Paper Cones in HiFi?

I have a pair of S.A.P. J-2001 speakers that have two 12" paper cone woofers. While some may view paper cones as "old" technology, that does not mean it is inferior in any way. This speaker also has a horn midrange, but the compression driver has a titanium diaphragm ("new technolog"?). Both the woofers and the midrange utilize old fashion Alnico magnets. I believe the designer utilized what works best, not what is fashionable and current. At about $22k, I don't think the "cheapness" of paper was a consideration.

A friend of mine spends a small fortune collecting as many Western Electric or Altec paper coned drivers (515 or 555 or something like that) as he can get his hands on. The cones are so old they crumble if touched. The sound, however, is very lively and articulate when these drivers are used in his full-range, multi-driver designs.

You can find many examples of current drivers that are very expensive that utilize paper cones--AER, Feastrix, Fostex, and G.I.P. come to mind.  

Scanspeak makes some fairly expensive paper coned woofers.  I don't think they think that paper is crap.  A local dealer that builds its own custom speakers just finished a pair that utilizes 15" paper coned drivers from Scanspeak.  The drivers cost the dealer $2,000 each.  The speaker just came in and the crossover has not been mounted so I haven't heard them playing, but, I will get a chance.  

I don't know what sets the price for this particular driver.  It could be that few units are expected to be sold, so the price of developing the driver is being amortized from fewer expected sales.  I believe it is a newer offering.  It could be a speaker intended to fill a particular niche--vintage speaker designs--and the price might be a reflection of what is available in that arena.  I know people who have spent $5,000 to $20,000 each on vintage woofers.  I cannot tell you what I would pay for a perfectly match pair of 18" Goodman woofers.

The dealer said that it is 95 db/w efficient, so it is not a very high efficiency unit like many vintage woofers.  Still, this would work well with modestly powerful tube amps.