How long do speakers last?

[bunglefish]

I recently gave the Vicar a pair of 36 year old Castle Richmond speakers and he loves them.

He tells me he has bass for the first time!

My brother in laws 30+ AR 7 speakers fell in a heap a couple of years ago but emergency surgery by Wilmslow Audio brought them back to life with new bass drive units.

My Rogers LS7ti are going strong after 28 years, fairing better than the Quad 33 /405 used to drive them, which is on its last legs

 

[noogle]

How many speakers have they produced that have a frequency response from 15hz to 23khz, a nominal impedance of 16 ohms, efficiency of over 100db/2.83v/1m along with the good sound quality that you'd expect from such specifications?

Don't know which speaker you're referring to, but at a guess it's one of these:

Altec Model 15
Bozak Concert Grand
Bozak Symphony
Celestion Ditton 66
EV Sentry III
EV Sentry IV
Ferrograph S1
Goodmans Magisters
JBL L100
Klipsch Cornwall
Klipsch La Scala
Urei 813

If it's producing output down to 15Hz at -3dB then you're probably talking about a 500 litre cabinet, which isn't a practical proposition for most people's living rooms.

 

[Anonymous]

Looked up some on that list noogle. Would fit nicely in a bedroom set-up as they would double up as wardrobes. Still not cheap either considering their age. Would love to give some of them a try.

 

[lindsayt]

Rmutt, the Goodmans Magisters on that list sell for £185. The rest of the speakers on that list can be had for less than £1000. There are plenty of other vintage speakers that are worth seeking out, but which tend to be more expensive:

Altec Model 19

Altec Valencia

Altec VOTT

EV Patrician

JBL 44xx and 43xx series - eg 4435

JBL L300

Klangfilm - various models and drivers

Klipschorn

Klipsch Jubilee

Pioneer Exclusive

Tannoy dual concentrics

Vitavox - various models

noogle the speakers that I was refering to were the EV Patrician 800's. These have a 725 litre cabinet. On the practicality front, they were designed to be used in corners or against the wall. The walls were used as an extension of the speaker cabinet. This means that the front of these speakers would be 70cm's from the rear wall. There are many modern multi thousand pound speakers, including Naim Ovator s400's that work best when positioned away from walls. This means that they intrude further into the room than the Patricians. Also on the practicality front, speakers like the Patricians are relatively child proof. They can run into them without knocking them over. There are no exposed domes or dust caps for them to push in with curious fingers.

The advantages that you tend to get with modern multi thousand pound speakers is a slimmer, more fashionable looking box. You also get a guarantee if you buy new.

 

[noogle]

I think the sheer physical presence of speakers this big is what most people would object to. They may have been OK in large 60s/70s American living rooms but I don't think they're practical over here. I also think there are a few other issues:

* Availability
* Auditioning opportunity
* Shipping something so big and heavy
* Second-hand condition - likely to be less than pristine at this age
* Appearance/styling
* Spares/servicing
* Need big rooms to "breath"
* High-frequency "beaming" from horns giving narrow sweet-spot
* Inherent lack of stiffness of large cabinets compared to small cabinets
* Edge diffraction from wide baffles causing radiation of secondary sources that affect the on-axis sound
* Limited resale market

Would still be interested to hear the Patrician 800s with their 30" bass drivers though!

 

[Anonymous]

I Have Had My Yamaha NS1000 Speakers.....These Are The Much Rarer Ebony/Dark Brown Speakers Only Issued With Brown Grills- Since 1978.....i am driving them since 1992 With 2 BRIDGED Adcom GFA-555II Power Amps Producing 600W per channel 20-20k.

They Have NEVER gone wrong in 33 years.

I am 55 and bought them from Peter Merrick At UNILET New Malden.

 

[Anonymous]

Our experience of loudspeaker problems is that foam edged bass/mid units tend to perish after 10 or so years. Plastic coned speakers, such as Bextrene, like in older BBC monitors, can be o.k. but if exposed to light over many years, ie; used without grilles, they can become brittle and crack-especially near the edge surround. Some speaker crossovers that use electrolytic capacitors can need replacement as they dry out internally. However, generally speaking, a good design can last many years and if used sensibly will continue to do so.

 

[Olli1324]

I know I'm a bit late but my Dad has a pair of Studio 1as running in his lounge which must be pushing some 20 odd years now. Aesthetics aside (which I actually quite like!), they sound far better than they have any right to. Someone earlier on in the thread said you couldn't beat them for less than £3000 and whilst I have never heard such expensive speakers, I think he is on the right track.

 

[dannycanham]

There is massive variance in how long a speaker lasts.

The speaker may destroy itself:

The glue may react and corrode the rubber. The new exotic material for the cones may turn out to perish over time. You can get chemical reactions anywhere.

The environment may destroy the speaker:

Again reactions between the speaker and moisture in the air, light, air quality such as living near an industrial environment or close to the sea. The rubber may stiffen, the glue may weaken. The properties of the speaker change with temperature too.

Using the speaker and not using the speaker may destroy the speaker:

You have moving parts and build quality per speaker will never be 100% identical. The moving parts may not react well to a year in a single position, they may not react well to signals that wouldn't be classed as an in range oscillating wave. Moving mechanical parts are not know to last forever no matter how much care they receive.

Visibly checking for signs of reactions in the materials should be minimising any risk, but there will always be some risk.

 

[visionary]

My Tannoy dual-concentrics must be about 1980 vintage and are still in daily use and still receive compliments about their sound quality.

conversely a pair of Acoustic Research AR7s of a similar age disintegrated and had to be put down

 

[Anonymous]

My EPOS ES14s are over 20 years old and still going fine. I would think that direct sunlight drying out the flexible cone surround is the worst offender assuming the speakers have not been abused.