Hey guys, so this is my first post and I still have a lot to learn, but I have a BUNCH of questions for you fine people about a project I really want to do. Sorry this post might be a little long, but theres a lot I want to know! lol

So I am a kid who is living in Brooklyn and pretty much eats sleeps and breaths music. I want the best hi-fi set up I can manage at home, but being young and not super rich, my place is kinda small and durability is paramount when we throw parties.


I really would like to get these plans and make myself a Paragon.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT
Im pretty handy with wood working, and have a pretty good batch of tools I can use at my parents house in jersey. So I have a bunch of questions…


How do those plans look/does anyone know if they are good? If I was to make it would the type of wood make a huge difference? Would using nice plywood have negative effects on sound? It would be good to make it sturdier I was thinking… and to go along with that question, if I did use plywood and it wouldent mess anything up, would covering it in something like this do a ton of harm?
http://samples.wilsonartcontract.com...retro-pop.aspx
I feel like that would look cool and be really easy to clean/ not get scuffed and killed in our busy living room. Im sorry if that’s kinda like sacrilege, but to do this project right im gunna end up spending a lot of money for me (which im TOTTALY down to do) but I really want it to survive its future life.


If I get that far I come to the problem of speakers. Im down to save for a while and get me some old JBL drivers, but im not DEAD set on what was exactly in the paragon, If I could save some cash that way. I want it to sound rad more than I want it to be “vintage correct”.

What would you guys suggest me looking for that will get me the most bang for my buck?
As I understand it im going to need 2 bass drivers, to compression drivers and 2 ring radiators…


Im a guitar player, and as such have some experience with the JBL D130. I was kinda thinking of using a pair of these as the bass drivers, since I still to this day remember how amazing a portable cd-player, tube guitar amp, and single fender 1x15 tone cab with the d130 sounded to me. Yeah it was mono, and yeah the cd player wasn’t the best but there was something magical about it- so much that Id like to try to get d130 in there if you guys didn’t think it would be a horrid idea.


(also as far as I understand the back bell is way bigger on the D130 than whatever was in the paragon, but I was thinking if im building it I could work around that a little.)

as you can probably tell, im not a wizard at hi-fi stuff and know a lot more about guitars and getting them to make sounds than i do about stereo speakers. i just know when i hear good sounds! i also just think the paragon is such a cool design/concept that its worth a little extra hassle...

anyway i am all ears for any insight i can get from a great forum such as this, and thanks for your time/help.



-john