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Buying used: how old is too old?

All,

Considering buying some used speakers from a well established company, e.g., Wilson, Focal, B&W, etc.

Aside from obvious technology updates, do speakers have a shelf life? If so is this measured in overall life, or number of hours played?

I’ve read some reviews that some speakers can really improve with age, no doubt longevity is going to be influenced by speaker drivers. Perhaps paper breaks down before other materials—I don’t know.

Old flagships can be bought for a fraction of their original cost and less than new mid-level speakers. No break in needed! But maybe they would be broken down?

I’m sure there have been numerous threads on this topic, but I didn’t find much in my search and am also interested in any recent experience on the topic.

Would be really interested to hear thoughts, opinions, and experience with this.

Thanks!
w123ale
bikerbw
108 posts
 
Buying used is a good way to buy the dream component you've always wanted but couldn't afford way back when; my problem was that when I revisited those "dream" products later on in life I realized that they weren't as good as what I was listening to today.   A few years used (single digits old?) is a safe bet if the units were taken care of.   Still, age takes its toll on caps and foam surrounds no matter how well they were taken care of, so be wary of anything older than 10 years.
audioman58's avatar
audioman58
4,134 posts
 
Capacitors are the biggest thing when a speaker is over 10 years old the capacitors  dry out and you can replace with far superior xover parts I have been doing for 20 years now .even $$ speakers skimp unless spending big bucks , even then I had the latest ML 
ststs and Xover parts average at best even in the $80k flagship
using cheaper white Mundorf capacitors fo4 $80k they should have at least Mundorfs best supreme gold silver .
not my cup of tea but VH audio Odam caps are top shelf, 
Duelund great but Waay over priced , jupiter, Millflex very good 
best resistor sonicly is Path audio from Poland. If buying used 
for sure strongly consider upgrading your Xover parts it’s the 🧠 
or ❤️ of your speaker 🔈 everything goes through it .keep all original values just  much better quality ,inductors maybe depending on quality.
sokogear
1,095 posts
 
hey @jnovak - I had a pair of Polk's back in the 80s - I think is was floor standing 12B's. I liked the open tweeter on top and I was happy like you for a good while, until I heard speakers with bass.

If you have the $$ get something else, you'll be happy you did. There's a ton of options out there. You don't have to spend a lot of $$ either. I would go the dealer way, and they have closeouts when they change their lines or even drop a color. Then you can expect 40-50% discount. Or they may have a used pair from their clientele with upgraditis that they've stolen them from and are willing to give you some of that benefit.
iopscrl
196 posts
 
There is a reason why vintage JBL, Altec, Klipsch, AR, QUAD, ls3/5a and other speakers still enjoy robust demand (and prices !) today:  They sound GREAT and in some ways are better than what is available today.   The above mentioned brands enjoy excellent aftermarket support.

5yr old speakers are essentially new designs.

10-15yr old speakers are previous generation designs, in most cases.

With speaker 10yr+ old, I would look for surround deterioration, and eventual breakdown of crossover capacitors.  Both are easy to fix.

One issue to consider, is many speakers of the past 30-50yrs used dome tweeters.  The adhesives and suspensions in these tweeters seem to wear more quickly than other drivers.  Treble performance will slowly deteriorate as the driver ages.   


danager's avatar
danager
944 posts
 
I’ve actually heard the MOABs in a home situation and they are not junk. They are big. It’s like having two NBA centers standing in your room (ok I exaggerate maybe NBA power forwards).
What I don’t understand is how come music produced over 50 years ago on equipment that was probably made 60 to 70 years ago is far superior to music produced today but today’s equipment is so far superior to the equipment used back then?
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