How long should high quality speakers last?

with maintenance, a lifetime of course

I had a pair of Bose 901s Series 2..there were 50 years old  and all the Woofers rotted...that's 18 speakers to repair or replace. .I don't think so...

I have a single Stephens P-52 woofer with a P-15 horn driver in a late 1940s Stephens cabinet.  Still works well, and is still seeking a companion to make stereo.  Otherwise, in no particular order and still working.....I have JBL C37 (D130 + 075 tweeter), 1950s, Altec 604-8G, 1970s,  Dynaco A-25, 1960s, ADS 400 and 810, 1970s, (400 was refoamed, 810 are butyl), Magnepan 3.6R, early 2000s.  It appears that speakers last a good while.  Crossovers that use electrolytic caps should be updated.  

I have a single Stephens P-52 woofer with a P-15 horn driver in a late 1940s Stephens cabinet.  Still works well, and is still seeking a companion to make stereo.  Otherwise, in no particular order and still working.....I have JBL C37 (D130 + 075 tweeter), 1950s, Altec 604-8G, 1970s,  Dynaco A-25, 1960s, ADS 400 and 810, 1970s, (400 was refoamed, 810 are butyl), Magnepan 3.6R, early 2000s.  It appears that speakers last a good while.  Crossovers that use electrolytic caps should be updated.  

The serial numbers on my Altec 604Cs and on my 604Ds are 1956 and 1958 respectively. I have had them for 45 years.

I rotate them once a year, and have them serviced every 15 years.

The crossovers are Mastering Lab. The caps have been replaced. 

@mkaiser 

Did I say “sound the same as new”? 

I did not. 

However, I obviously would not still be using them if I was not getting anything less than outstanding performance from them. 

The rest of your statement makes no sense to me. 

  Why wouldn't speakers last for a very long time? Apart from replacing the foam surrounds and capacitors, or perhaps re-magnetize the magnets, I haven't and I don't know why you would need to. 

it’s a function of materials used and when they deteriorate. Foam surrounds have a 20 year(?) life. Anyone that recones drivers should be able to answer.

My experiemce….I heva 20 year old thiel 2.4’s that as afar as I can tell sound as good as the did 20 years ago. They were 4500 at the time, which I would call resonanbly high end. Generally their reviews are mostly positive.

Upgrade? I see no reason to, An upgrade would likely be expensive, thus costing me 16k or more. Seems silly and I’d probably be lucky to get away for 16K for the pair,

I had Bill at Great Plains Audio rebuild my Altec Lansing VOT 416-8 woofers two years ago. He reconed them with OEM parts and remagnetized the 2.4 lb alnico magnets. They were rated at 12,000 Gauss when new. If you drive the speakers hard the magnets will demagnetize.. These speakers were from the 50's and I still love their sound and prefer my Altecs to my Theil CS3.5's

When Alnico drivers have partially demagnetized you will notice a difference in efficiency and a noticeable loss in the higher frequencies. An alnico driver in need of recharging sounds kind of dull, and doesn't have as much transient jump. Basically, it sounds dull.

Speaker magnets can be regaussed by Bill at Great Plains Audio in Oklahoma City.

High quality speakers should literally last a lifetime or more provided: (1) the user does not damage them, and (2) they're kept in a suitable environment free from extreme temperatures and moisture (i.e., indoors).  I have a set of Klipschorns that are pushing 50 years of age and they are still performing as expected.

YMMV but I purchased a pair of ADS L810 series2 in 1978. Used them sparingly until about 6 or 7 years ago and passed them down to my little brother. He is still enjoying them today. They have survived many moves but still play like new. All original parts.

Of course, all of these are anecdotal and speaker design, quality and your luck will determine how it turns out.

@unreceivedogma wrote:

Did I say “sound the same as new”? 

I did not. 

However, I obviously would not still be using them if I was not getting anything less than outstanding performance from them. 

It appears the post you were replying to has been deleted, but nonetheless I'd say you would definitely be in your right to claim your vintage speakers sound "like new," also being they have been serviced regularly. Who really, from actual experience, refers to and knows about the sonic difference between more or less brand new, properly run in Altec's and their decades old, well-kept equivalent? Demagnetization of Alnico magnets in particular, as has been touched upon, is really only an issue with excessive heating of the magnet from large voice coils or shock treatment, and any natural degradation of magnets is hardly anything other than academic in nature.

The real takeaway here is that such drivers, even decades old, are so transiently alive, dynamic and natural sounding that many newer, lower efficiency modern drivers seem stale and lifeless by comparison. Speaking of sonic detrimements due to aging here misses not only its relevance but also fails to take into consideration an unbiased assessment of these older designs and their merits.

My uncle has a pair of ADS 1290  that still look and sound good.   Have to be over 40 years old. 

At around the 25 year mark, I started to hear a noise from one of my Von Schweikert VR-4 speakers.  It sounded like it was coming from a tweeter. I checked and the original tweeters were no longer available (I later found some NOS tweeters on eBay). I checked with Madisound and selected a pair of ScanSpeak tweeters.  Installed them and still had the problem. Turns out it was the midrange driver (go figure). An Audax driver that was still in production.  Replaced them and all is good. 

I actually prefer the ScanSpeak tweeters, so I left them in.  These speakers are sitting under covers waiting for my son to have space. 

I'm rocking a 35+ year old pair of KEF 103.2s (butyl surrounds). The previous owner replaced several of the caps in the crossover because they were leaking. So far, so good (they sound fantastic).

My ADS L1590 speakers were purchased new by me in 1984. They still sound wonderful. Unfortunately they haven’t gotten any smaller over the years. About 100 lbs. each. :-(

I also have some small Boston Accoustics speakers from the 90s (one pair was second hand). They still sound fine.

My guess is that aside from abuse it’s the environment that has the biggest impact on longevity. High humidity, temperature extremes, and physical impacts, small children, and so forth probably degrade the drivers and crossovers more than just time and use.

After owning Revel Studios (a very highly regarded loudspeaker in the early 2000s) for more than 20 years, I decided it was time to replace them even though they still worked as well, I think, as when they were new. So, why?

Comparing my Studios with several current state of the art speakers (and employing equipment/cables as similar to what I own as possible), it quickly became apparent to me that 20 years of speaker technology developments had wrought some real improvements in sound reproduction. 

Accordingly, I now own Magico A5 and am enjoying vastly improved clarity, soundstaging, and imaging.

@asvjerry LOL

My DCM Time Frame 2000s date to around 1987 or so.  I have owned them for seven years and the still sound crazy good to me.  Given the relative rarity of the pair I am reluctant to do much work.  It is also the complexity of the design.  Twin transmission lines for the two woofers.  I have seen the TF1000 crossover so this must be much more.  The back panel comes off but it is (no exaggeration) 20 screws.

I also love vintage radios to talk how long a speaker can last.  A 1948 Farnsworth Caperhart 114N2 came into my possession recently.  These were the finest home entertainment you could buy.  In 1948 this model cost 1750.  It had Jensen's 5"/15" coaxial speaker the JHP-52.  It still sounds great to me all things considered with the  cabinet.

I'M GUESSING THAT oops sorry yelling that my ears will deteriorate faster than any other component I own so yay (?) for getting older.  BTW Youtube Bobs Capehart 41e 3 conversion if you want to witness a mechanical marvel.  20 record changer on the  Capehart that could play A/B, all A than B sides and shut itself off after a preset number of plays.

Interesting. I've never thought that speakers would deteriorate over time. I have a pair of TSM MMs that could be 20 years old ( Bought used). They sound just fine to my old ears, but should I doing some "maintenance"?

I have a pair of Snell Type C bought in the mid '80's and a pair of Large Advent Utilities purchased in the late '70s.  Both have had new surrounds installed years ago, cones are still in good shape.  They still pack a punch.  I use a 400 wpc amp with high dynamic headroom on the Snell's. 

If you're not buying them out of the back of a white van legit brands will last as long as we use them within their designed purpose. 

@guscreek ...I remember the DCM TW2Ks'....they lost out to a pair of Infinity's at the time....which lost out later to ESS AMT 1B's....of which the Heil design has sprouted up in variations in quite a few cabinets since....

I've got 4 of them now ( the big Heil's ) with little regard for much else at this juncture and age of the listener.... ;)  

We've all got our preferences....*L*

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). 

From personal experience these kinds of questions only arise when someone is straining to justify a big purchase given the available budget. Sure, money management is a critical life-skill but guess what, life is short and other than passing on generational wealth, live life to your fullest. So the short answer is; loudspeakers last plenty of years-worry about your loved ones and your liver, lungs, and heart before worrying about how long your dang loudspeakers will last.