When I was growing up in California my father owned these speakers in the mid 70’s. He mostly played classical music on them while my younger brother and I acted like we were orchestra conductors. I have very fond memories of these speaker and every time I see them they bring back many nostalgic memories. He has a Macintosh receiver and a Technics turn table. All I remember was how loud they were. My little brother used to climb into the big open end in the front and hide in there annoying my father. We had them for many years. Love them even more when my dad let us play LED Zeppelin or other rock groups from the 70’s. Thank you for memories!
Thank you so much for sharing your fond memories of the Paragon. You dad had (has) good audio tastes. Have not heard any rock on them, mainly Jazz and a little classical.
@@tomaseriksson4533 I just looked at the data again and there is indeed a HF rolloff. Possibly adjusting the settings on the back could improve things. As this belongs to my good buddy Richard, it could even be wired incorrectly (see the 4350 video)..
@@vintageaudioreview might be that the mic is too high so it is blocked by the top board. Think it is a JBL075 in that speaker so it should be straight up to 20kHz.
@@tomaseriksson4533 It turns out my friend who owns that will be over in a few minutes to pick up some of his gear I did a future video(s) on and collect some $ that I owe him and I will let him know that I need to remeasure it...
Hi Thomas- No, the clip playing during the "tour" of the Paragon was the video editing program's Royalty Free music. I don't think you will ever see me recording what any piece of gear sounds like- there is no way anything I could record (using microphones, anyway) the sound of speakers to where the listener comes close to hearing what I did- there are a lot of channels that do that, but I am not one of them. I have recorded the hum coming out of an amp before and had that in a video. I could see recording how bad a piece of gear sounded- maybe as part of the repair process. I did show how a very old tube radio tuned stations, so there was sound there... I don't know if you noticed it, but he is the same guy who owns the JBL 4350's, which are in another room...
Now it will get really fun and high tech......... when you do a vinyl record the deepest bass is always MONO. The reason is that for mono the needle move only left-right. For stereo it moved diagonal in other words both left-right and up-down. If you look at the grooves they go lets say 1 mm left-right. If the deepest bass was also stereo then the needle need to be able to move the same distans also up.down and then it will jump out of the groove. So the deepest bass is always the same in left and right speaker, What has this to do with the bass output from the JBL Paragon?????? Very much since how deep the speaker can play is dependent on the size of the mouth of the horn. If you only play one part of the speaker will the mouth be around 0,8 m2. But if you play with both the left and the right "speaker" then both speakers deepest bass are in phase and since they are connected without any air between them is the mouth 1,6 m2 and it will play around 10Hz deeper if the bass if coming from both woofers rather than one. This is the reason why reggae sound system gets so deep bass and always plays in mono. With just one bass horn or the bass horn separated will the sound very thin.
I was wondering if anyone was going to mention something about the amps 😄I will do a video on one of them at some point in the future. The owner has a lot of amps he can hook up to the Paragons and won't miss it for a few weeks. I would just test one- am curious how they measure. I would say it will be in the next few months..Thanks for the suggestion!
Thanks for the question/comment. Unfortunately, the music is "self generated" royalty free music that is part of my video editing software under the "classical heading".....
Anyone ever run these as dual mono? Two paragons, one for left and one for the right channel , aka stereo? I like more stereo separation/distance between my speakers. Unless space is limited, but then this seems like the biggest speaker to use in a limited space situation.
I suppose you could do that if you had the space and were lucky enough to have two of them. They just have a nice sound to them, and I am not sure you would gain much as far as imaging. but they certainly would have more bass and could get very loud if you had two of them! Thanks for the question!
@@vintageaudioreview I think it like 2,65 meter wide. With the speakers separated the same length and not placed in the corners you need a 10 meter wall. Good idea for rooms over 100 m2. But see what I will write soon as a separate comment........
The bass is what you got from a horn speaker with this size. If you want to go deeper you need a bigger horn. JBL Paragon use a driver with very low Qts so there is no bass output below the frequency that the horn support. Klipsch La Scala has a driver with very high Qts and that is the reason why they still have some output below what the horn support. Something is wrong with the tweeter. The output above 7000 Hz is only for the midhorn. JBL Paragon is a three way speaker with crossover at 500 and 7000 Hz.
@@vintageaudioreview Don't get me wrong I like JBL Paragon and bought a pair JBL 2220A drivers for build a clone (only bass horn). So I have done a lot of calculations etc on the JBL Paragon. It doesn't go very deep but I think it is a little bit misleading since it is so dynamic I think it will plays bass better than many speakers that go deeper in the bass as long as it is real instruments and not electronic music. With a good speaker will the brain think that it hear a 42 Hz note even if the speaker can't play that low. If you hear the 84 Hz first over tone then the brain know that it is a over tone and the brain know that there is basic tone that must be 42 Hz. Of cause you will not feel the bass in the stomach but you will think that you hear the 42 Hz note. I have never heard it but I know some people that has heard it.
@@tomaseriksson4533 Thanks for all the info. I did not notice that you mentioned the LaScalas, which I have (not sure how many videos you have watched), and while the bass is not as gut wrenching as I could get with a subwoofer added, in my 14'x14x7' or so room with the Lascalas in the corners, the bass can be felt sitting on my leather couch. with only 2w peaks. (listening to "Dreams" by Fleetwood mac now). I never got interested in building my own speakers/crossovers for some reason. As to the Paragon, I never saw any measurements on them so didn't know what to expect when I made them in a very non-ideal room (for measurements). It is possible that there is something wrong with one of the crossovers or tweeters- But to me, they just have enjoyable sound and look great. I may have to look at the measurements I made again as they are not fresh in my mind...
@@vintageaudioreview Will check. I have a pair of La Scala clones but they didn't work in my heavy damped room without any corners. Need corners or at least a wall behind to work with the passive crossover. Ny idea with the JBL Paragon clone is to take away the legs so the floor in font of the speaker also is part of the horn. I will anyway have the mid/high horn standing on top of the speaker.
@@tomaseriksson4533 Am curious how removing the legs on the Paragon clone works for you- them looking like a piece of mid-modern furniture makes them sound better, I think 🤣
Could you create at show and tell about PHASE? I am a longtime audio enthusiast. Lately I keep hearing people talk about phase. I have always understood that it simply meant keeping the red and black speaker wires attached to their corresponding red and black connectors. Can you provide more detail if it is relevant? Thank you.
Yes, the speaker should be wired appropriately red to black on the speakers and amps, but you could have situations where reversing the phase could work better.
Sorry, That is one of the dummest comments I have heard and I don't know anyone who would ever do such a thing to a speaker. We are a bit early for April Fool's.
@vintageaudioreview You might think it's dumb, but it's a true testimony of engineering and real power handling. Can you name one speaker that can survive this test?
@@ericvonha7694 Ok, I guess you are serious and I get your point. I would prefer to do the test in a more controlled manner, with a proper amp and preamp and a 60hz tone- once I knew what the component ratings were for the crossover and woofers, so I did not exceed the ratings. I don't think are any Paragon owners that would sign up for your "experience".
When I was growing up in California my father owned these speakers in the mid 70’s. He mostly played classical music on them while my younger brother and I acted like we were orchestra conductors. I have very fond memories of these speaker and every time I see them they bring back many nostalgic memories. He has a Macintosh receiver and a Technics turn table. All I remember was how loud they were. My little brother used to climb into the big open end in the front and hide in there annoying my father. We had them for many years. Love them even more when my dad let us play LED Zeppelin or other rock groups from the 70’s. Thank you for memories!
Thank you so much for sharing your fond memories of the Paragon. You dad had (has) good audio tastes. Have not heard any rock on them, mainly Jazz and a little classical.
Getting to hear the Paragon is on my bucket list. I enjoyed the review!
Thanks again for taking the time to comment. I will be hearing it again tomorrow 😁
@@vintageaudioreview Check if the tweeter work.......I really want to hear that speaker.
@@tomaseriksson4533 I just looked at the data again and there is indeed a HF rolloff. Possibly adjusting the settings on the back could improve things. As this belongs to my good buddy Richard, it could even be wired incorrectly (see the 4350 video)..
@@vintageaudioreview might be that the mic is too high so it is blocked by the top board. Think it is a JBL075 in that speaker so it should be straight up to 20kHz.
@@tomaseriksson4533 It turns out my friend who owns that will be over in a few minutes to pick up some of his gear I did a future video(s) on and collect some $ that I owe him and I will let him know that I need to remeasure it...
Masterpiece 👍🏻
Congrats on being able to review and test such an iconic speakers. Was the music clip a recording of the speaker?
Hi Thomas- No, the clip playing during the "tour" of the Paragon was the video editing program's Royalty Free music. I don't think you will ever see me recording what any piece of gear sounds like- there is no way anything I could record (using microphones, anyway) the sound of speakers to where the listener comes close to hearing what I did- there are a lot of channels that do that, but I am not one of them. I have recorded the hum coming out of an amp before and had that in a video. I could see recording how bad a piece of gear sounded- maybe as part of the repair process. I did show how a very old tube radio tuned stations, so there was sound there... I don't know if you noticed it, but he is the same guy who owns the JBL 4350's, which are in another room...
Paragon is legend!
They are indeed. Hopefully a few more folks will become aware of them after this video...
Now it will get really fun and high tech......... when you do a vinyl record the deepest bass is always MONO. The reason is that for mono the needle move only left-right. For stereo it moved diagonal in other words both left-right and up-down. If you look at the grooves they go lets say 1 mm left-right. If the deepest bass was also stereo then the needle need to be able to move the same distans also up.down and then it will jump out of the groove. So the deepest bass is always the same in left and right speaker, What has this to do with the bass output from the JBL Paragon?????? Very much since how deep the speaker can play is dependent on the size of the mouth of the horn. If you only play one part of the speaker will the mouth be around 0,8 m2. But if you play with both the left and the right "speaker" then both speakers deepest bass are in phase and since they are connected without any air between them is the mouth 1,6 m2 and it will play around 10Hz deeper if the bass if coming from both woofers rather than one. This is the reason why reggae sound system gets so deep bass and always plays in mono. With just one bass horn or the bass horn separated will the sound very thin.
I am just now seeing this comment and I appreciate your taking the time to explain about the bass!
Congrats!
Please make a video about Altec valve amps ! 👌🏻
I was wondering if anyone was going to mention something about the amps 😄I will do a video on one of them at some point in the future. The owner has a lot of amps he can hook up to the Paragons and won't miss it for a few weeks. I would just test one- am curious how they measure. I would say it will be in the next few months..Thanks for the suggestion!
What music @ 4:09/Tour,please? I’m getting a Parov Stellar vibe… Nice!
Thanks for the question/comment. Unfortunately, the music is "self generated" royalty free music that is part of my video editing software under the "classical heading".....
Schönster Lautsprecher ever !!
Can't argue with you!
Anyone ever run these as dual mono? Two paragons, one for left and one for the right channel , aka stereo? I like more stereo separation/distance between my speakers. Unless space is limited, but then this seems like the biggest speaker to use in a limited space situation.
I suppose you could do that if you had the space and were lucky enough to have two of them. They just have a nice sound to them, and I am not sure you would gain much as far as imaging. but they certainly would have more bass and could get very loud if you had two of them! Thanks for the question!
@@vintageaudioreview I think it like 2,65 meter wide. With the speakers separated the same length and not placed in the corners you need a 10 meter wall. Good idea for rooms over 100 m2.
But see what I will write soon as a separate comment........
What woofer is in this? The 150-4 or the LE-15a?
Thaks for the question, but I don't know the answer as I have not had it apart.
The bass is what you got from a horn speaker with this size. If you want to go deeper you need a bigger horn. JBL Paragon use a driver with very low Qts so there is no bass output below the frequency that the horn support. Klipsch La Scala has a driver with very high Qts and that is the reason why they still have some output below what the horn support. Something is wrong with the tweeter. The output above 7000 Hz is only for the midhorn. JBL Paragon is a three way speaker with crossover at 500 and 7000 Hz.
To be fair, I will have to listen to them with some music that I am more familiar with. They definitely have a nice warm sound and are very efficient.
@@vintageaudioreview Don't get me wrong I like JBL Paragon and bought a pair JBL 2220A drivers for build a clone (only bass horn). So I have done a lot of calculations etc on the JBL Paragon. It doesn't go very deep but I think it is a little bit misleading since it is so dynamic I think it will plays bass better than many speakers that go deeper in the bass as long as it is real instruments and not electronic music. With a good speaker will the brain think that it hear a 42 Hz note even if the speaker can't play that low. If you hear the 84 Hz first over tone then the brain know that it is a over tone and the brain know that there is basic tone that must be 42 Hz. Of cause you will not feel the bass in the stomach but you will think that you hear the 42 Hz note. I have never heard it but I know some people that has heard it.
@@tomaseriksson4533 Thanks for all the info. I did not notice that you mentioned the LaScalas, which I have (not sure how many videos you have watched), and while the bass is not as gut wrenching as I could get with a subwoofer added, in my 14'x14x7' or so room with the Lascalas in the corners, the bass can be felt sitting on my leather couch. with only 2w peaks. (listening to "Dreams" by Fleetwood mac now). I never got interested in building my own speakers/crossovers for some reason. As to the Paragon, I never saw any measurements on them so didn't know what to expect when I made them in a very non-ideal room (for measurements). It is possible that there is something wrong with one of the crossovers or tweeters- But to me, they just have enjoyable sound and look great. I may have to look at the measurements I made again as they are not fresh in my mind...
@@vintageaudioreview Will check. I have a pair of La Scala clones but they didn't work in my heavy damped room without any corners. Need corners or at least a wall behind to work with the passive crossover. Ny idea with the JBL Paragon clone is to take away the legs so the floor in font of the speaker also is part of the horn. I will anyway have the mid/high horn standing on top of the speaker.
@@tomaseriksson4533 Am curious how removing the legs on the Paragon clone works for you- them looking like a piece of mid-modern furniture makes them sound better, I think 🤣
Could you create at show and tell about PHASE? I am a longtime audio enthusiast. Lately I keep hearing people talk about phase. I have always understood that it simply meant keeping the red and black speaker wires attached to their corresponding red and black connectors.
Can you provide more detail if it is relevant?
Thank you.
Yes, the speaker should be wired appropriately red to black on the speakers and amps, but you could have situations where reversing the phase could work better.
This speaker system can withstand the 60HZ test. Plug it directly into a wall outlet and experience the full bliss of 1800W of bass (15Ax120V)
Sorry, That is one of the dummest comments I have heard and I don't know anyone who would ever do such a thing to a speaker. We are a bit early for April Fool's.
@vintageaudioreview You might think it's dumb, but it's a true testimony of engineering and real power handling. Can you name one speaker that can survive this test?
@@ericvonha7694 Ok, I guess you are serious and I get your point. I would prefer to do the test in a more controlled manner, with a proper amp and preamp and a 60hz tone- once I knew what the component ratings were for the crossover and woofers, so I did not exceed the ratings. I don't think are any Paragon owners that would sign up for your "experience".