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?

kennymacc

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

I am curious about this. The RIAA pre-emphasis is of course done with analog components; as a result is not the ideal but instead a modified curvy slope. Does the digital version do the curvy thing?

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I first heard the Classic Audio Loudspeaker model T1 at the Triode Show in Philadelphia back in ’98. John Wolff also made a slightly smaller version called the T-3. It was the first speaker I’d heard that really did everything. I had John make me a set of T-3s with the same internal volume as the T-1 (the T-1s were too wide for my room) and I’ve had them ever since. They have been updated with a new crossover, field coils, a 2nd 15" woofer (downfiring) and a beryllium midrange diaphragm With a Kapton surround (which has its first breakup at 35KHz). Most of the updates were 15 years ago. I’ve yet to hear anything to convince me to move on; they do the best job I’ve heard with my reference recordings, which I recorded. 98dB, 16 Ohms, flat to 20Hz.

I think the Sound Labs would have been very satisfactory, but had no way of making them work in my room.

like @cleeds I enjoy my IRS Betas.  Had AR3a, DQ10, Mirage M3 and M1, Aerial 8b (still have them on secondary system) and the Betas which reign supreme.

Big Threshold 12e's on the bass and Manley Snappers on the mid highs!

@ghdprentice

I upgraded my Apogee Duetta II pair with new ribbons, crossovers and internal damping material, and they're better than ever.  I agree they deserve the highest quality associated equipment.  For my asymmetrical listening room and eclectic musical tastes, I don't know of a better speaker made.

For a symmetrical room, I can imagine there may be better speakers, but few cone-type speakers can produce the realistic image size and soundstaging that planar speakers can, and they are probably all very heavy and expensive.  (Although I admire fine wood, I'm OK not paying for it with a speaker.) And the Apogees don't sacrifice much in bass or other areas to achieve their fine soundstaging and imaging.  I don't think I'd want to return to cone speakers for my main system, although I tolerate them in secondary systems.

Depends on quality of said speaker; depends on conditions the speaker lived in over those 25+ years … newer hifi expensive speakers likely better, yes absolutely … the only people that will argue probably think a carburetor & cap/rotor engines get better gas mileage than modern cars … technology always gets better … the fractions or level of differences, perhaps minor.

Too many to name including most panel and Omni speakers. 
However, speaker sonics are progressing at the various price points.