Disappearing Speakers Sound Better To You ?

Sberger,
I agree that it's your speakers. Your electronics are definitely good enough to reproduce spatial information. The Paradigms just don't excel in that particular area compared to many other speakers.
Rather than touting my own favs, I'd suggest going to a good high end dealer and asking him to demo some systems that excel in this area, to make sure you have a sense of what others are talking about, and how important it is to you. Some(not me) don't give a hoot about spacial reproduction, and focus on timbre, timing, etc.
If you search the archives, you can find recommendations on great demo CDs & LPs to bring along that highlight good soundstaging & imaging. Cheers,
Spencer

Sol, thanks very much for the recommendation! I'll definitely check it out. I should have been clearer about my PSBs, as I'm a PSB HUGE fan. While the Golds could occasionally seem to disappear into the soundstage, the effect was only transient and would end once the particular song was over and a new one came on. However, my new speakers have brought new meaning to me in all areas, including soundstaging and imaging. There are some live recordings where I've heard the singer moving his head as he sings or actually note the location of individual guitar strings! What type of bearings do you use? Do you have a link? I'd be interested in at least looking at these, so I can mention these to a future buyer. I guess you don't use spikes on quarters or the padded feet for non carpeted floors?

RX8, I know you'll love that chevy engine :-). You are correct about the Strad. review. In reproduced music, you have to find the traits that are most important to YOU. For me, I have come to find soundstaging (and the ability to vanish) and imaging as very, very important, though I didn't find these nearly as important before I purchased my current speakers. In addition to making for a more realistic sound in general, I find imaging, soundstaging, a disappearing act to make for a more enjoyable and complex sound which consequently makes for more involving listening sessions.

I also feel a speaker that does everything quite well is much more enjoyable than one that has a MAJOR strength, be it tonallity, imaging, bass extension, etc. while being obviously weak in other areas. While I feel I have found a speaker that does it all incredibly well, not all speakers can be all things, so I feel anyone looking to upgrade speakers find the qualities that are most important to them. As suggested to Sbank, listening to a variety of speakers, if only to learn what is possible is important. Before I heard the Merlins, I wouldn't have rated the "vanishing act" very important. Now, I don't think I could buy a speaker that can't disappear. There are always tradeoffs to a degree in purchasing a speaker; the individual speaker buyer must decide what he/she can and can't live without.

Cheers,
Jason

Jason:
Definitely not quarters....., started using the provided spikes and rubber covered footers but found them lacking. After that used Audiopoints brass spikes way better..... and very solidly anchored to my tile floor. Then I got loose!! and felt some vibration feedback was coming through the spikes as well, then put a melamine covered MDF (kitchen cabinetry type) underneath and (you guessed it) got better. I've been playing with steel balls and cabinet handles that are concave to emulate the principles of the bearing type tweaks (symposium, daruma) in other components and got curious and got good results. If you e-mail me we can comment further.
checked your system very nice indeed

It is a relatively new experience for me.I thought my old speakers gave me some of this, but my present speakers step right out of the way. And, even then, this did not really begin to happen until I moved them to the long wall opposite. It was not night and day, but is impressive nonetheless and is my preference now.

Sol322, I'll admit that is a good disc for the tricky recording mix.