Speakers to hang on to for LIFE

I'm still using JBL L212s I bought in '79. But I built new crossovers, Couple-Charged, the same type of crossovers used in JBL's top of the line Everest and K2 models. That design keeps the caps operating in class A mode. Also added spikes to the bases, which didn't exist back then.
But I also have the latest generation of the L212, the Performance Series PT800s, that I use in the HT, and expect to use them for many years also.

apogees. i still have mine, even though i haven't hooked them up for over 6 years now (room too small).

Sonus Faber Guarneri Mementos

OK, so I don't pretend to know the answer to this question, but I can say that I'm a HUGE audiophile, but I'm also someone of limited $$ means, and I have a pair of Boston Acoustics A40s which I love and probably will never sell or give away. They were CHEAP and you can still get them for a good price, but they were also just plain good. So...I can only suggest you play around and find what works for you, then keep them for a while and see how you like them over time. (Note I also have a pair of Vandersteen 1cs which I'll also keep...)

The short answer is there is no one speaker nor system that works for one person for any length of time, so don't bother to seek perfection. Your tasttes are likely to change over time, so you will likely want to shift your system over time, and as far as I am concerned, that's just fine. That's the whole point of audiophilia.

For me, life is a trip of trying different things and focusing on what my current loves are. Try a bunch of options and get rid of what doesn't work for you at any point in time. If planar speaks or some ESLs work for you, try them and hang onto them while you try other options. I'll be trying planars soon I hope, and expect to hang onto them for a long time. Meanwhile take notes about what you like and don't like. Once again, note that I dont' have a ton of $$, yet I get a HUGE kick ouf of trying out different audio optons. Get it?

Carl

I was working one of my first "real" jobs and had bought a pair of Bose 901 series IIIs which I thought sounded great but had a super low amp wattage limit. I had a Pioneer SX-1250 at the time and was worried constantly that they'd get fried so I boxed them back up after a week and traded them back to Pacific Stereo for the JBLs. The 901s had been sort of my consolation-prize-to-myself for finally accepting that I wasn't gonna be able to swing the Infinity QLS 1s that I wanted (and still want!) not to mention the extra amp(s)they'd have needed. Anyway...I was initially disappointed with the trade. The L-65s sounded somehow "plain" compared with the Bose 901s but, as the days passed, it slowly began to dawn on me that they were somehow more listenable and they dovetailed much better with the wide variety of music I liked. Many years (and audio components!) have passed now and I've never been able to part with these speakers. Except for having to have them re-foamed a few years back, They've never had any problems. I've auditioned tons and tons of fancier speakers but have never run across any that I thought would fit my lifestyle any better than my L-65s enough to justify the extra expenditure. ...but if anyone knows of somebody's rich uncle seeking a starving artist to donate a pair of mint condition Infinity QLS 1s with commensurate amplifiers to...............lol!