Hi, i'm new here because a friend asked me for advice--he wants to buy a Paragon. i'm familiar with horns (here's my daily driver), but not with Paragons (i have heard a few over the years, that's about all). so i would like to pick your brains about what to look for when buying a Paragon. for instance:
- which models are preferable, the older ones with 150-4 woofers, the early/mid 60s models with LE15(A) or even newer ones?
- what are the most important things to check when buying -- is it the cosmetics, since it seems that the components (drivers, networks, etc.) can all be found separately?
- can LE15(A) be reconed with the recone-kits available (i saw some with black surround)? do the woofer magnets need to be re-mag'd?
- were there technological changes to the 375s over the years? if so, how? are newer ones preferred over the older ones or vice versa? (same for the 075 tweeters)
- has the woodwork changed over the years (except for the amp cut-outs)? are there weak spots?
any other hints are welcome!
(my friend wants a fire-and-forget-speaker i.e. one he can set up and enjoy w/o first having to upgrade drivers etc. originality is important but not paramount--if the woofers need to be reconed and/or re-mag'd or if diaphragms need to be replaced--so be it. but he'd rather pay for having this done in the US before buying/shipping because there are not that many JBL experts here in switzerland…)
thank you all for your help and wisdom!