Speakers to hang on to for LIFE

If your switching speakers every 6 months your either very wealthy which is cool, Maybe something is wrong with your equipment that your not aware of yet. There maybe something wrong with your acoustics. After you see past the illusions that go along with installing new speakers, the "honeymoon phase" I call it, you see the flaws that where glossed over. But then ask yourself are you listening to music or just to the equipment? Maybe the problem is elsewhere.

But to answer your question, I have owned KLH Model-Nines for 42 yrs.

If everyone hand on the same speaker for life. We would listening music just like the Flintstone on TV.
Speaker is technology and they sound better everyday. Speaker to hand on to for life for me is none.

There are many reasons folks hang onto speakers for life. Money is a huge thing. Just because there are advances in tech, often the gains aren't worth the price of admission. Also, the speakers are only as good as the system and room they are in. I have seen way too many folks change just to change and often they aren't happy with the changes. I have been around hi end audio since 1969 or so. I have had to take a few breaks as I wasn't able to be around it as much when I was in the Navy on ships away from land for a year at a time (other than three day port calls in third world countries). Then I was away from it for a few years due to kids and work. I recently came back and am playing some catch up, I have seen bigger advances in digital to where I can listen to it and enjoy it. I also see a huge change in some SS amps. I finally heard a SS amp I can live with (Ayre) and was able to get it. It made my vintage Proac Super Towers sound very good. I never realized it had the bass it has as I ran tubes.

The one thing I've heard that has changed over the last decade is that everything seems to be more 'revealing' or 'detailed' , but so much emotion has been lost in many products I've listened to. It's like we have the ability to now get more detailed, but only a few products allow the emotion of live to come through.

What is the true lifespan of a speaker? It depends on the person as Beewax posted. For him it's none, but for many they are fine with what they have. Tha'ts what makes this hobby so much fun.

I've owned a pair of Apogee Stages since 1991.
Others that have tried and failed to succeed them; Bose 901 v5 stacked with either Bose crossover, or a Heathkit AD-1702 and REL Storm Sub (I still don't get it), Braun L810, ADS, Mission, NHT, Dynaudio, Bud Fried Signatures, Ohm C2 (4-Quad), Canton, Polk SDA, KEF 104, Pioneer CS-99A (4-Quad)

I nearly got the Stages they lacked bass and I didnt like them with the integrated sub bases they sold with them. The Apogees will sound so much better than any of the speakers you mentioned as long as you are using proper amplification. What are you running them with? I venture to say that if you upgraded your electronics, your stages will absolutely sing. The high powered Krells really controlled them. I also heard them with top of the line AR tubed gear and again, they sang. That was a great speaker. My buddy sold them up in Providence back in the day.