Picked up a Paragon...

[cicada_shell]

... to join my Metregon. I guess now I just need the Minigon.

Bit of a foolish purchase considering I'm moving soon, but nonetheless. I'd like to hear from people who have experience with these. I understand some owners have swapped the 075 for a 076 or 077. It is interesting to me that JBL never offered the Paragon with either of those tweeters considering they did update the 150-4C to a LE15A (and then to the -H), as well as the 375 to the 376 (which I understand to be nearly the same, anyway). This is extra odd to me considering the 075 was discontinued in 1975 and the Paragon continued for 6 more years. If anyone has any thoughts about that, I'd appreciate the insight.

I'm also considering what to use to power it. I am extremely happy with my MC240 and C22 and intend for them to remain on the Metregon. In my next home, I intend to put the MC240/C22 somewhere central (perhaps even built-in), along with my source, and I could get an additional Mac amp(s) for the Paragon. Or do something totally different. Open to suggestions. I have studied some other Paragons in-situ (old programs from the 50s/60s, photos from the families of original owners, etc) and the sources and systems were diverse. One owner had a Marantz 7T and an 8B (his daughter, the seller, also noted he only listened to opera reels). Another opted for the built-in JBL solid state amp and its matching pre-amp. My 240 was also popular in-period. I'd like to hear about what you all have heard.

My girlfriend strongly prefers the looks of the Metregon so I'd prefer to keep it around in some fashion (I love it, too). But I do plan to A/B these, since the cabinet designs are so fundamentally different. The Metregon is a bass reflex design and the Paragon is horn-loaded. Also curiously only the horns refract off the panel in the Paragon whereas everything refracts off the Metregon's panel.

Below is a photo in the former owner's home. He inherited it from his uncle, apparently.

 

[Nyjblbob]

Congrats cicada_shell!
A bucket list piece of history for sure!
If I had the room for one I would already have it.
1st thing for sure is make a stand for that beauty.
Every one I saw had them on a 4"-8"H full length stand.
The problem with using 077s is crossing them over too low.
My en5 cabinets came with the 077s but they have the 376's
that have a little more extended highs than the 375's.
if you can find a pair of 076's. for sure that would be an improvement.
Best Quality Solid Copper Binding posts and upgraded wires. are a Necessity!
bobhorn
PS. As far as power goes, If you can find a pair of Nice Fairchild 260's
their sound stage is quite something. my second choice would be
a Marantz 8b, but wired in triode! if you don't need the extra grunt.
My 260's are also run in triode. Unfortunately you can't run Macs in triode.
A third choice, really should be my 1st, is a pair of Fisher 55a's
with the Dave Gilespie mods., But with the Z-Matic adjustable damping control
left intact! those amps powering the Le15's has a magically bass energizing
effect specifically to those woofers!
BTW those amps put out over 55 watts of Pure triode sweetness,
They have the Grunt and heft, that would make the Mac 240 seem Lame.

 

[cicada_shell]

Ah yeah the 55a is a good idea. Tough finding a stereo pair and especially ones that are in the condition I’d prefer. But will keep a lookout. Marantz 8 in triode… I forgot that’s something people do. Great idea. Whatever it is, I agree that low damping is a must.

My understanding is the guy who makes the replica of the Hartsfield has a 077 in his own Paragon and a different crossover rather than the N7000. And like you say, he puts it on a riser.

 

[Nyjblbob]

John Wolf, "Audio Classic Speakers" Is The Man!
He can guide you better than I can ever hope to.
Custom Xovers really is the secret sauce ! Very few get it right!
before we even get into Changing out Orig 375 Diaphragms. "Beryllium"
Not even John Wolf would remove the Red wax seals off a Mint pair of 375's!

 

[cicada_shell]

Crossposting my HifiHaven post here for posterity...

I just got off the phone with John Wolff of CAC, and he advised me a few things. We laughed at the idea that he purchased his Paragon in his late-20s, or over 50 years ago, and I found mine at 31... anywho, he said if the surrounds are toast on my woofers to redo them with rubber surrounds, a trick he learned from Japanese audiophiles/JBL enthusiasts. Apparently they like to do that there because of the humidity.

In addition, he advised changing the crossovers. I asked about buying some junk N7000s and LX5s and redoing the insides with his suggested design and shelving mine, but sadly it would either be a tight fit or wouldn't fit at all. Nonetheless, that's worth contemplating. He runs his modified crossovers outboard. Lastly, as mentioned in his video here in the Haven, he uses the 077 tweeters in lieu of the 075. I asked why those versus the 076 and he said they were definitely not commonly available then and are still tough to find due to Westlake using up a lot of them. And sadly they wouldn't be visible anyway (a shame, since the 'eye' sorta mirrors the horn opening).

He also agreed that it was a real mystery as to why JBL didn't use the 076/077 by the time those debuted, especially since other components had been updated. He also advised leaving the 375s alone.

As for powering, he had the most luck with McIntosh, namely with the little headphone amp that he uses. He felt the MC240 I have would be absolutely perfect. We didn't discuss any other kinds of amplification. I do feel something with a low damping factor would be helpful.

 

[Mr Boochie]

... to join my Metregon. I guess now I just need the Minigon.

Wow!

1960s JBL Museum. Do you have room for a pair of Olympus, too? Or should I not mention that word?

 

[toddalin]

Wasn't necessary and they probably needed the volume to go with the 375. When you bounce the 075 off the curvature you change its response. When I was making slant plates for the 075s, they loose the 10kHz peak and act more like an 077's dispersion.

 

[cicada_shell]

Wow!

1960s JBL Museum. Do you have room for a pair of Olympus, too? Or should I not mention that word?

Always thought the equipment cabinet (Delphi?) was neat, though the style really is too conservative for me. Except I will admit I saw some Olympii in the JBL catalog that looked fine in their placement, though they really need some more plants or something around. I have to wonder if there were any alternative cabinet designs floated for those speakers since that really was at the peak of the Herman Miller cooperation. I feel the Olympus would've looked neat with a grille treatment more like the L88. They also would've looked interesting in a stretched L200 configuration.

But really if I were to add to the JBL Museum, I'd consider the SE408S and an SG520. I like the idea of the 408S a bit more than the pre-amp, though. Looks cool when it good shape but can look dated in a bad way.

A Hartsfield mono system would be intriguing. As would some C39s, though those seem quite rare, even rarer than my Metregon (and I feel those are a bit less common than the Paragon, even, certainly in 2026). But the real envy around here is @vinyldavid with his very handsome Lansing Iconic. I've just got a thing for distinctive cabinets.

 

[Mr Boochie]

Oh man! Hartsfield! Those are what wet dreams are made of.

My first exposure was to a pair of Olympus speakers in a brick-and-mortar audio shop. Next to a record store that we used to pedal our bikes to on Saturdays. The owner would let us play 45s and LPs we purchased — if it wasn't busy. Those things leave an everlasting impression.

 

[toddalin]

Did you do know that the "stock speaker" in the Hartsfield was a single 8"? The cabinets had an internal baffle system that let it sing though the horn slot. I actually saw one on C/L.

Btw, if anyone wants to build a set, there are both Hartsfield and Sovereign cabinets on the LA C/L. Just the cabinets, but the Hartsfields can include the components.

Beautiful empty cabinets original built by acoustic-craft !! Original fews hartsfield early built by acoustic-craft !!only fews hartsfield built by acoustic-craft !!no components including!!offer for sale are empty cabinets!!nothing included!!im looking for serious buyer !!no BS !!i do not F around !!thanks to all audio lover
Btw this cabinet built I think late 60
I have all components if need to built the complete speaker driver lens crossover !!will sale separately or complete for good deal !!asking price is only empty cabinet none components will include!!

Original owner empty cabinet Jbl sovereign!!booth cabinet in excellent condition!!only local pickup no traded no lowball

Also a complete set of sovereigns:

Beautiful one owner pair c-60 sovereigns S8R fully load with 375 driver 075 tweeter LE 15A woofer passive woofer !!LE 15 woofer lx5 &n7000 crossover !!all components never remove from speaker except LE 15 for service!!original owner bought & send directly to the wood shop have them to refinished for their home decoration !beautifull finish !!extremely High quality paint !i would like to point out !!there is one crack on one grill !!should be easy fix !!will fix the crack before go to new owner !

 

[cicada_shell]

Did you do know that the "stock speaker" in the Hartsfield was a single 8"? The cabinets had an internal baffle system that let it sing though the horn slot.

I believe that was an option available for just two or so years to allow a user to build up their system. Same as in the Metregon... I'm not sure anyone ever actually did that.

 

[Mr Boochie]

Did you do know that the "stock speaker" in the Hartsfield was a single 8"? The cabinets had an internal baffle system that let it sing though the horn slot.

"Starter Set."

 

[toddalin]

I believe that was an option available for just two or so years to allow a user to build up their system. Same as in the Metregon... I'm not sure anyone ever actually did that.

Someone did as I saw it advertised on C/L.

 

[Nyjblbob]

Did you do know that the "stock speaker" in the Hartsfield was a single 8"? The cabinets had an internal baffle system that let it sing though the horn slot. I actually saw one on C/L.

Btw, if anyone wants to build a set, there are both Hartsfield and Sovereign cabinets on the LA C/L. Just the cabinets, but the Hartsfields can include the components.

Beautiful empty cabinets original built by acoustic-craft !! Original fews hartsfield early built by acoustic-craft !!only fews hartsfield built by acoustic-craft !!no components including!!offer for sale are empty cabinets!!nothing included!!im looking for serious buyer !!no BS !!i do not F around !!thanks to all audio lover
Btw this cabinet built I think late 60
I have all components if need to built the complete speaker driver lens crossover !!will sale separately or complete for good deal !!asking price is only empty cabinet none components will include!!

Original owner empty cabinet Jbl sovereign!!booth cabinet in excellent condition!!only local pickup no traded no lowball

Also a complete set of sovereigns:

I h
Beautiful one owner pair c-60 sovereigns S8R fully load with 375 driver 075 tweeter LE 15A woofer passive woofer !!LE 15 woofer lx5 &n7000 crossover !!all components never remove from speaker except LE 15 for service!!original owner bought & send directly to the wood shop have them to refinished for their home decoration !beautifull finish !!extremely High quality paint !i would like to point out !!there is one crack on one grill !!should be easy fix !!will fix the crack before go to new owner !

I have the identical pair of C60 S-8r Soverigns perfect grills and drivers
I knew the original owner.
Used with tubes their whole life
Sad to say a nice pair of L-300’s brings almost 2X the $ C-60 do

 

[cicada_shell]

Oh yeah I've seen those cabinets, was a few years ago even. I believe he was asking over $9k originally. Interesting thing is while I have no doubt those were made by Acousti-craft, I've never seen them in their brochures, and I really don't think those particular ones were made private label for JBL. Shame about the fussy scalloping (I think they called it 'Early American' on another cab I saw).

 

[toddalin]

Oh yeah I've seen those cabinets, was a few years ago even. I believe he was asking over $9k originally. Interesting thing is while I have no doubt those were made by Acousti-craft, I've never seen them in their brochures, and I really don't think those particular ones were made private label for JBL. Shame about the fussy scalloping (I think they called it 'Early American' on another cab I saw).

They are asking close to that now..., and that's just the cabinets. They've been on for quite a while. Obviously, a bit much for what they are.

 

[cicada_shell]

They are asking close to that now..., and that's just the cabinets. They've been on for quite a while. Obviously, a bit much for what they are.

Looks like $3,950 now for them. Keeping in mind he bought them for much, much, much less. They were discussed here at the time. Hope he keeps them even longer.

 

[toddalin]

He's come way down. When the ad first ran, he was asking $8,950. I guess he came to his senses..., more or less.

 

[cicada_shell]

She just arrived. Inspected the woofers and they’re hard as rocks, as expected, so those will go off to John Wolff. At his advice I also removed the wiring, and upon inspection I can really see why since the quality doesn’t match the rest of the components used. Cabinet is in wonderful condition and I am marveling at the quality of its construction. This is its temporary home since my home is sold in four weeks, so I can’t get too comfortable with it on that wall.

Based on the markings behind the panel and on the rear of the cabinet, I believe I own Paragon #817.

 

[Hajidub]

She just arrived. Inspected the woofers and they’re hard as rocks, as expected, so those will go off to John Wolff. At his advice I also removed the wiring, and upon inspection I can really see why since the quality doesn’t match the rest of the components used. Cabinet is in wonderful condition and I am marveling at the quality of its construction. This is its temporary home since my home is sold in four weeks, so I can’t get too comfortable with it on that wall.

Based on the markings behind the panel and on the rear of the cabinet, I believe I own Paragon #817.

Just out of curiosity, how does one move one of these? Hire piano movers? These are one piece and very heavy I've heard.