Buying used vs new speakers from a technology perspective


Do you believe a speaker's components like drivers and crossovers can become "outdated" for lack of a better word? For instance say someone is selling a pair of speakers that cost $10k in 2008 for $5k now. Comparing that speaker to a modern day $5k new speaker only looking at driver design/drivers, cabinet construction, crossover components/layout and other materials what kind of technology gap are we looking at? 

Have there been technologies or designs that have come out in the past few years that you couldn't live without after hearing? 

 

 

128x128blue_collar_audio_guy

Yes, they can become outdated, both in the sense that they no longer perform to their original specifications, and that they can be surpassed by newer technology.  And yes, they will eventually require repair or go past that point.  14 years is probably not a problem, but if you keep them long enough, it could be.

No, in the "can't live without" sense.

Speaker makers vary wildly in their development process.  Some build the same speaker for years or even decades.  New models may share little with their predecessors, as years of advancements are incorporated.

OTOH, KEF introduced the Uni-Q concept in 1988, and are on the 13th generation.  Changing driver materials, geometry alterations, dampers, radial reinforcements, waveguides, MAT, and lots and lots of computer modelling have led to a long series of refinements.

That doesn't mean you need to get a new pair of KEFs every couple of years.  It does keep them competitive in a fast-changing world.

@yoyoyaya ,

"There has probably been a bigger improvement in more affordable speakers over the decades as improved materials and techniques from higher end speakers trickles down. The Kef LS50 is a good case in point where the driver technology is much better now than it was than when the Uni-Q was introduced several decades ago."

 

I'd say so too. There's some excellent designs out there for under $2k.

Let's not also forget that $2k might well have been nearer to $1k back in 2008. I can't remember anything as good as speakers like the Q Acoustics Concept 50 back then going for £1k.

On the other hand, speakers like the Harbeth M40 seem to be frozen in price terms. I'm not sure what they cost new back in 2008, but you're unlikely to find one used for under £5k today.

Perhaps we need a depreciation chart for used Hi-Fi like they do with used cars?

No body laughs at you with a vintage or older speaker.  But for a new speaker the question  is "What was the price of your speakers"? 

People might laugh at the sound of your system if you are using vintage speakers. Unless of course they are properly refurbished Quads. I think that more advances have been made in speakers than with any other component type. 

@audition__audio 

 

+1

 

Just thinking of woofers… whole cow… the 12” woofers which produced flabby blotted bass decades ago, have gotten smaller and smaller, longer throw more articulate… fast… talked a thud and differentiated it into individual sounds with refined starts, and detailed decay. The difference is astonishing.