Mr_M.....don’t think so, the batteries need to be changed in 2019 also (so marked)... Neither does Richard V. When the batteries exhaust, everything still plays, but with less dynamics, etc....it sounds like the speaker has to be broken in again. The difference is so gradual, you’ll never know there is a difference at all .. After battery replacement, within seconds it sounds pristine...... still sleuthing around.... I send the stuff to Vandersteen a bit before the batteries are due (the written in year that Vandersteen puts on them). Note that battery design has changed in the last years, so lithiums might be in your future. Don’t try to change the batteries yourself....its a ticklish soldering job.