When to replace old drivers?

George:

Good/glad you snagged the EN's as I figured that my "(now)" may have been too subtle.

Have not seen the original Fostex Sigma and/or the later Sigma (168?) that have been discussed for use in the Abby's) on sale for years.

DeKay

They are probably fine (my wide rangers are 50+ years old and still sound good).

However, you might pick up a backup pair as the 166E and the Sigma are now rare and pricy (if you can find them @ all).

Check Ebay (now) for the EN model if you think it will work.

Did you ever try the other drivers (165 something)?

DeKay

George:

There is a "search/notify" function on Ebay that my wife uses for odd/rare items that you may want to look into for replacement drivers.

When I posted my response there were a pair of very low mileage 166en's listed as BIN for around $140/pair, but they seem to have been sold since.

When Terry first introduced the Abby's my wife liked the look and wanted me to purchase a pair, but I balked because I had gone from 300B to 2A3 amps and wasn't comfortable that my 1-2 "usable" watts would be OK (the previous SS rectified 300B amp had plenty of driving power, but it retailed for considerably more than the Bottlehead gear).

Anyway, good luck (plus I'm envious of you recent LTA purchase;-).

DeKay