1st time buyer: Paradigm vs Revel vs B&W vs ?

Agreed about PSB's - listen to those you've mentioned, but add PSB to the list. They won't necessarily be your choice in this price range, but they are mine.

thanks for the responses - i would have added some of the below thoughts initially, but seemed to have a word limit to the initial post

i have 3 kids 5 and under and auditioning is very difficult. furthermore, having no real experience listening to music on a high end system, i lack any real skills in this capacity. out of time necessity and the realization that i'm not sure i would trust my ears at this point, i am hoping to jump in and buy something soon (i have been reading online for many months)

revel f12s were recommended to me and i was fairly set to buy a pair. there are revel dealers in the area, but neither keep any in stock for me to listen to. in talking to one salesman he explained that he much preferred the b&w and suggested the 683s which i recently listened to. they sounded a damn sight better than what i have, but I'm not sure i want to spend 1500 on them. He spoke poorly of the revels, explaining that is why they do not carry them in the showroom. He specifically stated muffled highs/voices as a concern.

since i am such a novice at this i was hoping to buy something used and grow into it

i appreciate the b&w matrix suggestion, but i am wary of speakers on stands with my three little monsters running around. how much of a concern would that be? would i immediately need a sub if i bought monitors?

The B&W Matrix 804 Is a 3 way floor stander. The 805 is the monitor. I would highly recommend them as I have heard the newer B&W's and they just havent seemed enough better to justify spending the money VS. another component.

$1500 would get you a pair of 804's and a velodyne HGS-12 or other 500-700 sub. I would always recommend 2 subwoofers as it evens things out much better and smoothes the room curves.

You can totally play them without a subwoofer. There typically right about a 800-1000 sometimes a little less.
I just recommended subs because honestly they make life better they just do. I honestly think if you got a nice pair of floorstanders and one or 2 subs it would make your system go farthest toward toe tapping heaven.

Oh you watch movies and TV are you kidding YOU NEED A SUBWOOFER!!!! Get a decent one used and look it up thoroughly before purchasing. I promise you youll thank me. Movies and TV will be 100 times more awesome. Commercials will actually sound cool (its one of the reasons I dont have cable). I PROMISE YOU, FOR MOVIES AND TV YOULL LOVE A BIG HUGE SUB, Probably music 2

I've heard Revels, not the F12 mind you, but others in their line..."muffled highs and voices" is certainly not an accurate description of their sound IMHO. It sounds like the standard salesman-speak where they put down any speakers that they don't carry.

My reticence about Revel, when I heard them, was that they were a bit forward-sounding for me, with a hard/metalic-sounding top end. If the salesman's comments about the speakers were something like that, I might consider his opinion...in this case, based on what he said, I'd ignore him, and discount any advice he may have given.

It should be fairly easy in even any moderately-sized city to at least listen to other speakers within the same line of any PSB, Paradigm or Revel (or Focal for that matter) that you're considering - this is a lot of $$$ you're spending, you should really try to at least listen to the speaker lines with the same CD to get an idea of their characters.

If I had to simplify the differences between these lines' house sounds, Paradigm and Revel are more forward sounding with good weight in the bass. B&W are more relaxed with a focus on midrange, and PSB's are kind of in between the 2, with a more relaxed sound but better deep bass than the B&W's.

All fine speakers - Paradigm wear the "studio" name very well as they are very transparent, ruler flat and detailed.
I second PSB - full range speakers in a small package and they are very descent for the money. Another one to consider is Vandersteen 1c or 2ce, a bit ugly and big but good sounding.