Speakers to hang on to for LIFE


After 9 years with my Proac Response 3s, I recently decided to change speakers. As you can tell, I'm not an upgrade fever patient. I want something I can live with for years & I think the best advice I'm gonna get will be from those who have & are still living with their speakers for an extended period of time. Please tell me why too. Thanks.Bob.
ryllau
Wow I can't believe I never saw this thread before! Anyway I picked up my current speakers, the original version of the JMlabs Micro-Utopia back in 2006. We had just bought our condo and it was quite smaller than our previous place so I traded a guy my Alon Lotus's for these monitors. I have to say in my very small space, driven by all tubes these speakers really sing. Good imaging and transparency and just nice musicality with enough bass for my tastes. Considering how much I would have to spend to replace and only possibly improve these, well 9 years and counting and maybe 9 more after this.
Been LOVING my Vandersteen Treo's for a few months now. The system is finally cooking with the new Ayre AX5 Twenty and Empirical Audio OSDE SE. I hear a huge difference in my high res stuff now. I still want the Vandersteen Quatro's as the bass can be tuned to the room and that will make a huge difference. I'm just sold on this line. Richard Vandersteen just makes music as a fair price in todays market. NO listener fatigue. My wife even mentioned that tonight and she doesn't even understand what she's saying, lol. Just said she can't believe she's been listening with me for hours and no headaches. She rarely listens so this was interesting to hear. I think the former speakers gave her headaches. I know I couldn't listen for more than an hour at a time.
I've enjoyed a pair of Totem Element Fire monitors (with a subwoofer) for 4+ years.
I had the hots to see if another speaker would catch my ear, after getting permission from "the boss" to move the audio system down to our family room (now referred to as my "man cave"), able now to accommodate floor standing units, I ordered a pair of Focal Sopra No2's, which should arrive this week! The detail these speakers uncover, especially in the midrange and high frequencies is astounding.
The only caution I have for others is to make sure you are driving Focals with that somewhat "unforgiving" tweeter, is to make sure those electronics have no "shrill" characteristics. They will drive you nuts if they do!
I am 76 now and can realistically think that I will have my B.M.C. Arcadias for the rest of my life. The thought of a speaker for the rest of my life seemed quite unrealistic until I got old, as I had 28 different speakers over a life with audio since 1961. I've had seven pair of full range dynamic speaker; three pair with special tweeters, five pair of largely full range horn speakers, six pair of largely full range electrostatic speaker and one pair of full range electrostatic. Three sets of single driver full range speakers. One pair if omni-directional full range speakers. Two pair of wall mounted speakers from Duntech. Two pair of powered speakers and two pair of speakers with woofers in a gas bag. Two pair of stand mounted book shelf speakers. And one pair of self-made two way speakers. The lightest speakers were about 20 pounds each and the heaviest were 350 points each.