Speaker Longevity
Cam -- Fri, 07/09/2010 - 23:18
How long do speakers last before their performance begins to deminish significantly?
I'm a big fan of expanding the financial reach of my audio spend where possible by investing in good condition used equipment. I'm less concerned about solid state amplification in terms of longevity, as I assume a good solid state amp will provide years and years of good performance but speakers, with their moving parts, I'm more concerned about. If I can get a 3-4 year old used (but current model) speaker for about 1/2 the retail price, is it worth the savings? How many more years of optimal performance can I expect to get out of, for example, a 4 year old pair of ProAc Response D38s?
Thanks in advance for your input!
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I think that a 50% discont in a actual issue is, in general, a (very) good deal. The case that You mention, the D38s, applys perfectly. I'm only affraid of buying used sources/players. Check out the ProAc carefully. Listen them loud. Look for different sounds/noises. Pay attention to the units, specialy tweeters. If it's all ok, your done.
PS: You can always ask for some warranty.
I recently dug out a pair of KLH model 17s and hooked them up. I must have bought them (new) in ther late 60s or early 70s. They sound fine - much better than I would have thought. Good enough for occqsional use. I also have a pair of BIC Formula 6s which have been used continuously with my main tv. These are excellent speakers and work very, very well. They were bought new in 1971.
Jack D II
If a four-year-old speaker has no signs of physical abuse and has not been abused through excessively high volumes from an under-powered amplifier it shouldn't have any performance degradation whatsoever.
How do you know it hasn't been abused by a clipping amplifier?
You can't tell though visual inspection (except in extreme cases), only by listening.
Steven Stone
Contributor to The Absolute Sound, EnjoytheMusic.com, Vintage Guitar Magazine, and other fine publications
Thanks for your feedback folks!
Steven and Ricardo, what types of sounds/noises should I listen for to make sure the speaker is in OK condition? Having never heard a model of speaker before, would it be obvious if there are issues?
Cheers,
Cam
Scraping, popping, blatting, static noise, spurious cabinet noise are all possible sounds from a damaged speaker.
The ProAc brand has long been known for robust monitors that are often used in recording studios as well as audiophile home systems. No speaker is bulletproof, but the ProAcs are well above average in their ability to handle power without damage. But again, the only way to tell anything meaningful about a speaker is to listen to it.
Steven Stone
Contributor to The Absolute Sound, EnjoytheMusic.com, Vintage Guitar Magazine, and other fine publications
Steven said it all. You must use some very familiar CDs, and look for the stange / unexpected. Take a few CDs that You know very well, with diferent kinds of music, one being piano (because piano can give you almost all the frequences, and if something strange appears You'll know it right away)
Thanks for your advice gentlemen!
Cam