 and IMO the 1.4 wins easily. The S2 is very bass deficient IMO. The 1.4 has excellent bass as well as all offered by the S2.
BTW, there are only a few Dynaudio speakers that I would buy. The 1.4 is one of those few.
I own Focal Chorus, however I have not listened to any upper end Focals in many years so can't give a comparison . If the cost of the Electra vs the Chorus is relative to the added sound quality over the Chores the the Electra may best the 1.4.

Thanks a lot for the info. I'm definitely getting a demo for both S1.4 and Electra 1008 Be (gorgeous btw). Heard S2 a couple of times and was impressed by the midrange and its tweeter. I never felt bass was deficient though, but then again my comparison is against my Studio.

By looking at the spec, S1.4 seems to be the hardest to drive out of all 3. Being a 4Ohm and less sensitivity than 1008Be and S2, I'm not sure it's ideal for my Anthem MRX500 (100wpc) receiver.
S1.4 4Ohm 86db
1008Be 8Ohm 89db
S2 8Ohm 91db

S2 seems to fit the best in terms of drivability. I also read somewhere Focal Electra 1000 Be series is very selective in the pairing devices. Any opinion on 1008Be matching with Anthem?

Thanks again,
K

Your anthem 500 should have no issues driving the 1.4a. Anthems are solid avr's in power delivery.

Ah, music room and HT room. Sweet! So, what size will this music room be?

I thought I revisit this thread now that I have a few weeks under the belt with the newly acquired Electra 1008 Be. A lot of things went on with the auditions and there was a point I was absolutely confused weighing each speakers' strengths/weaknesses, price (including stands), pairing devices, future upgrades (center speaker, etc), manufacturer support, reviews (both professionally and non-professionally) and WAF (not that I have one right now but yeah eventually).

Cutting to the chase, I'm very happy with the decision and Electra provides everything I look for in a bookshelve speaker. Superb details in the highs and mids yet while maintaining the clarity and musicality. The Focal Be smoothness in the highs are to die for, never knew it could sound this well/sweet and find myself looking for more of the tracks that heavy on treble. The bass paired with paradigm sub12 also doesn't make me miss what I had with paradigm studio 60 with the same sub. I figured I'd lose some from 500Hz down to 120Hz but I was pleasantly surprised it wasn't as significant as I thought it'd be. Overall, music becomes more enjoyable and immersive.

The drawback is I start to notice the shortcomings of components a lot more and longing to try out some quality amp/pre and transport. But I guess this is something that I know I can live with from the start knowing the journey has just started. All in all I feel I've found a pair of speakers that I can anchor to build a system around.
Edited by kzhtoo - 7/11/12 at 11:36pm

By the way, Electra 1008 Be on Paradigm J-23 stands look "almost" as good as Electra on matching Focal H1000S stands but with $900 less.
Edited by kzhtoo - 7/11/12 at 11:58pm

Where did you audition the Electra 1008 be? This is a bookshelf I have wanted to audition.

Unfortunately there's no store front Focal dealer in my area. But fortunately there's a very nice custom install dealer who has 1008Be for his home and invited me for a listening session.

Any other speakers you are auditioning besides 1008Be?

Can the Electra 1008 's be screwed into the Paradigm stands or do they just sit atop them?