older speaker designs


So I haven't really paid attention to hifi for a while for many reasons, but am now looking for new floor standing speakers.
My focus has been on the Revel Performa3 f206 lately for a couple reasons. Good performing speaker, size fits where they will be placed, and spouse approval factor is high as they are good looking speakers.
My concern is this. I think Revel unveiled the f206 back in 2013 or 2014. As the design is now closing in on 10 years old, should that concern me? Is the pace of technology innovation/advancement in speaker design about to make the f206 obsolete? Should I be concerned?
gwb72tii
I agree! It was an excellent speaker then - and remains an excellent speaker today! Plus buying on the used market allows you substantial savings!
I have speakers 70+ years old.. They sound as good as they did new.  In a lot of cases, BETTER... What is suppose to wear out? Surrounds?
The old Co/Ax RED center have cloth surrounds, they will last as long as the cones, 100+ years. Silicone is your friend..

Everything requires maintenance. I don't care who makes it.. I've bought speakers at least 25 times with LOOSE drivers, screws missing.. Sound REAL bad....

Two hours later.. Better than new.. It's always air leaks, whether surrounds or loose drivers.

Why better? I didn't have to break them in.. :-)

Regards
Really good question. Don’t be concerned at all. My answer, however, does not pertain to your prospective f206’s. I know little about them. I am using speakers that I purchased 31 years ago, that I love more than ever because they fit my needs, like the Revels seem to fit yours.

They are 2-way floor-standers with a butyl woofer surround that I think will be in pristine shape forever. In 2009, I had tweeters rebuilt by a guy who bought the factory tooling. My point is that if failures can be repaired (and there are independent repair shops with very talented techs), you could enjoy those speakers for decades and decades.  Unless a future technology obsolete’s everyone’s speakers.  Highly unlikely. I’ve read many times that basic speaker technology has not changed all that much and that the art is in implementation of drivers, XO’s and cabinet.  Of course, the artist is aided by an understanding of  acoustic science and the use of high quality parts.

Fitting your space properly or ideally is very important and not terribly easy to replicate, particularly when tied to WAF. I literally like mine more than ever because with each improvement I make around them, they sound better. Your experience could be the same.  Since 2017, I educated myself on proper room set up, bought a very good integrated amp (then modded it up 2019), in 2018 modded all speaker XO parts, wires and posts, 2020 got better (but not expensive) speaker wires, and just last month finally added a really nice streamer to my system.

Frankly, I’ve always loved the sound signature of my speakers. So much, in fact that I literally have searched episodically for some years to find a speaker that would sound even better to me or be a viable replacement should mine fail and not be repairable (my tweeters are 100% proprietary, made by the company itself).  These auditions have revealed that new designs don’t sound better to me despite a 30 year lapse in time. I will be the first to admit when I find a design that hands mine their hat.  But, it has to fit nicely in my room which brings me back to one of your Revels attributes. I did find a speaker I liked very much, but it was way too big for my narrow room and had side-firing woofers. Audio Physic, Codex. The smaller AP model did not sound good to me (or anyone else at the demo, frankly—including the salesman), and they were $8K and 30 years newer. AP uses top drawer engineering and parts from what I have heard but that model didn’t sing to anyone in the room.
Sorry so long, but I wanted to explain the basis of my view that, as a consumer of audio products, I believe the “technological advances” in speaker-building should give you zero pause. I say “as a consumer” in hopes of preventing anyone who wishes to debate the point of technological progress. I don’t wish to have a debate.

Using better parts in a well-designed product can be hugely beneficial, however. That’s what my mods were about.  Like much better tires on a car you like. But first....you like the car’s performance at factory spec, then you seek to enhance it with some better parts.