Are modern speakers better than old speakers?


I have a pair of Moraunt Short Signifer speakers, which was their flagship in 1980. Have speakers improved dramtically since then? I would like to know what price bracket one would be in now to outperform these. I like their sound, wonderfull 12inch drivers and a paper mid without surrounds (no rubber/etc) plus a nice ferrofluid filled tweeter, which was relatively new technology at the time I believe. Also I would like to know if it is recommendable to upgrade the crossovers and cabling. Also perhaps bypassing the high frequency level adjustment. Please let me know your thoughts on this.
jaapjess
Sirspeedy, no need to apologize for your enthusiasm for your Avalons. I feel the same way about my Duntech Princess. Good design and build does hold up over time. I think I would need to spend around $20K in today's market for a replacement and even then it could end up being a sideways move.
Pryso,funny you should mention the Duntech Princess.I met a gent at my local LP collecting emporium,who owns that speaker.The guy seemed quite financially well of,but was ecstatic with the performance of the Princess.
I guess he has more cash for new music purchases.-:)
Best
It's hard to say,as my hearing is not the same in all probability. I am a 1952 vintage myself,and probably need to have my woofers refoamed.
tracer
If you're not familiar with the Princess, she is the "little" sister to the Sovereign, the model that received all the notoriety and reviews. I always believed the Princess was scaled more for an average living room - still at 6' tall and 180 pounds, she is not petite. Configuration is five drivers in a 3-way D'Apolito array. The Princess remains in production although with a few minor changes from John Dunlavy's design