Speakers 10 years old or older that can compete with todays best,

@mikelavigne, mijostyn—

Gotta agree with mijostyn, even though I share Mike’s skepticism regarding DSP. In fact, I learned of a superlative digital (DSD SACD) "reference recording" from a post of Mike’s many months ago: Anna Netrebko’s DGG recital of opera arias called "Sempre Libera." Mike especially called attention to the glass harmonica on several tracks. (Note that this was before the recent scandal involving Ms. Netrebko’s support for Putin, and its consequences for her career.)

Turntables are beautiful technologies (or can be), and I do appreciate the nostalgic thrill of spinning LPs. But privileging vinyl for sound quality is really hard to defend rationally.

@mijostyn

we have already kicked this can around completely. nothing more to say about it. look up our last go around and read my responses.

i have 8000-9000 Lps pressed prior to the late 70’s. and a couple thousand reissues since then without a digital component. then another 2000-3000 with some sort of digital step. not going to add another conversion. plus my Wadax digital would be negatively affected by another conversion. it’s purity sets it apart. no way any conversion would be transparent.

then there is my tape, which is not going to be digitized.

not looking for any consensus.

and never said my room is perfect, it’s only epic.

I went to Lyric HiFi in White Plains, NY in 1981 to buy a pair of DCM Time Windows - the then darling of the audiophile press.  I asked to listen to them and the salesman obliged and I thought they sounded really good.  The salesman then switched to a pair of Mission 770's and I was blown away.  The boomy cabinet resonances of the DCM were gone, and the imaging was incredible, with the double bass palpably 6' behind the speaker and the rest of the musicians placed solidly within the sound field.  Switching back to the DCM, the sound stage collapsed and the muddy bass returned.  I bought the Missions on the spot and still have them today.

@mikelavigne 

The purist and the early adapter. Black and white. 

My room is also epic and I use dipole linear arrays which limit room interaction, ESLs with an order of magnitude less distortion than any dynamic driver.

I digitize my turntable and use digital RIAA correction which is more accurate than any analog circuit. 

I would never buy another tape machine (I am being given an old Nagra for display purposes only) IMHO they all belong in museums next to Edison's cylinder machines. Recording in 24/192 is more accurate with less distortion not to mention that it is far less expensive, no tape and the software is far less expensive. The only reasons I play records is because I have thousands of them and I've been doing it since I was 4 years old.

Black and White. Two entirely different approaches to the same problem, the romantic and the modern. Both are valid for differing reasons. 

It seems DCM Time Windows get the nod for the most commonly appreciated old loudspeaker