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Paradigm Tribute (ex)owners - advice required

Hey awesome community!

I came across review of Paradigm Tribute speakers and found used set for acceptable price in very good condition. As far as I read about those speakers, they really offer great sound for their price and more I read more I like them.

I still have two questions unanswered before I make final decision on them. First is - what should be distance from back wall for this speakers to play at best - one review suggested that at least 20'' (50 cm) from back wall is required and this is a problem for me as I could only push them 12'' (30 cm) from back wall in my room. Anyone who can suggest if they really need to be 20'' out, or would sound be fine with 12'' from back as speaker doesn't have any bass reflex at back side... My room is 26' by 20' with 11' ceiling.

Second question is how would this pair of beauties work with my tube amp Ayon Spirit III, which can put 65W per channel. I don't see challenges as they have high sensitivity, but I might be wrong.


Thanks,
Andrei
akasnik
akasnik OP
1 posts
 
Thanks for your replies! Yes, I indeed pulled a trigger on them and am a very happy user. Whole new level of clarity, sound stage, details for me.   And yes, they look awesome too :)

Regards,
Andrej
johnjohn
42 posts
 
The Tributes are very nice but not better than the S6 and S8. The latter have better woofers with bigger magnets. That’s why you get more forceful bass from both S6 and S8. Basically Tributes use Studio series woofers in a higher end cabinet though their middles and highs are comparable to Signature models. Both Tribute and Version 3 Signatures are voiced a bit brighter with a slightly rising response (better for HT?). V1 and V2 Signatures are not as bright. Crossover parts quality is very good and about the same in all model.
paradigmmr2
4 posts
 
Saying that the Tributes use Studio woofers isn't accurate at all. The mid is very similar to the dedicated Studio v5 mids, but the bass woofers have the Active Ridge Technology that make them superior to all but the Signature v3 as far as the Studio and Signature era goes. I see nothing thst indicates the Tribute woofers aren't on par with Signature v3 (I haven't weighed Sig v3 woofers vs Tributes, but I would be shocked if there is much difference, especially given the overall weights and bass specs I will cover later). Also according to Paradigm's own specs, +/- 2 db bass tops out at 46 Hz for the S6 v3 and a better 44 Hz for the Tributes. That same gap also translates to listed bass extension which is 26 for the S6 and 24 for the Tributes. The S8s do even better extending down to 39 for +/- 2db, but interestingly, only match the bass extension of the Tributes at 24.

Long story short, the Tributes are much closer to Signature than Studio. Think of them as a Signature S7 with tweeters and bass woofers on par with Signature v3 while the mids are closer to Studio v5. Then it is clear the cabinets are unsurprisingly based off of 100 v5 cabinets, but they actually seem to end up besting even the Signatures with the beautiful Plinth in place of the lesser front plate and individual feet. Weight is often an indicator of cabinet and magnet quality so it is interesting that weights are as follows S8 v3 100#, Tributes 92#, 100 v5 78#, S6 70#. 

Recently, I finally acquired a long desired pair of Tributes, so now I currently own all of the speakers in question and even though the S8 v3 should beat the Tributes based on the spec sheet (higher end mid cone material, extra bass woofer, and extra cabinet space), I found that the Tributes are my favorites by a small margin over the Signatures. I have never owned Persona towers, but I did get a nearly 1 hour demo from a customer and am not sure I would even rate them ahead of the Tributes sonically, but I would need more time with them to know for sure.
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