B&W JM Labs or Paradigm Signature S8.....Help?

I own a pair of JM Lab 946 Electras and they are a great speaker. IMO almost Utopia sound at fraction of the price. I have heard the Paradigms and the B&W 803 and IMO and again just MY opinion the 946 Electras are much better hands down. Another thing to consider is how much power you have to drive them. The Electras are very efficient 93 db sensitivity and myself coming from owning a pair of Infinitys, there is really something to be said for efficient speakers. The Focal drivers are fast and accurate rivaling that of electrostat or planar drivers IMO. The 946 is a fairly large floorstanding speaker and also IMO a smaller speaker DOES NOT give you the same type of large, live type sound as a larger one. Especially one with a high sensitivity like the Electra. As good as the JM Labs are though, the only drawback is their price. I think they are priced a little higher than they should be but you can often get an almost new demo pair as I did for almost half the full retail price and then they are a huge bargain. As others have said though it is always best to listen with your own ears to judge for yourself but often this is not always possible without traveling great distances. All in all though I have not heard every other speaker in their price range BUT I don't think you would be sorry if you got a set of 946s. I have never heard the Von Schweikert speakers as there are no dealers anywhere near my area so I cannot comment on them but for my listening preference the only thing that I have heard that betters my 946 Electras are the higher end models in the Jm Lab Utopia line or possibly something from Wilson Audio, all much more expensive.

Another thing to consider - customer service. Excellent with both Paradigm and JM Labs - some trade-in upgrades in my experience. Not so with B&W and Von Schweikert - plus bad people to deal with just generally.

I doubt many on Agon have heard these, since they're relatively new, but JM Lab did release their Electra 1000BE series based off the success of the 937BE limited edition with the Berylium tweeter that's trickled down from the Utopia experience. Those may be worth a shot (and have been getting good initial reviews, esp. comapred to the 803d) over here in the UK. I'm personally not blown away by B & K, but there are many here who see the magic so I guess trust your ears.

I have the JMLab Micro Utopia Be's with a Velodyne DD15 subwoofer. I think this is a spectacular system for the money. Much better to my ears than the B&W 803Ds or P'digm S8s.

I use these in a 5.1 system with the Utopia Center and 907s for surrounds. The Micro Utopias sound better than the 907s, noticeably so.

I also have the B&W 802Ds in a stereo only system in another room. I haven't ABed them side by side but the Micros/DD15 for stereo listening sounds so good that I use the systems pretty much interchangeably.

I have compared the JM Lab Electra line to the Paradigm line. The JM Labs are much better. Before you decide on an
Electra 936 or 946, listen to the 926 as well. I did and did not think that the price difference was justified. Imo.
The Electra's have been called the poor mans Utopia's.