Archive / Classics, 1946 to 1969
JBLParagon D44000
Loudspeaker, JBL, 1957
A one-piece horn-loaded stereo loudspeaker nearly 9 feet wide, with a curved reflecting panel that spreads midrange and treble sound, which Wikipedia calls the most expensive domestic loudspeaker on the market at launch.
A-10, isometric, same camera for both
- Drawing
- A-10
- Introduced
- 1957
- Produced
- 1957 to 1983
- Made in
- United States
- Designed by
- Arnold Wolf, Richard Ranger
- Launch price
- US$1,830 (1957, per Wikipedia)
- Size
- 2692 x 857 x 622 mm
- Weight
- 390 kg
Colonel Richard Ranger devised the diffusion principle used by the Paragon, and industrial designer Arnold Wolf, who joined as a consultant in early 1957 and later became JBL president, shaped the cabinet from scale models and settled on a two-way design in June 1957. The system splits into left and right enclosures and a curved radiator panel for transport. JBL built about 1,000 over roughly 25 years, at up to five per week, with 112 to 125 man-hours of work each. It stayed in the catalogue until 1983.
Specification
| Item | As published |
|---|---|
| Bass drivers | 2 x 150-4C, in separate front-loaded horns (LE15A from the early 1960s, LE15H from 1979) |
| Mid and high drivers | 2 x 375 compression drivers on H5038P-100 elliptical horns (Alnico 376 from 1979) |
| Ring radiators | 2 x 075, mounted in the back of the cabinet, aimed at the centre listening position |
| Crossover | 500 Hz and 7000 Hz |
| Size | 106 x 33.75 x 24.5 in (269 x 86 x 62 cm) |
| Weight | 850 lb (390 kg) per the product brochure |
Out of production
Find an original
The Paragon D44000 is out of production. Originals change hands on the marketplaces listed here; buy restored, or budget for recapping and new valves.
The house
- Founded
- 1946
- Founder
- James Bullough Lansing
- Origin
- Los Angeles, California, United States
- Today
- A subsidiary of Harman International, which Samsung Electronics owns.
Further sheets
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JBL_Paragon
- https://audioheritage.org/html/profiles/jbl/paragon.htm
- https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/lansing_paragon.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JBL
Notes for the record: Price and size conflict: Wikipedia gives US$1,830 at launch and 106 x 33.75 x 24.5 in, 850 lb, while Radiomuseum lists US$2,700 as the first-year price and 614 x 902 x 2632 mm and 317 kg. Wikipedia was used because it gives width, height and depth in plain order and cites the JBL brochure for weight. Dimensions are converted at 25.4 mm per inch. Wikipedia describes the Paragon as a 2-way system while listing 150-4C, 375 and 075 drivers; Audio Heritage lists all three. Wikipedia notes the Paragon appeared in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art exhibition California Design, 1930 to 1965 in 2011 and 2012, which records an exhibition appearance only. No sold-price data from an opened source; Audio Heritage and Wikipedia mention only that good examples reach over US$20,000, with no sale record attached.