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How long have you owned your current speakers for.

How long have you owned your current speakers for?

  • 1-6 months

    Votes: 10 10.1%
  • 6-12 months

    Votes: 6 6.1%
  • 1-2 years

    Votes: 7 7.1%
  • 2-5 years

    Votes: 20 20.2%
  • 5-10 years

    Votes: 15 15.2%
  • 10-15 years

    Votes: 11 11.1%
  • 15-20 years

    Votes: 8 8.1%
  • Over 20 years

    Votes: 22 22.2%

  • Total voters
    99

anmpr1

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I think the oldest speakers in my collection would be a pair of these (internet pic) from circa 1971, my father's Empire Royal Grenadier 9000m mk2s. They are the second edition, with a big 15" AlNiCo bass driver and a Philips dome tweeter- different to the mk1s, which used a 15lb ceramic magnet and a different tweeter. They are awaiting a rebuild in their boxes in storage. Tops are Portuguese marble.
How do they sound? The woofer fired downward? I had a friend whose dad had these (or something similar) along with an Empire turntable/cartridge. But I never heard them play.
 

Neddy

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!hah! I bought my (now highly upgraded) JBL L200s in 1973. So...46 years?
That same year I bought my first new car - Datsun 510 for about $2900 (actually leveraged that car loan to buy the JBLs).
At the time, I could just not justify the (much) higher priced new fangled Datsun 240z which was $3700 or so.
The 510 no doubt is a pile of rust dust somewhere, but the L200s still look like new, and the 3 way upgrade, and with 4367 woofs in 'em, sound nearly as good as some M2s a friend has.
Good investment, it turns out.
PS. Have a pair of IN-8s inbound - very curious to compare 'em (305s don't. even. come. close, BTW).
 
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Killingbeans

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Curious to how often we change speakers.

I still use a pair of homemade 3-ways that I built back when I was still too young to be aware of my own stupidity. They must be right around 20 years old by now. They look horrible. And the only thing that stops them from sounding horrible, is the sheer quality of the drivers.

I've been meaning to replace them many times, but never got around to it. Mostly because my living arrangements never have allowed for neither proper placement nor room treatment of any kind. It wouldn't really be worth the effort.

Lately I've been thinking about getting a pair of Technics SB-C700 and call it a day. Seems like some very competent speakers with high WAF as a bonus.

I do however really, really like the sound of PA drivers in a good implementation, and this kit might just become my next endeavor when the time comes:
https://www.lautsprechershop.de/hifi/statement_en.htm
 

Willem

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I bought my first serious speakers in 1976: a pair of Quad ESL57s. I replaced them in 2010 with a pair of Quad 2805s that I intend to be my last speakers. In 2012 I added a B&W PV1d subwoofer. I still have the original ELS57s and they are still in good working order.
I have had a second system in my study from about 1990, using Rogers LS3/5a speakers that I replaced with a pair of Harbeth P3ESRs in 2015. My son now uses the Rogers speakers in his student room.
So in both cases I have stayed with the same kind of speaker, but after quite a few years changed to a more modern and better incarnation.
 

Martin

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I purchased my Von Schweikert VR-4 Gen III HSE about 4 years ago. They are currently between 15 and 18 years old. They will be the last speakers I own barring a windfall.

Martin
 

Midwest Blade

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Quad ESL-57's purchased used from a dealer back in 1987 so about 32 years, System-Audio 1110 and 1105 bookshelf speakers along with a center channel bought in 2000, coming up on 20 years. A couple of years ago I had to give the ESL's a thorough cleaning, repair a torn dust cover and mounted some new legs. Speakers to me are the most important part of the system.
 

RayDunzl

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The MartinLogan reQuests since February 1998

Oldest in the house is a pair of Pilot speakers, sealed 12" with a tweeter of some sort, from about 1961 or so.

1570480362598.png
 

Ron Texas

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I have a pair of PSB Alpha's which were purchased for my son in 2013. They still work but sound terrible.
 

JJB70

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About 30 years for one pair, 3 weeks for another pair and about 3 years for my home office desk top speakers.
 

Triode

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The L100's look really good, I'm curious about the guitar to the left??? You have given me hope for a pair of L112's I acquired from a home where they were not loved.
 

restorer-john

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How do they sound? The woofer fired downward? I had a friend whose dad had these (or something similar) along with an Empire turntable/cartridge. But I never heard them play.

Sealed cabinet, "acoustic lens" (a plastic dome for the crossover), 15" woofer fires downwards 360 degrees, exits through the 1.5" circular grille. Midrange is a proprietary (welded together) edge driven ~3"-3.5" dome and dome tweeter in die cast housing.

I haven't heard them for years since the spiders in the woofers let go and the VCs jumped out of the gaps (!).

The tweeters went scratchy, so I sourced a pile of spares, but the mids are the problem. I need to find a spare pair and rehab them.

As for sound quality, they were phenomenally efficient and had a very nice bottom end for their day, but all other qualities I think were a bit laid back. It's been way too long to comment other than I love them for their style and substance. They were the speaker I grew up listening to in the early 70s, lying on the floor watching the big 15" cone move when Dad played something loud (rarely).

He also has an Empire 398a TT which he's owned from 1969.
 

anmpr1

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!hah! I bought my (now highly upgraded) JBL L200s in 1973. So...46 years?

At the time, I could just not justify the (much) higher priced new fangled Datsun 240z which was $3700 or so.
Your JBL speakers were undoubtedly built better than the Datsun. We had an era 280Z. Beautiful British Racing Green paint that developed crackled spider-webbing after a couple of years. Foam dash cracked and literally disintegrated in the Florida sun. My JBL L100 foam grills lasted longer. Interior white vinyl seats split at the seams and turned yellow. Power radio antenna stopped working. But in the context of mid to late '70s cars, it was better than a lot of them! :confused:
 

anmpr1

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The L100's look really good, I'm curious about the guitar to the left??? You have given me hope for a pair of L112's I acquired from a home where they were not loved.
An Epiphone Les Paul Standard. Fit and finish of the Chinese guitar is exceptional. After a year or so, the electronics started acting up, but you expect that at the price point ($400.00 when I bought it). For less than a few hundred dollars I replaced the switch, pots, and output jack. I installed Seymour-Duncan pickups, which have a more mellow and less grungy sound. Tuners and nut didn't need replacing.

It's pretty easy to finish old JBLs. Just remove the drivers and clean out the inside. You can tell how primitive manufacturing was back then. No internal bracing, very minimalist crossover network, and lots of fiberglass stuffed in willy-nilly for damping. Changing out terminals is easy because the box is so big.

The crossover network with pots (such that it is) screws directly into the front baffle, covered by a glued-on foilcal. You pretty much destroy the foilcal taking it off. But facsimiles made of the same aluminum material can be sourced. You can even get new aftermarket foam grills, but they are expensive.

Original drivers are no longer made, but unless yours are damaged, they tend to last forever. My woofer has never been serviced and works like new. Used drivers are probably OK if bought from a reputable source. Most second hand LE25 tweeters have punched in dust caps, but you can get facsimiles from a couple of the major speaker suppliers. They are said to be built to original JBL specs. I bought two, and can confirm that they are drop-in replacements. As far as I can tell they sound like originals.

The veneer on the cabs is quite serviceable, and can be sanded down, stained and/or lacquered to like-new finish. I used 'JBL Blue' paint for the baffle. JBL used that color on some of their larger monitors. I've seen some old 4311s refurbed in JBL 'Utility Grey' that looked really nice, also.

Some people offer kits to 'upgrade' the crossovers. Said to transform it into a 'better' speaker. All that might be true, but then you don't have an L100/4311, do you? So I never bothered with that, since it wasn't what I was looking for.
 

30 Ounce

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Your JBL speakers were undoubtedly built better than the Datsun. We had an era 280Z. Beautiful British Racing Green paint that developed crackled spider-webbing after a couple of years. Foam dash cracked and literally disintegrated in the Florida sun. My JBL L100 foam grills lasted longer. Interior white vinyl seats split at the seams and turned yellow. Power radio antenna stopped working. But in the context of mid to late '70s cars, it was better than a lot of them! :confused:
Sounds a lot like my 260Z. I’ve had it for 28 years, about the same time I got my Martin Logan CLS 2’s.
AC8B1E4C-ED1C-4EA6-9D41-A005F946381E.jpeg

My dash is perfect though after spending a week rebuilding it.

My current speakers I’ve had since about 2004 B&W Signature 805’s.
 

anmpr1

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Sounds a lot like my 260Z. I’ve had it for 28 years, about the same time I got my Martin Logan CLS 2’s.
View attachment 35424
My dash is perfect though after spending a week rebuilding it.
Very nice. Mine was a similar color, but had a white 'racing' stripe on the bottom of the doors that spelled ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. Brings back memories.

Coming from an MG and Fiat Spider, I found Datsun quality on a totally different plane. Even with all it's cosmetic problems, the drivetrain was very solid. Era MG and FIAT were total garbage. That said, they were much more 'fun' to drive. I thought the 280 was really too heavy, and not as responsive as the Europeans. As long as you didn't mind getting wet when it rained. The MG (and FIAT to a lesser extent) was sort of like driving a four wheel (but under-powered) motorcycle.

I remember an aftermarket cassette/radio (I think it was one of those in-dash Pioneer 'Supertuner' models). With a couple of Infinity car speakers I placed in two wells behind the seats--two utility bins that stored a small jack as I recall.
 

Neddy

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Ah, memory lane!
That is one seriously pretty z car. Congrats!
Hadn't thought of the dash/plastic vs. foam disintegration thing!
The L200 foam grills did outlast the Datsun, but not by much.
Very grateful that Sunofagun still (?) makes replacement grills for them.

Says something about UV barriers and plastics technology since then (Dustin Hoffman got good advice, Mrs. Robinson.)
Never did get to drive a 240z, but was in to roadsters at the time (510 notwithstanding).
Weirdly, I went from TR4A to 510 (rear doors rusted shut from lack of use!) to MGB (I Loved that pudgy little thing - put a LOT of crosscountry miles on it) to 914/6 to Dodge Challenger (all black '70 w/383) to Ford Fiesta 'snow bombers' to vintage Mercs (250C & 450LSC) to...a Honda Truck now!
The one I miss the most was the TR4A - I did a lot of 'midnight barnstorming' in that (worked late shifts then) and for sure handled better than The B. The best built of all of 'em is the Ridgeline G1, by Far.
THe last time I saw a restored TR4A (and MGB) I as shocked at how small they were, and that I actually survived all that time in such tiny cars!

I did extensive mods to the Fiesta audio systems, including JBL drivers (rusted out of course) and then the little Braun L200 mini-speakers on a custom oak rail above/behind the front seats/headrests (!!!), which were removable (via a Cordomatic reel modified for audio use!) for a "picnic use' mode...zzzip!
But the JBLs have held up very well - just recently cracked open one of the compression drivers to inspect for foam rot or diaphragm damage - and it was still pristine in there still!
Of course, they didn't have to survive 60mph attacks into (over, actually) 4' snow drifts, or fly over oncoming traffic after a brake failure (both in Fiestas, which were seriously aggresive in the snow), either!!
Cheers!
 

TLEDDY

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I have some difficulty with the question.

i have stacked Quad 57s - one pair I have owned for over 20 years. I then bought another pair, had both modified and stacked them. I did that about ten years ago.

So... I guess average at 10 years.
 

Ilkless

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About 4 years. Would move them on if I could find a buyer. I want to go active + DSP.
 
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