Buy a pair of ten year old $40,000 speakers for $4,000 or new ones at that price point?


Hi. There are bargains to be had on really high-end components that are more than a few years old. DACs change too much and we need the newer technology. How about speakers? I know it can depend on the specific model but in general is a 10 year old speaker system that was $40,000 in 2009 and now sells for $4,000 a better value than a new system that sells for $4,000 in 2019?  How much has speaker and crossover technology evolved in the past decade or so? (I posted a similar questions about amps in that forum). Thanks for all the input and wisdom.
mcmanus
Any amps or speakers, new or used, sound awesome when you mix with a bottle of vodka. 
If you can get a deal like that and they aren’t messed up take it.  I got a pair of Dynaudio Sapphires limited edition for 10k less than new when they were 10 years old and there wasn’t even a hair on the screens , not a smudge or mark and they sound unbelievable. 
I purchased Escalante Design Fremont Speakers for $3000 that were originally $20,000. They were about 9 years old. There was a little paint chipping which I repaired with matching automotive paint. Not a 90% drop, but a significant savings and better than I think one would find new for $3000. 
The closest I have seen to this is speakers like the $40K Talon Firebird Diamonds that you can now get for $7K or so, maybe less, in perfectly good shape. They are every bit as capable as speakers made today, and will easily outperform speakers that sell for $7K new. Part of the reason they are so cheap is that Talon as a company doesn't exist anymore. If something goes wrong with them, you're on your own.

I recently bought a pair of Gershman Acoustics GAP-828 speakers, which are likely around 10 years old or so. Original list was around $15K, I paid $5K, and they were in perfect shape. One of the Dynaudio Esotec tweeters got a nice big dent while they were being unpacked, and I got in touch with Gershman and they sent me a brand new set. I also bought a set of midrange drivers to keep in reserve. This is why when buying older speakers, I think it really pays to buy from a company that's still around, so you can still get parts. I have one spare tweeter and two spare midranges ready to go just in case, and Gershman still has some of the original woofers left in stock should I ever need one. They can also be upgraded to the final GAP-888 spec ($24K list) for about $3800, which still represents a 66% off deal over new - and they basically would be new at that point since Gershman would put in new crossovers and new woofers as part of the update.

Good luck finding a speaker for $5K that can hit 22Hz like the 828s can, or that uses their "box within a box" construction, arced pyramid shape to reduce standing waves and diffraction, etc.