Just how long are good speakers supposed to last?

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I’ve been cranking these Bose 501’s for exactly 31 years. If I do my part and pump enough watts through them they still do a very admirable job, especially the cannons and church bells in the 1812 Overture. :D


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Not sure. But I have 12 (maybe more) JBLs from back when they made some decent stuff that are still handling whatever I throw at them.

2 pair L1s, 1 pair L3s, 2 pair L5s and 2 PSW-1200s. Made in the early 90s, so coming up on 30 years.
 
Good question. I have a pair of B&W DM1600s that I bought in Reno ~1988 and they sound as good today as they did then.

Have had plenty of cheaper speakers (and a few more expensive) that have come and gone since then, though.
 
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501 is a dang good speaker. If the woofer surrounds are foam, they will likely need to be replaced every 20 years or so when they rot out. I'm another vintage hi-fi fan: I've got JBL 4311 WX-A, two pair of Large Advent Walnuts, a pair of AR4x, and right now, I'm using a pair of JBL Decade 26 in my den being pushed by a restored Kenwood Model 9g. All stalwarts of upper consumer-grade 1970s wonderfulness... a good bit of it acquired for free, some restoration required. :D. And Yes I can hear (and enjoy) the difference. :)
 
You know they were fine until you said something. :D

I too am an old school audiophile. I need to dig out stuff that's gotten lost in storage. I was a big mod'er. Modified Dynaco and Harmon Kardon amps. Once modified a Belgium made Magnavox CD player that out performed a $1500 Counterpoint CD player in a side by side test. It was in a custom listen room at an audio dealer with a tube amps and B&W 301's.
 
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The paper in the speaker cone will rot eventually even if the surround isn't foam, and if they aren't played often enough the voice coils will stick in place. But kept indoors and exercised every few years they should last decades.

Plenty of churches have speakers from the 1970's hanging around.

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I have a pair of quasar speakers I bought in Brasil about 1978. These were super sweet back then. I've replaced the mids and tweeters because of toting them around and breaking the bulbs, for what, fourty years. The woofers are solid as a rock.

ALSO! I replaced the passive crossovers in the speakers with a tri-amped active crossover setup. Holy cow, the difference is night and day dialing in the frequency range.
 
The surrounds on any speaker can "rot" and need to be replaced. Also, the capacitors in the crossovers will degrade over time. They can be replaced as well. There used to be a shop in Raleigh called Creative Acoustics that did this kind of work. Not sure if they are still around. Replacement speakers (the metal basket with cone, surround, motor assembly (magnet, voice coil and spider)) are sometimes available on line and or from the mfr cheaper than they can be repaired.
 
The surrounds on any speaker can "rot" and need to be replaced. Also, the capacitors in the crossovers will degrade over time. They can be replaced as well. There used to be a shop in Raleigh called Creative Acoustics that did this kind of work. Not sure if they are still around. Replacement speakers (the metal basket with cone, surround, motor assembly (magnet, voice coil and spider)) are sometimes available on line and or from the mfr cheaper than they can be repaired.
I worked for Creative Acoustics when I was in college. Did plenty of new speakers myself, but we had a guy for rebuilding. I've forgotten his name now, but he was an old school audio geek with a house full of old stereo setups.

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I have a set of PSB Silver Stratus which are going on 22 years. They are powered by an Aragon 4004 amp which is even older than the speakers. The main source is still a Rotel CD 990 HDCD player. The PSBs still handle the 400 Watts @ 4 ohms with no issues. I did have to repair one of the foam surrounds at one time because as @jimmyjames8 said the foam will rot out. This reminds me I need to replace the grill fabric. Speakers and equipment will last a long time but older setups do not always get the best out of newer all digital formats because of the way they have been engineered and mixed for compressed formats. I used to swap out audio equipment a lot searching for the perfect combo.

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Nothing to contribute, but this thread sure brings back the days of Stereophile and Absolute Sound. Dream system was (to have been) some Aerial Acoustics towers (like their current 7T) driven by a McCormack DNA-225 amplifier.

Instead, still driving my Cambridge Soundworks via an Adcom GFA-535.
 
Nothing to contribute, but this thread sure brings back the days of Stereophile and Absolute Sound. Dream system was (to have been) some Aerial Acoustics towers (like their current 7T) driven by a McCormack DNA-225 amplifier.

Instead, still driving my Cambridge Soundworks via an Adcom GFA-535.

Adcom stuff was a very solid choice back in the day. They were like a gateway drug to super high end stuff. When I lived in VA there was a high end stereo shop in Falls Church that sold new and used equipment. If you bought stuff there used could trade it in within 6 months and get full credit toward something else. It was a great way to move up the food chain and try lots of combinations to get a particular sound. One day I will redo my system but will keep the old stuff and and use it in a 2 channel CD and turntable listening room.
 
JBL 777s bought in Sigonella (circa1972) are Still in heavy use by my son daily.

Saw a whole lot of Ozzie!
 
I've had a lotta speakers over the years including 3 different sets of Magnepans. I have Aerial 7B's in a stereo system. 5's in a surround sound system with the 5 center and a Vandy sub. Never kept a speaker long enough to wear it out. Help friends build and or repair/recone a lot of speakers. Wired Creative Acoustics big wood shop back in the late 70's early 80's. Cant remember when exactly.
 
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