Speakers to hang on to for LIFE


After 9 years with my Proac Response 3s, I recently decided to change speakers. As you can tell, I'm not an upgrade fever patient. I want something I can live with for years & I think the best advice I'm gonna get will be from those who have & are still living with their speakers for an extended period of time. Please tell me why too. Thanks.Bob.
ryllau
Hands down...JBL L100. I purchased mine new in 1977 and they still work and look like new. The drivers are "bullet proof" and will without-a-doubt out-live me. The woofers used accordian surrounds that will never need reconing...a big plus. The magnets on the drivers are huge and handle anything I throw at em. The walnut cabinets are timeless and I rub them down a couple times a year with Old Gold polish and the finish looks beautiful. I currently have a Proton D1200 Dual Mono Power Amp run through a Nakamichi CA-7A Pre Amp that pushes upwards of 500 watts and the 100's never blink. And for the purists...no they are not the most accurate speakers out there....but I don't give a damn...CSN, Hendrix, The Who, etc... never intended the music they made to be "accurate". I am currently listening to Todd Rundgrens's Something/Anything? on CD and the 100,s reproduce it to perfection. I read somewhere that if produced today, the 100's would cost approx. $4,000.00. A true bargain.
I had Polk Monitor 10 for ten years. That was my third upgrade. Now I upgraded to B&W Matrix 802s3. Probably keep them for the next 10 years. Just trying to upgrade the home theater to all Matrix speakers. Then Just upgrade the 'tronics. Click on system for the rest.
~~~~Had folded horns, jbl's, Infinity RS2, RS1, and RS1b. It's a tie between the RS1 and the RS1b. They will do what you ask as they disappear from the room. Detailed, authoritive bottom end, and the highs always show you a new part of the music you had not noticed before. Never get tired of listening to them. Always magical! Everyone who hears them for the first time gets the same look on their face. Mouth open, eyes bugged out, head tilted to the side in amazement, motioning with their arms in various directions. When they finally speak it's "Whoa, where did you get, WOW this is, did you hear that, ... They never fail to take me on a new adventure.

Just The Facts
BY
I am still using a pair of JBL L-50's that I purchased used in about 1979. I think they were 5 years old when I bought them. I have been totally satisfied with them and my old (1978) Onkyo reciever until about a year ago when I began thinking about an upgrade. Obviously I am not an upgrade nut, but I think something about those speakers made me hold off much longer than I should have. I just didn't see the need to get anything else. After doing some reading and listening the last year I can see how far behind I have fallen in the audio world and I am excited about upgrading. I will however miss those old JBL's, that have survived 6 moves and four states with me, when I finally let them go. I wont have the room to keep them- so they will go, but they should get an award for their years of service. MB
Hang on to for life, that could be a long haul.I tend to keep the speakers that I can't recoupe my money from unless I sell them cheap. Makes them easier to keep and use in another area and with great benefit.
Room is my only issue I have found revisting a speaker I thought was not great actually sounded better with other front ends that came into my ownership.So they became "new"
over and over.
Your point was more about a set of loudspeakers in the same system long term ,I can see that,so far Every speaker I have had and have sound different.This quandry makes me like most of them for one reason or another.What I will add is that many people are into the hobby for hobbies sake but not so much for music.Let me say guilty as charged(hand up waving).To really get to know audio and music We have must ease up on the hobby aspect and tilt toward more listening sessions.
See if you subtract the time you use to afford,research,
shop,compare,break-in,system tweak,then our time here is short,really.People tend to get the most bang from thier 1st autos,more memories adventures,excitement with later aquisitions becoming more expensive and more statement then
practical,emotion and wallet playing a larger role.
Every speaker tends to have its own sound,I like many out there,can't own them all so your point is very valid.
Some take longer to figure it that way I suppose.
I put one old small set under eaves of house they have lasted several years there so far saved me laying out $ for new outdoor ones.Others run in less used systems but which carry certain strengths.