Interesting post. I support two of the points made here, first older speakers probably cannot beat the (best of the) newer speakers, and second, the "best" manufacturers (designers) seem to come out with the designs having the most longevity. I owned ADS L810's for 17 years and wish I hadn't sold them. They were designed (I believe) by Michael Kelly of Aerial fame. I currently have Alon V MkII's (an open baffle MF/HF-enclosed LF design) and really enjoy the detailed, open, yet dynamic sound. Since the basic sound quality is what I like, I plan to keep them and upgrade drivers with Alnico magnet models from Alon. These were designed by Carl Marchisotto, who also designed the Dahlquist DQ20's (mentioned several times on this post), and continues to gain fame with his new Exotica Grand Reference ($125,000)and Lotus Elite Signatures, both also open baffle designs, with lineage to the DQ20's. I know less about the ProAcs, but weren't these mostly designed by the same guy (a Stewart Tyler?). Also Isreal Blume-Coincident and Alan Yun-Silverline, and others. Some guys just know what they are doing.