Paper Cones in HiFi?

Not true at all. "Paper" tends to denote taking the cheap way out but is in fact a complicated mess of fibers, polymers, resins etc., engineered for light weight (has to react quickly), high rigidity (prevents deformation) and longevity. Paper's been a proven performer for decades - only recently have things like Kevlar and metal cones been introduced, and while they have advantages and disadvantages over paper, they alone do not make a speaker high end by virtue of their properties.

speaker cones made of paper(sometimes from the very same suppliers) are used in hi end and cheapo models. thw same goes for stranded copper wire. life isn't fare.

Those who look inside high end speakers are often surprised by what they see. Not only are the cones sometimes paper, but the entire driver may be elcheapo. Wires too. I hasten to add that not every manufacturer is like this, but more than you would suspect.

What does it mean? Mainly that driver "quality" is more about reliability, and power handling capability, than sound, and the design of the overall speaker system, especially the crossover, is of great importance. Good drivers can sound lousy, and vice versa.

There is paper, and there is paper. Paper is a laminate of wood (mostly) fibers, and can be a very sophisticated product. One wooden product that amazed me when I learned of it is the bullet-shaped nose fairing on the submarine-launched ballistic missiles. It is made out of laminated wood, similar to a rowing shell. (I would have expected fiberglas). It is light weight and very strong: it supports the weight of the entire missile when it is hoisted into the launch tube.

To add my 2 pennies, paper is used because of its lightweight(for fast transcient responses and dynamics)characteristics and ability to minimise sound coloration. Though its starting to finally show its age as there are new materials that will far exceed paper in terms of sound quality,output etc. Titanium alloy being one of them, but you dont see many speakers with titanium cones due to expense to mfg. them. But dont shy away from speakers that use a pulp cone. There are too many great sounding speakers that use them.

Dunlavy used them on all his speakeres including some very expensive ones that recieved rave reviews for their accuracy. He claimed that they rang less and didn't store energy as much as more expensive, high tech alternatives.