I've had really good systems and when times were tough, a boom box. The best system I had back in the 70's was a Setton preamp and power amp PS5500 with built in fader mixer & BS5500, a dual mono block, with LR power switches. A pair of ESS AMT 1's, Teac R/R, Sharp Cassette deck with auto search stop & play, and an SL1200 with an AT Shibata stylus. The ESS were ahead of their time and no longer in business today, but their AMT tweeter is being used in many of today's high-end speakers after their patten timed out. Really miss those speakers. Today I have a Pr of Wilson Sabrina's that image like a Mo Fo in 3D sound being driven by a pr of PS Audio Steller M1200's. It's my last system, a Simaudio Moon 350P, PS Audio M1200s, Parasound JC3 Jr, VPI Aries TT w/ Hanna ML low, OPPO BDP-105, Schitt Audio Bitfrost 2/64, Lokius 6 band EQ, Wilson Audio Sabrinas, and an SVS Ultra 16 Subwoofer. I find buying used gets a greater system for the money than new.
Speakers 10 years old or older that can compete with todays best,
I attend High End Audio Shows whenever I get a chance. I also regularly visit several of my local High End Audio parlors, so I get to hear quite a few different speaker brands all the time. And these speakers are also at various price points. Of course, the new speakers with their current technology sound totally incredible. However, I strongly feel that my beloved Revel Salon 2 speakers, which have been around for over ten years, still sound just as good or even better than the vast majority of the newer speakers that I get a chance to hear or audition in todays market. And that goes for speakers at, or well above the Salon 2s price point. I feel that my Revel Salon 2 speakers (especially for the money) are so incredibly outstanding compared to the current speaker offerings of today, that I will probably never part with them. Are there others who feel that your beloved older speakers compare favorably with todays, newfangled, shinny-penny, obscenely expensive models?