vintage versus modern speakers

I note that the OP indicated a budget of $1500. My suggestion is that he go to the Audiogon home page, click on "speakers" on the left side of the page, then click on "continue to all speakers listings" on the right side of the page, and then in the "narrow by price" boxes on the left side of the page enter a min price of $1000 and a max of $2000. That search presently returns 147 listings. I suggest looking through those listings, picking out several speakers that strike your fancy, and asking for comments on those specific models.

My guess is that the sweet spot in that price range for price vs. perfomance, together with minimal condition-related risk, will generally be speakers that were made between about 1990 and 2010.

Regards,
-- Al

Seconding Larry's characteristically excellent post, there are reasons that Western Electric speaker drivers from the 1930's command astonishing prices these days. And it's not just rarity, although that is certainly a factor. Or that Tannoy speaker drivers from the 1940's, 50's, and 60's can go for the better part of $10K. Or that many present day audiophiles build their systems around the 1950's Quad electrostatic.

It's possible to get both great sound and poor sound with both recent speakers and vintage speakers. My suggestion to the OP, as stated on 2-8-15, was that in his price range the price vs. performance sweet spot, also factoring in condition-related risk, is likely to fall in between.

Regards,
-- Al