Buying speakers ten or more years old a good idea?

Earlier this year I pulled a pair of Sound Dynamics 300ti's from around the mid 1990s that had been stored (boxed) since 2001, part of that in a garage that got down as low as 36F in winter, and they sounded quite good, pretty much as I remembered them. Surprised me.

Acidfolk,

As you can see, there are many great used speaker options.

As to the amplifier requirements of the Thiel 3.6's and above, I think
Mcloughlin's description of his upgrade path says it all. You can get by with
250 very high quality watts, but more just gets you better results with the
Thiels. Classe is a good match (I used several) but I would also
recommend a tube preamp.

If you're budget is meager, I can recommend an excellent 400-watt
amplifier that can be had for under a grand; the Musical Concepts Hafler
500. It actually beat my old CA-2200. I know somone who has an extra one
should you ever decide to go that direction. It has one of the best midrange
blooms I've ever heard and the Thiels LOVE midrange friendly amps.
Finding the right amp for any speaker you decide to buy will be critical to
getting a satisfying sound.

No bad idea.

Bought my Spendor S100's 23(!) yrs ago and they still sound fantastic!

My B@W Matrix 800 still going strong and sounding great.