Alan Fletcher
03-28-2005, 04:37 PM
Well, I finally got to revisit the Paragon I've mentioned in other posts. Well, at least, in a situation where I could screw around with it a bit.
Its owner is now very old and has lost almost all his sight and much of his hearing, and the house is under care of his son, who is a friend of mine, although he is not really that concerned with audio, especially with alot of other issues (maintenence on the house, etc...)
It seems that in his visually poor state, he broke the stylus on his Thorens TD-124/II & SME 3009/II. So I sold my friend one of my unused cartridges, and went over to do alignment and setup. I spoke to his father (the owner) briefly, and amidst conversation about pipe organs, music, etc, he told me this was #500, that he bought it used around 1965 (I had thought he was the original owner), and that he had to wait a while as a friend found it for him. I wouldn't have known where to look to verify the s/n, although, that is unimportant to my question.
To make a long story short, I set up the turntable and then set down to listen. I found everything sounding wrong. Once we got behind there, we found things out of sorts wiring wise with the crossovers.
I got all that straightened out, but the thing has NO BASS. I don't think it plays much below 100Hz. I know it should hit solid down to at least 50. I believe the bass drivers are 150-4C, did not have time to take apart and verify. It sounds nice though,with amazing imaging, although it does not sound balanced right, at all.
I do not know what the markings on the top crossovers mean. They have a knob labeled 1,2, and 3, with a click-stop at 4 and able to be turned another 1/2 turn or so beyond that. No, it is not a loose knob. Turning them did not make any noticeable difference. I remember this Paragon from my childhood, but, again, this is the first time I have been able to play with it.
Any ideas why no bass? (yes, the LF drivers work perfectly and are NOT out of phase!)
Thanks, Alan.:banghead:
It seems my memory isn't so great. I found the unit in a total shambles. Cosmetically, and functionally, it is OK. All drivers are functioning beautifully. Setup, however, was a different story. I found the wiring out of phase, both from the amp to the paragon, and in the crossovers to the drivers. I did all that I could with it given the time and
Its owner is now very old and has lost almost all his sight and much of his hearing, and the house is under care of his son, who is a friend of mine, although he is not really that concerned with audio, especially with alot of other issues (maintenence on the house, etc...)
It seems that in his visually poor state, he broke the stylus on his Thorens TD-124/II & SME 3009/II. So I sold my friend one of my unused cartridges, and went over to do alignment and setup. I spoke to his father (the owner) briefly, and amidst conversation about pipe organs, music, etc, he told me this was #500, that he bought it used around 1965 (I had thought he was the original owner), and that he had to wait a while as a friend found it for him. I wouldn't have known where to look to verify the s/n, although, that is unimportant to my question.
To make a long story short, I set up the turntable and then set down to listen. I found everything sounding wrong. Once we got behind there, we found things out of sorts wiring wise with the crossovers.
I got all that straightened out, but the thing has NO BASS. I don't think it plays much below 100Hz. I know it should hit solid down to at least 50. I believe the bass drivers are 150-4C, did not have time to take apart and verify. It sounds nice though,with amazing imaging, although it does not sound balanced right, at all.
I do not know what the markings on the top crossovers mean. They have a knob labeled 1,2, and 3, with a click-stop at 4 and able to be turned another 1/2 turn or so beyond that. No, it is not a loose knob. Turning them did not make any noticeable difference. I remember this Paragon from my childhood, but, again, this is the first time I have been able to play with it.
Any ideas why no bass? (yes, the LF drivers work perfectly and are NOT out of phase!)
Thanks, Alan.:banghead:
It seems my memory isn't so great. I found the unit in a total shambles. Cosmetically, and functionally, it is OK. All drivers are functioning beautifully. Setup, however, was a different story. I found the wiring out of phase, both from the amp to the paragon, and in the crossovers to the drivers. I did all that I could with it given the time and