speaker life

[moves]

How long would a speaker generally last before it sounds like ish?

 

[markw]

They don't wear out. As long as the surrounds don't deteriorate and one doesn't shred the coil by being stupid, they can last indefinitely.

Of course, if you hear another one that you like better, they might sound like ish a week after you bought them.

 

[fmw]

And the surrounds can be replaced for that matter. I think I would underline Mark's second sentence. That's where all the obselesence originates.

 

[Pyrrho]

A speaker can last longer than you. However, some parts may fail over time, such as some foam surrounds "rotting" and sometimes capacitors in the crossovers fail (I had to replace some capacitors in an old pair of speakers that caused there to be no sound from the tweeters). And obviously, something can be damaged, due to physical abuse, like kicking a woofer, or due to excess power being applied to the speaker. But speakers can last a very long time with no issues, some longer than others (as some don't use "rotting" foam for the surrounds, etc.). There is no "expiration date" for speakers generally.

 

[moves]

ok so things can be replaced but how long before this replacing is necessary... approx 10 years or so? In general - assuming it's a high end speaker.

 

[Pyrrho]

ok so things can be replaced but how long before this replacing is necessary... approx 10 years or so? In general - assuming it's a high end speaker.

It all depends on the specific details. The speaker that I replaced capacitors in was made sometime around 1970. I replaced the capacitors in the early 1990's. Later, I sold them to a friend, so I no longer have them. I have had other speakers that old more recently with original parts and they did not need the capacitors replaced. But I have sold them, and now don't own any speakers older than the mid 1970's.

With the surrounds (mostly on woofers), foam surrounds from the 1970's to the early 1990's (at least) often deteriorated after 10-15 years. How long it takes depends on temperature, humidity, and so forth, that the speaker has been exposed to. Supposedly, some of the newer foam surrounds have been specially treated such that they will last indefinitely.

Rubber surrounds and cloth "accordion" surrounds can last indefinitely.

(As an aside, if the speaker is a good one, replacing the foam on the woofers is the best option, as switching out woofers will likely adversely affect the sound, as the crossover was designed for the original woofer, and the cabinet size and porting [if any] were designed with that specific model of woofer in mind.)

In general, if you do not abuse a speaker, nothing should have to be replaced for at least 10 years. Often, it can be much longer than that, and in some cases, it can last a lifetime for you. My oldest speakers, that I currently own, that have not needed anything done to them, are about 30 years old, but that is not at all a record or special case. (And in this case, I am the original owner, so I know absolutely that nothing has had to be done to them.) I have one pair of speakers that are older, that were my father's, and they have had the foam surrounds on the woofers replaced. Having done that, they sound fine.

 

[moves]

Now that is a level 4 reply!

 

[Exit]

I am finding my sepakers last at least 20 years.

I am on my second pair of speakers and I am finding they are lasting at least 20 years. The first ones were EP100s and the others are Cambridge Soundworks Ensemble (20 years old).

 

[Keegan]

Depends on how loud you play them and how big your amp is.

 

[ImcLoud]

Honestly looking at how the new stuff is made I think you should get 30 years out of a set of speakers... My father had a pair for 25 years and they were made with old technology paper cones thin surrounds ect.. My wharfedales are made like tanks, thick surrounds kevlar or some other type of fancy cone material, Im pretty sure these can take a bullet... The biggest thing is long periods of loud volumes, tweeters don't like that... I always tell people if you want something to smash on for hours at a time buy a pair of pro audio speakers and a class d amp, I have a pro audio setup for my outdoor parties that actually sound better than my audiophile system at high volumes and go much louder than my 2.2 can ever go, 5000 watts total between the subs and monitors vs 1200 on my 2.2 system, is a big difference.... I think my wharfedale towers will last forever I only play them around 88db for long periods of time, once and a while Ill play with them and play a song or two loud but for the most part, its just for soft listening...

 

[ElCid79]

My dad had a set of warferdells that he had for over 30 years... I have a set of Klipsch, that I have owned since the 90s... Still sound fantastic...

 

[avengineer]

I have a pair of Advent Loudspeakers from 1972, owned them since then. I've replaced all drivers, tweeters twice each, the most recent woofers have had their foam surrounds replaced twice, once a couple of months ago. They had not been used for about 5 years, and have never been abused. I was going to sell them, but I put them in my HT recently, and listened to them barefoot (no EQ), I gotta say...Holy Crap! Impressive...then you realize they're 41 years old! Guess I've had 'em this long...

I have several Boston Acoustics A40s, re-foamed them all about 5 years ago, they sound like new, all were made in the early 1990s.