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I know; this is super random. Though after a little experience I had tonight, I am all of a sudden really interested in crazy home stereo setups.
I would somewhat consider myself an audiophile- I do enjoy a good stereo (who doesn't?). Just for reference, I would say I have pretty nice audio gear; Sonos, AirPods max, Cadillac AKG, and Klipsch are all a part of my day-to-day life. The thing I listened to tonight blows them all out of the water.
What was it? It was a freakin JBL Paragon and it was unlike anything I had ever heard! She was powered by a Mcintosh MC2105 and C28 (preamp) - such a beautiful combo. The funny thing is, it is in my step grandpas living room and I have never really thought to ask about it. I had always thought it was just a cool-looking wall table or something. Well, tonight I asked about it, and much to my surprise, he said it was a speaker! He got all excited and gave me a demo. I was initially thinking it was a cool storage cabinet with a couple of speakers on the sides and would sound kind of dry and lack real sound. He popped POCO (their first album) onto his record player and skipped ahead to "Anyway Bye Bye." It started playing and chills instantly shot up my spine. I realized (and confirmed) that this whole 9ft long JBL thing was a whole speaker unit. It had so much power and confidence behind it. It was like somehow a band was shoved inside this cabinet and was playing live for you. The Paragon, with the Mcintosh amp, with some original 70s vinyl (POCO Anyway Bye Bye, Herbie Mann Cajun Moon, Elton John Curtains), was unbelievable.
JBL started making them in 1957 and stopped production in 1983- the longest run in JBL history. They built somewhere around 1,000 units. I guess he bought his back in the 70s for $3k and has had it ever since. The only one I could find for sale right now is listed at just under 39k... so crazy. This thing is kind of a unicorn and is apparently sought after in the audio world. Super cool.
*last 2 pics are of the actual setup*
I would somewhat consider myself an audiophile- I do enjoy a good stereo (who doesn't?). Just for reference, I would say I have pretty nice audio gear; Sonos, AirPods max, Cadillac AKG, and Klipsch are all a part of my day-to-day life. The thing I listened to tonight blows them all out of the water.
What was it? It was a freakin JBL Paragon and it was unlike anything I had ever heard! She was powered by a Mcintosh MC2105 and C28 (preamp) - such a beautiful combo. The funny thing is, it is in my step grandpas living room and I have never really thought to ask about it. I had always thought it was just a cool-looking wall table or something. Well, tonight I asked about it, and much to my surprise, he said it was a speaker! He got all excited and gave me a demo. I was initially thinking it was a cool storage cabinet with a couple of speakers on the sides and would sound kind of dry and lack real sound. He popped POCO (their first album) onto his record player and skipped ahead to "Anyway Bye Bye." It started playing and chills instantly shot up my spine. I realized (and confirmed) that this whole 9ft long JBL thing was a whole speaker unit. It had so much power and confidence behind it. It was like somehow a band was shoved inside this cabinet and was playing live for you. The Paragon, with the Mcintosh amp, with some original 70s vinyl (POCO Anyway Bye Bye, Herbie Mann Cajun Moon, Elton John Curtains), was unbelievable.
JBL started making them in 1957 and stopped production in 1983- the longest run in JBL history. They built somewhere around 1,000 units. I guess he bought his back in the 70s for $3k and has had it ever since. The only one I could find for sale right now is listed at just under 39k... so crazy. This thing is kind of a unicorn and is apparently sought after in the audio world. Super cool.
*last 2 pics are of the actual setup*
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