Reasonable lifespan of a loudspeaker?

My Cornwall II are approximately 34 years old. The caps have been replaced (Erse). The drivers are in good condition, the cabs are solid, veneer good and I think they sound excellent. How long will they last?



Could the answer be as long as replacement parts can be had? So far its just been caps...

 

My Klipschorns have been going since the eighties. The only thing done was the replacement of all internal speaker wire. I might consider new crossovers in the future but have no intention of changing them and I’m building a whole new system around them.

 

My Elipson 1313's are about the same age. Bought them in '85 or '86 I think. Still sound great and have never had the caps done on them. Had the woofers (which are internally mounted and upward firing-they are a 3 way system with very low frequencies exiting the front port) rebuilt about 10 years ago, if I remember correctly, and the tech told me I would never have to rebuilt them again. He gave them a clean bill of health, said that the spiders, etc. all looked perfect.

Changed the relatively cheap binding posts out on them as well many years ago with Eichmann cable pods and have some Herbie's footers between the bases and the custom granite bases I had cut for them. Also did some custom marble tops on them as well. The veneer is still in very nice condition.

They sound fabulous and I still (perhaps I'm biased) like the look of them and feel they've aged rather well. I think I'd have to go to something in the $2K Canadian used range to significantly better them. So they stay.

 

I have mid-to late 80's Celestions that haven't been touched. They still sound fabulous to me today. I have early 90's NHT SuperZeroes and same thing.

 

New Cornwall IV would cost me more than $5K US...

 

My HeathKit AS101 speakers (Altec Valencia clones in nice cabinets) were made around 1971. Crossover upgrades is all they needed. They use Altec drivers, if not abused I think they may last dam near forever. The horn diaphragms will someday fatigue an crack, I replaced them when I got them about 5 years ago because they were do.
The 15" cast frame woofers? With dope treated cloth surrounds that are still good 50 years later I'm not sure if they have an expiration date.
Original Altec drivers and the predecessor, Western Electric drivers go for huge money if in great shape. Not for display purposes but to be put to use. Were talking stuff from the 30's, 40's and 50's here. Quality component never seem to give up.

BillWojo

 

60 yrs + "if not abused".

 

So my "Corns" are middle aged like me!

 

The crossover parts should last a long time as long as there's no electrolytic caps, the driver's themselves should be good for decades as long as people aren't running them too hard. I'd say 30-60 years depending on the speaker and how it's used.

 

A good speaker should last 50 years or longer.

 

Compression drivers like those in your Cornwalls will likely outlast you if the speakers are not abused.

 

My Dahlquist DQ10s are from early 80s. Original owner had woofers refoamed in 2000.
I got them in ‘05 had it done again in 2019 along w/ crossover recap. They sing again.

 

All youngsters so far........earlier this week I saw a khorn from the late 1940's that Audio Classics has that is still operational.

 

Never ever have I heard of people who had to service their loudspeakers, apart from foam that had to be replaced for example. A quality speaker that hasn't been abused can last a long, very long time.

 

I've had my speakers, Ruarks, since 1998, I think. I haven't noticed any deterioration.

 

My AR-9's are between 39 and 43 years old. I just had them recapped and replaced the tweeters. As long as I don't go crazy can drive then into heavy clipping I imagine they could conceivably, at my age, outlast me.

 

The" corns" on my feet are middle aged.

 

well these are around 60 years old so....
ALTEC LANSING VINTAGE VOICE OF THE THEATRE A4 | eBay

 

I've seen cases where the surround material around the driver deteriorates over time and needs to be replaced. There are companies that can replace this and make the drivers as good as new. This is great news if you have classic speakers where the individual woofer/mid/tweeters are no longer available.

 

I have Mission bookshelf and floorstanders that are 30+ yrs old - not used much these days. The Rega RS5'S are 10 yrs old. All still sound OK. Odd tweeter or driver replaced on Missions after lively party activity. Am home demoing a pair of Tannoy Eatons next week - they will have to last the rest of my days!

 

1985 ADS 1290 Series II...Still Singing today as when new!

 

Speaker failures usually come in the form of rotted surrounds, dried-up ferrofluid in tweeters and burnt voicecoils. Sometimes a driver suspension will begin to sag and allow the voicecoil to rub the pole or top-plate.

Caps in the crossovers can last one’s lifetime contrary to popular myth.

 

The oldest pair of speakers I've ever owned was a pair of pre lawsuit James Lansing d130's. The lawsuit I believe was 1947 so these predated that. They still worked fine without any issues.

 

I'm listening to my college speakers from '95 and they're perfectly fine - NHT SuperOne.

 

My University 312s from 1963 are still working fine, untouched.

My EPi 100Ws from the '60s are terrific, although I've replaced the woofers and the crossover caps...which leaves the tweeters as original.

Which leaves my office pair, DLK Modular Ones. Mid '70s, I think? Just dandy.