All things suffer from entropy and degrade with time. E-statics are one of the more fragile designs in loudspeakers. The panels are plastic the electrical parts that energize the panels all break down a bit faster than in conventional dynamic designs they also attract dust another longevity killer they can arc causing burns in diaphragms and stators. If you want a timeless loudspeaker that can last generations look into horns. I have horn speakers from the 1940s that still meet the specs and work wonderfully. Or plan on repairs from time to time and enjoy your panels.
Electrostatic Speakers Vs. Horn/component Tweeter
I’m curious… when a horn or tweeter goes bad, it’s clearly obvious. The driver is shot and the audio sounds clipped and distorted. Electrostatic however, have massive surface areas and use static electricity to vibrate the material…. So when an electrostatic speaker goes bad, what actually happens to cause it to go bad, and does it go bad like a tweeter, where it goes from sounding fine to sounding like crap in a split second? Or will an electrostatic speaker slowly decay over time, so you don’t notice it initially, and then one day, it just doesn’t sound as good as you remember it sounding? If an electrostatic speaker goes bad, what causes it? Is it torn material? Is it something where you can replace a single small part? Or do you typically have to replace the entire panel?
I’ve come across plenty of blown regular speakers in my life, but never a blown (if that’s even possible) electrostatic speaker.