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Vintage Horn: The Paragon - Interesting all-in-one horn console


Oside

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"Originally envisaged as a center speaker" but never produced as one is not the same as "originally intended as a center channel in a theater".  I remember the Paragon.  Fascinating speaker system, but always a stand alone stereo set.  Would love to have one and the space to use it. 

 

Are you regularly Ill-mannered?

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On 12/5/2018 at 6:53 PM, billybob said:

Opps, sorry OP but the Klipschorn folded horn was PWK's design...no copy!

 

 

 

Yes, JBL was trying to copy the Klipschorn, as were numerous competitors of the day. At least that's what the JBL historical link said; sorry if my parroting  was confusing. JBL's copy was called 'The Hartsfield' and they freely acknowledge copying Klipsch: http://www.audioheritage.org/html/profiles/jbl/hartsfield.htm.

 

JBL also offers an explanation for its eventual demise that I hadn't seen before:

 

Quote

Unfortunately, 1964 was also the last year of production for the Hartsfield. Its discontinuance was related to the success of stereo reproduction. The requirement for a corner placement was not a significant issue when only one speaker had to be located in a monaural system. However, a stereo system required two, unobstructed, adjacent corners that were reasonably spaced. Not every home could accommodate this requirement and thus the available market was restricted.

 

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On 12/5/2018 at 8:50 PM, JohnA said:

"Originally envisaged as a center speaker" but never produced as one is not the same as "originally intended as a center channel in a theater".   

 

You're reaching. My statement is supported by the literature in the links.

 

 

On 12/5/2018 at 8:50 PM, JohnA said:

 

Are you regularly Ill-mannered?

Not at all - I haven't commenting here long, but my history will show that was my only cantankerous comment.  I go by the Golden Rule on forums. I don't initiate conflict and prefer courteous discussion, but if someone is hellbent on being nasty, I'll return the favor-especially if they are wrong.

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On 12/5/2018 at 4:58 PM, garyrc said:

@Oside,

 

 

For larger theaters, they had these:

image.png.cc36a5dbc8e31bc016eb3efb303e0899.pngOriginally 5 behind the screen, + routable surround for 70mm, or large 35mm houses.

For 35mm, there were only 4 channels total, so only horns 1,3 and 5 were used + surround, but at 4 horn loaded woofers for each channel they still packed a wallop.

 

 

 

I followed Shiva's ebay link and saw two of those ^ at the bottom of the page!!  Either the guy us asking waaaaaaayyyyy too much, or they make the Paragon look like something from the bargain bin at a dollar store!  https://www.ebay.com/itm/Jim-B-Lansing-JBL-by-Ampex-Model-6000-150-4C-x8-375-Early-Bubble-Back-x4/123471558811?_trkparms=aid%3D333200%26algo%3DCOMP.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D55583%26meid%3D0886aba360a141f58c132e279171f8b6%26pid%3D100008%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D253680611252%26itm%3D123471558811&_trksid=p2047675.c100008.m2219

 

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The Paragon was a wild swing and a miss back in Klipsch's day -- it appears to have been intended as a continuous wall of sound, with the convex front spreading the sound across the stereo width from left to right, but of course unable to do imaging in any original sense of the word.  The riser legs precluded any deep 33 Hz bass like the K-horn could easily do, and the reflective surfaces weren't conducive to an even frequency response.  JBL loaded it up with their super-expensive top-line drivers which were wasted in unsuitable cabinetry.  There was no uniform theory of sound propagation such as horns or direct drivers -- just a mish-mosh of slick-looking ideas that was supposed to look impressive if you didn't care how it sounded -- which was NOT good! 

 

Heavier than hell, though.

 

The Metrogon was smaller, lighter, and sounded worse.

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