Speakers to hang on to for LIFE

I think Ryllau answers his own question about as well it can be done in his 3rd post - audition those from manufacturers who have had the time and the track record to develop and refine proven designs, and who place an emphasis on timbral accuracy, instead of a "house sound" or being "new & improved" every model year. If I were him, that would mean starting with the current Pro-Acs, and branching out from there to auditioning some of the other brands he mentions. As for me, I've only had my Thiels for 4 years, but when I eventually upgrade, I certainly won't leave such a proven (to me) marque out of the mix.

Beowulf - The idea of a monopolar line-source (such as the Wisdom M-75's) fascinates me. Would you address a post to describing the differences in room interaction and placement requirements for this design vs. your old dipolar Maggies? How do these differences affect the way one listens to these speakers as opposed to dipoles or conventional boxes? Thanks for your thoughts.

Jaybo, although I sold the Allison:One/Allison:Three pairing I inherited from my father (which I'd helped him choose as a teenager back in '77, winning out over K-horns by a nose for sound and a mile for livability), as well as previously selling my own less minty used pair of Ones (plus two pairs of CD8's), I think you're right however and would've kept them if I was into collecting vintage speakers and had the space. Although the Ones/Threes can't compete in many of the expected ways compared with today's speakers, I still never hear any designs that can charge a whole room with panoramic energy practically even before the needle drops the way that these did, so effective were their room-loading and driver-disperion concepts. I would've liked to have heard the resurrected reinterpretation of the One from a few years ago before they went extinct again -- the cabinets and crossovers must've been vastly improved -- but to my knowledge those didn't carry over drivers with the same unique diaphragm designs of the originals.

I don't know about hanging on to my current Mordaunt-Short Performance 6's for life, but I do regard their physical form factor as being among the best ever -- a unique modern classic that won't seem dated-looking way beyond what the vast majority of designs manage: a virtual Eames chair of 'box' speakers, a pair of Oakleys among Foster-Grants. (Though I appreciate a fine wood finish as much as the next guy, when these metallic-painted, extruded-foam beauties first came into my listening room, their wholistic, curvy elegance instantly made my beloved Thiels look faintly ridiculous, like clumsy dinosaurish contraptions a few millenia past their extinction date. Just make sure you leave the rudimentary grilles in the cartons. And after a very lengthy break-in and a couple small tweaks, the sound quite nearly lives up to their stunning looks and technology -- which, thanks to Chinese manufacture, already far exceeds their price in typical high-end terms.)