Classic Hifi

[admin_exported]

Hello folks. I haven't posted on any hifi forums in a very long while due to the arrival of
a couple of kids, which as i'm sure most folks with kids will tell you,
means not much chance of listening to your hifi. But, the sproggs are older now so i've decided to rekindle my love affair with hifi.

Anyway, I have a beautiful pair of Monitor Audio Studio 20SE's that
i've had for a while now and have had both tweeters pushed in by my
kids. Rather than ordering a new pair, I thought i'd pick up an old
pair of 20SEs on ebay and just switch the tweeters. I guessed a pair of
such speakers would go for a couple of hundred quid. Until, that is, I
saw the following...

http://offer.ebay.com.my/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=120423849766

I cannot believe that such a pair of speakers are still worth so
much. Has classic hifi had something of a renaissance, or is it just a
few items that have attracted classic status?

 

[Anonymous]

i have a pair of rogers ls3/5a vintage speakers 1981-82 ,i have never had any
problems with them i still keep going back to them every time i upgrade;
they can sound so right and can still show some other well known stand mounters a thing or two
at playing music, they also sell at silly prices on ebay ,but classic hifi keeps its value very well ..

 

[the record spot]

The 20SEs were very highly regarded in their day and nothing's going to make them bad speakers with just the passing of years. Rather than splash out on a second pair of what will ultimately be unused speakers, have you thought about contacting MA (or a dealer) to get a repair estimate?

 

[Bodfish]

the record spot is spot (sorry...) on. Good kit doesn't go bad with time! Some brands will come and go in the meantime but there will always be companies who have longevity in the market whose products are consistently well regarded and retain their value on the used market well.

Of course, the 20SEs were well regarded and happening to sit on the end of WHF's reference Audiolab system for some years helped too ....

 

[Anonymous]

the record spot:The 20SEs were very highly regarded in their day and nothing's going to make them bad speakers with just the passing of years. Rather than splash out on a second pair of what will ultimately be unused speakers, have you thought about contacting MA (or a dealer) to get a repair estimate?

I did just that a few years ago, my friend, but just never got around to it. I think they quoted about £125 a unit then, so i'm sure it'll be much more now.

It does make me wonder whether it's worth investing in new kit. If old stuff still goes for such decent prices, surely newer kit can't be that much better, can it? I use a Linn Genki and a Roksan Caspian Int and Power amp to multi amp the 20SEs and they used to sound great prior to the tweeter issue. I'd assume that i'd probably have to pay silly money to get a decent return. And then there's the old law of diminishing returns to contend with.....

 

[Anonymous]

baldemort:
It does make me wonder whether it's worth investing in new kit. If old stuff still goes for such decent prices, surely newer kit can't be that much better, can it? I use a Linn Genki and a Roksan Caspian Int and Power amp to multi amp the 20SEs and they used to sound great prior to the tweeter issue. I'd assume that i'd probably have to pay silly money to get a decent return. And then there's the old law of diminishing returns to contend with.....

Speakers that you liked and bought years ago should stay that way. If anything classic loudspeakers tend to improve with age, the only thing to watch out for are the foam/rubber cone surrounds, but even those can be repaired - even on a DIY basis. (and of course cats and little fingers!)