Originally Posted by hkval

About 40 years ago one of my friends had the Paragon and another friend had the JBL Olympus with the SR7 system inside. Both were played through Macs and, if I remember correctly, they were the C28 and Mc2205. The Paragon was a physical masterpiece and the modern design was way ahead of its time. It was very impressive but I thought a bit harsh and the soundstage was limited by today's standards. Otherwise, the physical presence and potential volume levels would knock your socks off. I preferred the sound of the Olympus because of the size of the presentation and the flexibility of placement of the speakers. The Olympus sound was powerful with impressive bass but could become harsh after listening at high levels. At that time, the Olympus was the speaker I lusted for but could never afford. Each of those speakers could withstand incredible decible levels but the human ear would weaken first. Today, the great speakers disappear in the room but when listening to the JBL I found myself focusing more on the speaker itself. If I had a second room, I would not turn down ownership of either of these nostalgic speakers. Just the conversations inspired would make them worth owning.