Can a vintage piece over 40 years old be Highend

My opinion is that the short answer is yes. I have listened to the Braun L-810 loudspeaker since the 70's and in many respects (IMHO) they compete well with good quality gear manufactured recently. The Braun L-810's were the prototype/model for the ADS speaker of the same designation. However, I remember the dealer at the time telling me that the drivers in the Brauns were superior to those in the ADS (I certainly do recall the price was significantly higher). The drivers truly are exceptional. Easily heard as superior to 2 very well known similarly sized higher-fi speakers of recent vintage, which actually sounded quite good themselves. The downside: not the last word in bottom octave extension, and their physical appearance (plain white box with aluminum grill) doesn't have the highest WAF factor ever achieved. This is a sincere evaluation of a product I've used happily for many, many years. However, in the interest in full disclosure I'll state that I'll be selling both my pairs of L-810s here on Audiogon soon, as I recently took delivery of a pair of Silverline Boleros. Thanks to all participants, Happy New Year, and good listening.

the age dont really matter it's how the gear was built to begin with,i actually prefer vintage speakers over most newer model's,i think speaker builder's/designer's have lost their way in the last 20 year's or so.

Bought some small Electro-voice spks. for my dad which were made in the 60's and I was suprised to hear how good they sounded. The ADS L-500's from the 70's are a fantastic 2-way spk. I remember the Braun loudspeakers. Sold audio equip. many yrs. ago and I remember the Braun's were superb sounding.

Humm, Quad ESL57's and 63's can be some of the most pleasing speakers I've ever hear when used within their limitations. I guess that makes them high-end, even by todays standards.

Enjoy,

TIC

If it was designed well to begin with (as my HK 730 was), upgrading the caps, transistors and wiring with high quality parts is something many reputable techs do. An LP12 feeds the Hk. There's nothing I've heard recently (that didn't cost a bazillion dollars) I'd trade it for. So much of the "accurate" sound is also dry, analytical and unmusical. Color me vintage.