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Is new better than old?

I have been looking at upgrading my speakers. I have a budget of around $1,200. There is a plethora of speakers on A’gon and C’list in that range. I did a search of Full Speakers priced between $900 and $1,300 and got a list of over 100 really nice (or not) speakers.

My question is, are the newer speakers in this price range better than the older speakers in this range? Are the newer models with the latest and greatest technology, research and design likely to sound better that a speaker that is 6 or 8 to 12 years old, but when new was twice the price (or more)?

A good example is the 13 year old Vandersteen 3A’s vs two year old Paradigm Studio 60 v4’s. Both of these are around $1,000.

Another example is the Von Schweikert Gen: II at $1,099 vs new ERA D14 at $1,100 (seller says these are half price).

I may not be comparing apples to apples above, but I think you get my point. Is a speaker that cost $4,000 but is 10 – 12 years old better than a two year old speaker that maybe sold for $2,000 when new?

Thanks
ben77059

Showing 1 response by rleff

rleff
1,065 posts
 
Tough call in my opinion especially if you can not listen to or never heard the speaker you are interested in;research and ask questions on audiogon speaker forum may help.I bought dunlavy sc3;s and soundlab m2's from this site using this method.
When you do ask for feedback give as much info as you can like amplifier(s),room size,music tastes,and what you are striving for in your system will help the members answer your post,
I do think your question of money new vs age is one to consider but more important is the speaker you are considering and matching it to your driving source(amp or intregrated) is more important and thats where the members on this site will really help.
So all that said any speakers got you thinking yet?
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