JBL Paragon
The loudspeaker that is a piece of furniture: almost three metres of walnut with a curved reflector in the middle.
JBL wanted to make a stereo loudspeaker that was a single piece of furniture. The engineer Richard Ranger developed the principle with a curved reflector, and the young industrial designer Arnold Wolf gave it its form.
The Paragon was very expensive and was built by hand in small numbers for more than twenty-five years. It is one of the most sought-after loudspeakers in the world and an example of American modernism in the home.
Materials: Walnut or other fine wood, horns, compression drivers, bass drivers
Manufacture: Made by JBL in California from 1957 to 1983.
The long, low cabinet in fine wood.
The curved panel in the middle that reflects the sound into the room.
The horns and bass drivers in the two ends.