How long should high quality speakers last?

Lots of great details and suggestions about cone driver speakers.What about electrostatics?

I own a pair of Ohm Walsh LE 5's that were rebuilt before I bought them. I also own a pair of Martin Logan, Summits which I'm the third owner of and I'm wondering if there's a way yto maintain them that'll extend either the life or the fidelity.

I've heard talk of c leaning and even replacing panels. I'm curious if there is some kind of maintenance for electrostatic speakers in general.

A lot of variables here. A five dollar single driver with a rubber surround speaker should last almost forever. A speaker system is a completely different animal. The Capacitors in the crossover can blow at any time, but cheaper capacitors can be more problematic.

I was selling Klipschorns back in the day,(early 70s), and the printed warranty called for 5 years parts and labor. The unprinted warranty was for life to the original owner. We saw evidence of this on very rare occasions.

I bought my K-horns new in Feb, 1978 and still own them. The cabinets have never been opened up and they sound as wonderful today as they did when I first brought them home.

So I guess it all depends on how good of a speaker you bought in the first place.....

Hopefully a long,long time....

good OP! 

speakers need to check periodically(3..10yr), for: cabinets integrity, internal connections deox, bipolar electrolytic capacitors values, inductors, damping material etc..

simplest test is a slow sweep 10Hz..25kHz, starting at low loudness, then gradually increase volume to the max. you will be surprised to hear resonances and distortions caused by drivers and cabinets (cracks in adhesives, lose panels and components). another discovery will be many resonating objects in the listening room (paintings on the walls, glasses etc).