Film capacitors, inductors and resistors could last practically forever if not abused. Electrolytics after 20 years.
Assuming you never play it hard what will wear out is the surround and spider, that is, the suspension components. The modern synthetics are a lot better than the textile/cloth based surrounds but still I’d expect they’d be the first to do. Next question is, are they constantly exposed to direct sunlight?
Another risk factor is the cone material itself. Paper drivers can absorb moisture and deteriorate or dry out and crack. Magnesium (untreated) can also be subject to corrosion.
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@erik_squires
I used to run those speakers hard and loud. Quite often at ear bleed. There were times that I was surprised that they did not explode even though they never clipped. We are both older and I may be somewhat wiser and they are in a small listening room, so by my standards, they live a pretty soft life now.
They were never exposed to much sunlight at all, and now they live in the dark. No sunlight.
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. . . @erik_squires , if I remember correctly, B&W claims that the midrange drivers are made of Kevlar & the tweeter of titanium.
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The only problems I've ever had with speakers were tweeters blowing out. It actually happened to me a couple/three times. With my Celestion SL600's and my KLH 17's. I never played my stereo very loudly so I have no trouble blaming the componentry. And then there were several times when ultra-weighty "audiophile" speaker cable pulled my petite mini-monitors off their stands onto the floor. More than once it resulted in speaker cabinet dents & dings. For a while I'd rope speakers to their stands with twine. Now I use Quake Hold Museum Putty.
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@immatthewj I'm sure you are right, I was answering the more generic question the OP posed in the title rather than the parenthetical one.
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In general, a long time… well over 20 years… but, it depends. For instance I had a pair of ESS AMD 1Ds… which had relatively inexpensive woofers with material around the woofers exterior that wore out after about 12 years… similarly my B&W subwoofers needed the cone suspension material replaced after 25 years. The smaller B&W 805 Matrix speakers (in my home theater) sound and are great after 25 years.
I think if you are talking about high end speakers (not ESS AMD 1D… only good, not audiphile) thirty years or more is not unreasonable. But, as in most things, it depends.
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@ghdprentice , as a matter of fact, my speakers are the older 805 Matrixes. I think I've owned them about 25 years.
(I did have to redo the cone suspension on my M&K sub twice in those 30 years.)
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My 35 year old Spendors and 56 year old Quad ESLs still sound excellent.
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My 42 year old Infinity RS-1.5's are still going strong. The woofer and midrange surrounds have been replaced. Otherwise, trouble-free and sounding fantastic...
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There is a very wide range from about 10 years to infinity. With regular dynamic speakers like yours 30 years would be about the norm. Certain types of loudspeakers like modern ESLs can be virtually immortal.
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It depends on the materials used....some can go on for lifetimes. Foam surrounds rot and will need to be replaced usually within 20-25 years. Some caps will also need to be replaced at 20-30 years, others will go much longer. Ferro fluid will dry out in time and need to be replaced in 20-30 years. With some maintenance, many can live on as good as new.
My personal speakers are pushing 33 years old with components that are over 35 years old. The butyl surrounds and kevlar cones are in great shape, as are all the crossover parts. Solder joints all look good. If anything, the well flexed spiders and surrounds work better than ever. Even the paint and cloth grills still look great. The only thing I’ve replaced was ferro fluid in the tweeters.
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Durability and lifetime depends on specific design. I have heard speakers with 70 year old drivers that sound terrific. Paper woofers with pleated fabric surrounds can be quite durable compared to even modern woofers with rubber surrounds. My midrange compression drivers are about 80 years old. Even speakers with surrounds that go bad can be long-lived if you accept that surrounds have to be replaced every twenty years or so.
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i own a set of B&W 801 series 2 with Kevlar cones which were never played very hard never in direct sun light which i purchased way back in 1984 all i have done
is to keep the cabinets oiled so they would not dry out and the dust off the covers with the original brush i received with the speakers, I am using a Krell built
Bass alignment Filter which was designed for that series along with bi-amping and they still sound as good as the day i purchased them.
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Still my Dunlavy’s (bought new) show no signs of age but they are well looked after.
Crossovers are still like new, no electrolytics to worry about, no corrosion or bad joints, internal cabling perfect. Never pushed really hard, but always connected to big amplifiers, rubber surrounds talc powdered every 3 years and cabinets always clean and shiny as new. Keep them or not they should perform nicely for years to come. Still if there is any deterioration in sound due to age i cannot tell but i am not going to replace any part just to find out.
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Have an old pair of Spectrum 208A made in Toledo,Ohio. The firm closed in the 90s. Recently had them re-grilled and re-foamed by a speaker guru outside St. Louis.
Still have the same cross overs ... still surprise me!
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Until a few years ago was listening to a 40 year old pair of Vandersteens, then traded them for a 30 year old pair of Vandersteens.
No longer own them either.
Both sounded and performed as new.
Who knows when they might "wear out"?
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Purchased a pair of Yamaha NS1000M speakers in 1980 and foolishly sold then 34 years latter. Still looked and played perfectly. Never had a issue with them during that time.
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In 1972 when my wife and I were both in college we bought a pair of Bose 901 Series 1, the ones with the drivers having corrugated surrounds. Now half a century later the speakers are still going strong in our son's basement party room. The chintzy little equalizer long since bit the dirt and was replaced by an after market equalizer.
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Loudspeaker materials usually don't last forever but it's hard to wear out most speakers.
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@mijostyn: You are saying that "modern ESLs can be virtually immortal" but as far as I know at least the Martin Logan panels are said to have a limited life expectancy?! I never understood why. Electrostatic headphones can last many decades...
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Speaker enclosures can wear out as well. Veneers can loosen, hardwoods can warp. Proper, rugged woodworking should see them last decades, however. Foam surrounds deteriorate over time, though newer types (from the last two decades or so) last somewhat longer, depending on their specific implementation. Not only direct sunlight and certain atmospherics can be their enemy over time, but also prodigious excursion. The cone and surround material that has stood the test for the longest time are paper cone variants and cloth surrounds. Paper cones, even older ones, usually have been given a moisture-repellent treatment, certainly pro units that can see use in harsh, outdoor conditions, and cloth surrounds - be they treated or not - last close to forever in fairly stable environments. Indeed, pro drivers are typically built like tanks. Put them at use in domestic environments and they're cruising along without being thermally or mechanically challenged, while sitting in relatively stable indoor humidity and temperature conditions. Rubber surrounds, even modern varieties, can become inflexible and crack, while other (butyl) variants last decades without issues. Rubber surrounds can be treated to remain flexible. Compression drivers run like forever. Some ESL's are very durable, though newer Quad's have a history of depressing failure rate, also being quite sensitive to the environment where they're used. Overall, it would seem the best way to ensure longevity of the mechanical parts in speakers is frequent use over the years, while generally avoiding driving them to their limits.
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The life expectancy of electrostatic panels depend on the specific models and operating conditions. The Martin Logan panels do not arc and they do not develop holes in the diaphragm from arcing. In that respect the panels are MUCH more durable than are the panels on Quad speakers. However, the Martin Logan panels can be susceptible to to the wires that bring the charge to the panels corroding at the point where the wires attach to the panel. I know someone who suffered from this problem because he stored his speakers in a garage that gets quite humid in the summer. Owners in humid Southeast Asian countries also have reported similar problems with Martin Logan panels. Otherwise, the Martin Logan panels seem to be quite long-lived.
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Had Royd Doublets for over 20 years, a friend has had them for 10, I would still love to get them back.
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Think you are OK with the B&W for now+++ as they used good poly caps and wirewound resistors in their crossovers (you have already addressed the driver materials used).
How did you end up with good rectifier tubes for the Cary preamp?
DeKay
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@dekay , thanks for asking. Well, I went on a used 5AR4 buying binge of sorts --a UK Amperex, a Holland Amperex, and a Hitachi/(Matsushita?); and I have a Gold Lion I bought prior to that and the original Sovtec, so if nothing else, (given my age) I hopefully have a life time supply.
But of the three used tubes I bought I have only got around to running the UK Amperex, and I am liking the way everything is sounding for me right now.
But the thing is, I had the Gold Lion in before I put the UK Amperex in, and I thought it sound good with that and I never felt any sense of sonic revelation when I swapped it out. And the same applies to the Sovtec that I swapped out.
I hate to say it, but maybe I don't have the ears for this.
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I have a pair of Thiel CS 3.7s from 2011 that should last forever, i take really good care of them no sun light and the drivers are all aluminum.
Might only upgrade the crossovers one day with top of the line Mundorf caps.
I already upgraded the binding posts with Mudorf versions.
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My Acoustic Research AR-9 from 1979 still sound great all original parts
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Depends a lot on the usage and the environment. A lot of my gear that has always been in the house and under climate control has lasted 37+ years so far with only minor service, not due simply to age. A few caps in amps and some speaker drivers have been replaced, but very few issues. Some items that were kept in the garage did not fare as well. Foam coming apart, cabinets deteriorating, oxidation on the electronics internals, etc. I have friends that bought cheaper stuff and it was a total loss in a few years. Hard to say how long they last but buying good quality helps things last longer.
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Matthew:
The old production 5ar4's were a good investment (get them while you can).
I purchased the remaining stock of the Benji Frank eyeglass frames I wear (90% off closeout) and they are now unobtainable @ any price.
Though they are durable frames I'm down to 9 out of 11 pairs (hard on glasses).
DeKay
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@dekay , I remember you mentioning that back when I was inquiring about 5AR4s. I am hoping that I am not as hard on rectifier tubes as you are on glasses.
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I own a set of DQ 10's. Bought them from an electrical engineer. They are still 100% original as far as I can tell with the exception of a re-foam He told me they were never driven hard. His wife wasn't too fond of them. They sound fabulous. Crossover looks original with the yellow DQ caps....
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Eric gave a good technical answer above (and i agree). For some practical data points, i'll venture that i had a pair of Boston A40s in the basement where the surrounds turned to dust with minimal use an 10-12 years - fast. One of my main pairs of speakers still in use, went into use in roughly 1994 and is played daily to this day - and appears every bit as good as the day i got them. They happen to have MB quart drivers with poly surrounds. i do expect that how hard they are played, temperature, humidity and light all come into play as well. but its kinda liek solid state electronics - aside from the electrolytic capacitors - their life is "nearly forever"
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Ask a guitar player who owns an original "tweed" Fender amp from 1954 or so.
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I have the same question regarding my now almost 25-year-old Platinum Audio Solo speakers. For several years I've been thinking of replacing them with something new, but only because of their age. They still sound terrific.
The speakers were designed to be played with the grills on and I admit I never bothered to remove them until last year (you have to pry them off). The drivers look as if they were brand new.
I wish I knew the quality of the crossover parts, but I suspect the crossover was well built considering most of the rear panel of the speaker is a heat sink.
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@jimijam good for you, however, I did read this blurb on a site selling replacement polycaps for the AR-9 (I have a set and plan on opening them up to see which capacitors were used. Mine are circa 1982, so I don’t know if they might be Callins or Sprague, but I’ll find out).
Blurb: "Do you need these capacitors? Twenty years ago, when we began servicing these speakers, there didn’t appear to be any need. However, perhaps ten years ago, we began to find capacitors manufactured by Callins Inc. installed in other AR speakers that were way out of spec. That created concern for the AR 9 and AR 90 speakers and we began finding them in these also. In recent years, customers have been requesting this kit for their speakers, particularly needing them for the tweeter section.
However, even though some larger Callins capacitors may be found in the woofer crossover section, the impact does not appear to be as great. Now, if you have a late production pair of these speakers and find your capacitors to be manufactured by Sprague Electric, there is no need to replace them. We have never found a Sprague Electric capacitor to be out of spec."
Apparently the worry is that an out of spec capacitor could cause you to blow your tweeters by feeding more power to them than you think you are, tweeters that can’t be easily replaced, if at all.
I did have the surrounds on my drivers replaced 15 years ago with butyl ones that should last "forever", but was dumb and didn’t document the crossover components back then.
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My early 90s NHT 2.5s and 1.5s have been great over all these years but I somehow had a surround 'rot' on a 1.3 speaker, not sure why; the other 1.3 was/is fine still. My 1996 ML SL3 electrostatics with 10" woofers still sound great in my home theater.
I've got early B&W DM301s? 30+ years sounding fine as well. My brother's mid 90s Thiel 2.3s sounded superb two years ago when I last heard them.
I do think well made speakers, taken care of, will last quite a long time. More recent ones have the benefit of better engineered materials (if appropriate for the design).
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After reading the answers I will never worry about speaker longevity.
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Good. Just make sure you keep them away from running water 😃. Actually, some manufacturers cite maintaining medium ranges of humidity as a way to ensure long speaker life. Sounds reasonable to me.
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50 year old ESL57’s
45 year old Cornwalls’s
50 year old Dynaco A25’s
All still working just fine :)
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The ears usually wear out before the speakers do. Given some sonic degradation over time, it is likely so gradual to even be noticed, if at all, or subject to the “used to it” effect. Playing or swapping out will produce sonic differences. Is the result an actual improvement? Only your hairdresser knows for sure. Exhibit A, most of this forum is dedicated to sonic perceptions 🙃
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Totem Acoustic Speakers are made to last a lifetime. In addition they are designed to sound identical in any part of the world they are domiciled. They are absent of any wool or Acoustic filling that breaks down over time.
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@immatthewj
Good question!
Other than the driver surrounds crumbling, I have never had a speaker “Wear out” I have upgraded crossovers because it was an upgrade, not because of any other reasons.
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@immatthewj
Correction, I did have to replace a tweeter, but that was probably my fault. 😀
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I had to have the foam surrounds of my WATT/Puppy Puppies replaced after about 20 years.
Long time ago, I blew out the midrange of a Rectilinear III Highboy doing stereo wars in a dorm. Duh.
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Gradient 1.3 speakers still playing them after 27 years. I been thinking about buying a new pair of speakers, like the Raven celesti speaker ,any opinions , I know they have 45 day trial, Like do they sound very clear on top, like horns .I have read 2 Audiogon reviews and pt audio, and Steve Huff. My speaker are not box speakers, If this helps ,thanks,,,
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I have 30 year old Legacy Focus and Signature III speakers in my listening rooms and two pairs of 1970s/1980s speakers (one being ADS L620) for my TVs and had to replace only one, non-butyl surround on my Sig IIIs (bottom woofer). They play better than new. Truly, speakers can last one’s lifetime. In storage-Dynacos 25, 35 and 50 speakers-perfect condition.
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On my circa 1982 AR-9, the smaller sheets of diffraction limiting flat acoustic panels around the tweeters and midrange drivers turned to a messy dust and need to be replaced. (These are panel around the drivers that fit inside a larger, thicker acoustic foam that has not deteriorated), not the "surrounds" that are attached to the drivers). Fortunately, I think I've found some materials that are similar and self-adhesive and will use those. Looking forward to getting another 10 to 30 years use out of these babies before I kick the bucket and they get passed on to my nephew or they end up in a yard sale for $50...Sadly, I could see that happening.
Yes, modern speakers should sound "better" but to tell the truth, I LOVE my old AR-9. I would only consider replacing them with something similar like the Arendal 1723 THX or maybe the lower end Polk R700 depending on my budget and 401K in this inflationary, regressive economy.
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Maybe 'wear out' is the wrong word. I don't think speakers are like jeans. Jeans wear out from use. I think the fatigue life of most of the parts of a speaker are going to be vanishingly high. You could probably play most speakers 24/7 at moderate volume or a decade or more. This is not true if you play them at super high volumes.
How long does it take a speaker to degrade is perhaps more accurate. Environmental considerations like pollutants and ozone in the home might cause plastics and organic materials to degrade. I suppose it depends on the environment. Oil filled parts may dry out.
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I will let you know when I wear out a pair.
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