Can you live with your current speaker until you die?


http://http//media.slrclub.com/1809/10/s07CCj42dv666msrqgf.jpg

http://http//stereotimes.com/images/dst_01a.gif


Yes I can!

In my 40 years of history I had gone through around 15 speakers including

ADS, Altec Lansing, Thiel, Canton, Apogee Duetta Signature(10years), BMW 801, Avalon Ascent, Wilson Audio Watt and Puppy6.



I settled at Pacific Northwest area located just midway between Seattle and Vancouver BC around 6 years ago.

It has a nice western view of Bay and Pacific Ocean with 2 acres lot.

I could play music loud during midnight with no problem to my neighbors as long as I close the windows.


With vaulted big space, my Lansche 4.1 speakers makes a beautiful voice out of classical, Jazz or even new age music.

http://stereotimes.com/speak112410.shtml



I had been living with the speaker since 2007.

I do not claim that Lansche 4.1 is the best speaker in the world.

But with clean and pristine treble out of plasma tweeters and pretty good bass out of 2 10 inch driven by internal active amplifier and high efficiency (99db spec, but I believe it to be around 93db), it is hard to find better speaker with overall merit for my house.


The only catch is that it can stop working since it is an active speaker( plasma tweeter and active bass unit).

But I keep having good communication with Henry Dien of Lansche Audio who upgraded plasma tweeters twice at reasonable cost.

I can happily live with Lansche 4.1 speakers at my present house for my life unless serious health issues happen to either me or my speakers.

How about you gentlemen and ladies?

Had any one of you found the speaker for your life?


128x128shkong78
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I may upgrade the front end including amplifiers from time to time but I will keep my speaker as long as it works.
Without question, my custom built Tannoy HPD 315-based (12" Dual Concentric drivers, ca 1975, external custom crossovers, 192 lb. 150 liter enclosures) will be the ones to carry me to the end of my days. After eight years, they still have an ability to astonish me. Yep, they will last until long after I'm gone, and my sons will gladly give them a new home (who gets them is still undetermined, but they grew up listening to my first pair), and who knows, my granddaughter or grandson may use them some day.

Regards,
Dan
Thanks Dan for your detailed story.

I hope that your grandchildren can enjoy your speaker in the future too.

Thomas
Thank you, Thomas. From what I've read about Lansche, you have very good reason to be more than satisfied in the long run, or, for that matter, right now.

Enjoy,
Dan
Thanks Dan

I had Apogee Duetta Signature for 10 years.

But it seems that Lansche 4.1 is better than that.

The only problem is that it is out of reach with most people.

Sometimes, used one come out at deep discount.

regards

Thomas
I think I'll be very happy going into my latter years with my current speakers. My very modest system suits me perfectly. Of course, that's a bit easier to say with 3 pairs of speakers in storage to swap in/out when the mood strikes.
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 @viridian when she starts collecting mono recordings that will be your clue.....
Ha Ha

Viridian

You may never know who will survive whom between you and your wife.!
Never believe an audiophile who says he can live with a speaker until he dies...until he dies.

Before then, we know what happens.    ;-)

In my case, I know myself: it's exceedingly unlikely that I will use only the same pair of speakers for the rest of my life.  

Though, that's not to say I might not KEEP a pair of speakers around for a very long time.  I still have my Thiel 02 speakers I acquired in the early 90's that I haul out sometimes.  I don't ever seen getting rid of them.

My current Thiel 2.7s are such great all-round speakers and something of a "unicorn" in terms of my finding them (very rare on the used market, and this pair in particular in the ebony finish that makes them ultra-rare), that I can not see myself selling them.   They are so good, they allow me to enjoy music so reliably, I would keep them as a "just in case" speaker no matter what else I buy so I don't regret selling them.


To  prof1

You have a relevant point.

it is easier to keep it forever but not that likely to use it until you die.

I had used Thiel for 3 years about 30 years ago.

But I sold it when I need to move across the Continent.


How can I go wring with yams NS2000s. Ive tons of others but since I bought the yamahas to replace the ns1000s. Iver never looked at another speaker to buy. 
The Thiel 02 ledgendary inespensive two way that got music right !!!
brother still has his....
Lets see I started in 1975. KLH, DQ 10's, Merlins, Magnepan 3.3, Apogge Duetta, Meadowlarks, Accoustic Zen, Magepans 1.7 with bass woffer, Teckons, Spatials, My currant speakers are Quad 2905 and Totem Element Metals. Who knows about next year.
To cjaronica

I used to use Apogee Duetta which is one of my favorite speakers.

After going through around 15 speakers, now I am ready to settle on Lansche 4.1.

I will keep updating front end and amplifiers from time to time, but not the speakers.


Legacy Focus SE's with Ascend Acoustics Raal  Sierra 2s as surrounds,

I believe I can 

Lansche/Ypsilon and Kharma/Lamm or Wavac are some of those great duos.
As for me, I never think along the lines you suggested. Life is full of surprises.
I also liked the sound of Kharma speaker with ceramic drivers.

But I settled on Lansche fascinated by its plasma tweeter.
I have diapason adamantes in one system and mc rl-21s in the other. I love both of these monitors. Set for life, probably not. 
The best I can say is that I’m not looking at speakers now. I’m only looking at upgrading the hardware. 
Recently upgraded to Vandersteen 3a Signatures. I know many speakers do more and better, but for me this is as good as it needs to get.........If I die next week, color me happy........not about the dying part, the speakers. :)
i put the last boat....” the last boat” on the market today......life changes

roll with it or get rolled.....
Life changes and rolls.

But I am afraid of being disappointed after changing the speakers.

I had auditioned many big ones in Audio Show, but I was not convinced to change mine.

It is a money saving strategy to audition more expensive possible upgrade speakers at shows. As they all sound horrible there, you go
home satisfied with what you have. The industry needs to rethink the 
"Show" mentality as it shows most wares at their worst.
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+1 @viridianWho has seen tomorrow. Enjoy whatever you have today and make the most of it.
I enjoyed reading your post @shkong78. Yes I have definitely found my life-speaker. Funnily enough I too got through 15 speakers to get there. The difference being I did it in 15 months rather than 40 years! I recount the experience here: https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/a-brief-review-of-15-high-end-speakers-on-home-demo-including...

Interestingly, like yourself, I ended up with a Central European (Swiss in this instance) semi-active speaker in the Boenicke W13. The active sealed bass driver is a revelation: that ability to deliver exactly tuned, correctly-phased bass to the room, yet keep the character of your chosen amp for everything above 105Hz, seems the perfect combination. I am surprised more speaker designers have not gone that path. The Boenicke don’t have the interesting tweeter of the Lansche but they do have an interesting wooden mid-range cone which sounds amazing. And a rear-firing tweeter which I think helps them sound so airy and spacious.

I very much enjoyed listening to the Lansche speakers at the Munich hi-end show last year - a great choice sir.

@duckworp

Thanks a lot for your compliment on my speaker.

You had gone through 15 speakers in 15 months.

Unbelievable!

I agree with you on the advantage of active subwoofer.

Martin Logan is having success mating planar with active subwoofer.


If Lansce speaker dies before me, then I may go to Martin Logan.
YES! oh yes after 30 yrs. Does that mean we're married?
They're dynamic, clear, image well, large enough sound stage, transparent.They're Apogee Calipers.Curious though, what made you live with the Duettas for so long?
Does the plasma tweeter respond to different power cords and/or power conditioners ? That Lanshe/Ypsilon set-up that I mentioned had Stage III cables and power cords and HB power distribution device. I heard the tweeter normally needs to be replaced every 7000 hours or so.
By the way, there is Lansche 3.1 for sale here for $13k and Ypsilon power amp for about the same. Or Kharma Exquisite for $24k. Very different speakers, which one is right ? Probably both. The plasma tweeter is thought by some to be incomparable, Lansche speaker is built around it. But for high energy and large scale music I would take big Kharma. It could be the last speaker to have, sure.
You can go for Kharma Exquisite at a valuation point.

Lansche 3.1 is a small one to play classical music,

Also, you can go for Evolution Audio MM2

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis952a1-evolution-acoustics-mm-2-speakers-mint-customer-trade-in-...

You do not need to rush into buying amplifiers.

There are many good ones.



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@ joes44

I had used Apogee Duetta Signature from 1988 to 1998.

The main attraction was the transparency of the soundstage , natural presentation and good details.
I am kind of both. Electronics and the source are extremely important too. What especially irritates me is the distortion in the recording, the only thing you can do is try not to make it worse.
I read somewhere that the reviewer who was evaluating Gryphon Diablo 300 integrated in his pretty good system then, as a final step and mostly for fun, tried this $16.5k amp with $500 Elac, I think, speakers. He was amazed by the sound those small speakers were capable of given the over the roof amplification. There are perhaps few great speakers but many very good speakers. 
Absolutely. 

With the caveat that subs may come and go. :) 

Built them myself. $1,800 in parts that I wouldn't see in any speaker less than $12k

https://speakermakersjourney.blogspot.com/2017/12/snr-1-two-way-high-end-diy-monitor.html

But it's not the part cost that makes them special to me. It's that I designed them, they sound exactly like what I want, and I've not heard anything worth a change. I still like hearing other speakers, but home cooking is really hard to beat. 

Best,

E
erik,

Out of curiosity, when you say your speakers sound exactly like what you want: what do they sound like?  What were the characteristics you were going for?
Statistically speaking, I have about 8 years to go, so yeah, I can keep them. 🤔

All the best,
Nonoise
Well, like prof, I have a pair of Thiel 2.7s, fortified by a Thiel SmartSub 2.2. 

Since I now have  95 + years on the calendar, I sorta' believe I'll keep them - - and my son will inherit them, along with my 2-channel stereo and CD collection.



I love the way my current system sounds...SE amp, tube preamp, Klipsch Heresy III speakers...but the question really is about guessing if you're going to feel the same about everything in the future, and that's impossible to say. My current rig with a low powered (10 or 12 wpc depending on the output tubes) tube amp does tie me to efficient speakers, and I could see my self thinking about changing it all up at some point...I add and subtract guitars from time to time as my tastes change, and if I didn't I'd feel like I'm not growing.