Buying speakers ten or more years old a good idea?

I hardly think that speaker technology is advancing such that ten year old speakers are necessarily inferior to newer models. There are MANY older designs that are terrific sounding and it is really more a matter of personal taste than technical advancement that will determine what is best.

The only concern with age is the matter of some speakers deteriorating with time. The use of rapidly deteriorating foam type surrounds on woofer and midrange cones is no longer common, so chances are that something ten years old will have lots of life left.

My current speakers are a little over ten years old and I have no concern over their age. The woofers use old fashion pleated paper surrounds--a construction that is known to endure for many decades. I recently bought a "new" midrange driver to replace that which came with my speakers. My best guess on its date of manufacture is somewhere around 1939. This is the best sounding midrange I've heard of any type; so much for technological advances.

I think you answered the question yourself, Larryi. It can be a very very good idea if the surrounds are in good shape. Unless I miss my guess, that's the only part of a speaker that can "wear out". Crossovers can be upgraded w higher quality capacitors and resistors, ditto w binding posts and wiring. But if not abused, the drivers should never wear out. Of course, I'm talking dynamic drivers, not panels or plasma tweeters (not sure about ribbons). If a pair of speakers sounds good w your amp, really should not matter what they cost.

My current speakers were first purchased in 1993, I am the second owner. They perform exceptionally well with my more modern components. The only issue I've had was a blown tweeter due to operator error, long story. I was able to source the part from the manufacturers.

If I was going to purchase older equipment, I would look into component replacement parts availability.

Good Luck

You can pick up used Thiel 5i's, 3.6's and 7.2's for ridiculously low prices now and those speakers can outperform any number of new speakers. I'm sure others know of similar makes and models. There are some real classics out there that are well worth a purchase. Only problem is that some, like the Thiels, need a high quality front end to perform optimally.