My biggest concern about older speakers has been availability of replacement parts/drivers. I have seen multiple pairs of gen 1 Revel Salons with a blown rear tweeter for sale. Have also seen people hunting the used market for that same replacement tweeter as you can't get it from Harman anymore.
Owning the speakers you dreamed of 20 years ago
Does speaker technology really change that much? As I'm listening to my Klipsch Heresy's in a bedroom setup, I decided to look up to see what $3k or so could buy me today used and was shocked to see the speakers I used to drool over, when I was done looking at the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition ;), were available for a quarter or less of the money.
Revel Ultima
Sonus Faber
JM Lab Mezzo
And more, are all available to buy used.
Seriously these were speakers I would daydream about. How do they sound today compared to a speaker that you would spend $3k on new or even a few years old? How could these $10k speakers from a time I can still remember, really sound like a $3k speaker? My Klipsch's remind me that speakers even older and cheaper are irreplaceable to me, so why wouldn't I spend $3k for one of my old heroes?
What am I missing here?
Revel Ultima
Sonus Faber
JM Lab Mezzo
And more, are all available to buy used.
Seriously these were speakers I would daydream about. How do they sound today compared to a speaker that you would spend $3k on new or even a few years old? How could these $10k speakers from a time I can still remember, really sound like a $3k speaker? My Klipsch's remind me that speakers even older and cheaper are irreplaceable to me, so why wouldn't I spend $3k for one of my old heroes?
What am I missing here?
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- 76 posts total
^ You just got to dig a little and you can find the Replacement tweeter, I'd be much more worried about the Mid range and Woofers. https://www.scan-speak.dk/product/d2904-980000/ Good Listening Peter |
I think where speaker technology has really improved in the last 20 years is the performance available in lower cost examples. I’ve been stunned by the sound quality offered by some inexpensive speakers recently. Now, what about the more expensive speakers? My opinion is it’s far less as dramatic an improvement over expensive speakers of 20 years ago. I used to own JM Lab Mini Utopias and like you I would love to hear the Mezzo’s today. |
Funny thread, I sold the speakers I dreamed of 20 years ago and technology has advanced so much the ones I have now are better than anything else I've heard even though costing less than the 20 years ago ones. Even less still in inflation adjusted dollars. How's anyone seriously think today's speakers aren't vastly improved in all that time? Good one. Chortle. Snort. |
Contrary to most here, the speakers I dreamed of owning 20+ years ago now look like junk to me. Well, that’s a bit of exaggeration but the fact is they don’t appeal to me anymore. It’s more to the looks than sound quality. I recall reading about the JM Labs Mezzo Utopia in the hifi magazines when they were launched. I could only dream of owning it as during that time it was way out of my budget. Looking at it now, they look out of date and ugly, and although I can afford them now they don’t appeal to me anymore. I usually don’t look at hifi that doesn’t look good to me. Sound quality is another matter. The current Utopia range looks great though. Also, it is worth considering that most old speakers would have gone through some deterioration. The drivers and internal parts etc. have life span. Depending on the design of the speakers, the rubber around the drivers may harden with time, and foam used as padding inside the speakers may deteriorate to tiny bits and pieces through time. The foam inside my B&W CDM 1SE decayed as tiny bits flew out from the front port when music was playing. I eventually got the replacement foam installed. The speaker was about 10 to 15 years old when the foam showed deterioration. |
- 76 posts total