How Long Do Speakers Sound as They Were Designed ?

[Eric Natural]

I have a pair of Monitor Studio Studio 6s that I bought in 1999. Perhaps over the years they are no longer as flat as they were originally . . . but they still sound great to me. How would I be able to tell if the drivers/crossovers were "worn-out" if there is such a thing ?
TIA

 

[Koeitje]

Check if the surrounds are still intact. Second thing is ferrofluid in tweeters, which can dry out after 15-20 years (but I think that only happens if its exposed to air?).

 

[egellings]

Check if the surrounds are still intact. Second thing is ferrofluid in tweeters, which can dry out after 15-20 years (but I think that only happens if its exposed to air?).

All tweeters would be exposed to air, wouldn't they? The tweeters in my ProAc speaker towers do not use ferrofluid.

 

[MAB]

Measure.

I tend to measure my speakers out of the box. I may be odd that way. I used to work sales and installation, so it is a habit based on the surprising number of defective components companies sell us. It also allows me to monitor degradation. For instance, your tweeters have ferrofluid, this can dry out with age and use.

I am guessing you haven't captured measurements when new, but you could measure your speakers and compare to the Stereophile measurements by Atkinson.

Monitor Audio Studio 6 loudspeaker Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements The Studio 6's impedance magnitude and phase, measured using the magazine's Audio Precision System One, are shown in fig.1. Dropping below 6 ohms only in the lower midrange—the minimum value is 5.55 ohms at 243Hz—and remaining above 8 ohms for much of the time, this graph...

www.stereophile.com

You should be able to see the same dips and valleys, and the same tweeter resonance at 20kHz if your mic has response in that region. Your room will produce a different response in bass.

It is also useful to compare the two units you have to each other.

Atkinson in his review talks about speaker break-in, totally ignore that.

 

[Eric Natural]

let's pretend that my anechoic chamber and calibrated mic are unavailable to really test these louds. What do tweeters with "old" dried out ferrofluid sound like ? What am I looking for ? Are there signs beyond the tweets of age in a typical speaker ?
I guess what confuses me is the consumer interest in vintage speakers who might be even older than mine. Ex. Altec Lansing Voice of the Theaters, vintage Klipsch, JBL, Yamaha NS1000-series, etc.

Bottom-line, are new speakers more accurate b/c of their youth ?

 

[kemmler3D]

let's pretend that my anechoic chamber and calibrated mic are unavailable to really test these louds. What do tweeters with "old" dried out ferrofluid sound like ? What am I looking for ? Are there signs beyond the tweets of age in a typical speaker ?
I guess what confuses me is the consumer interest in vintage speakers who might be even older than mine. Ex. Altec Lansing Voice of the Theaters, vintage Klipsch, JBL, Yamaha NS1000-series, etc.

Bottom-line, are new speakers more accurate b/c of their youth ?

A new speaker is more likely to sound the way it's supposed to, yes. Capacitors, surrounds, and ferrofluid wear out / degrade over time. So an old passive speaker >20y is not unlikely to have issues with those.

 

[Ron Texas]

Foam surrounds can wear out in about 5 years in hot humid climates. I trashed AR's and Snell speakers because of this. Fewer manufacturers use foam these days, but avoid it.

 

[rynberg]

I guess what confuses me is the consumer interest in vintage speakers who might be even older than mine. Ex. Altec Lansing Voice of the Theaters, vintage Klipsch, JBL, Yamaha NS1000-series, etc.

Well, those speakers were all massively inaccurate when new, so how could you tell?

 

[Pareto Pragmatic]

let's pretend that my anechoic chamber and calibrated mic are unavailable to really test these louds. What do tweeters with "old" dried out ferrofluid sound like ?

More distorted. Distortion increases with age. So they gain a bit of "fuzz" over time.

If you replace 40 year old drivers one at a time (as I have) it's pretty obvious when that fuzz is gone. Ok not gone, but gone down.

 

[restorer-john]

I know you can't go back in time (unless you have a Marty's DeLorean), but a simple impedance sweep made when you buy speakers vs. one made years later, would tell you things had changed (or not)

 

[mhardy6647]

The best part of a century -- for the good ones.
They weren't using electrolytics in crossovers in those days, either.
Although AlNiCo magnets are sensitive to mechanical shock and just plain old use and benefit from occasional recharging.
Electrodynamic (electromagnetic) drivers can be pretty much immortal as long as they don't get damaged.

Gramophone Dreams #77: Laissez-faire Listening & the Thöress EHT MKII integrated amplifier

With a system like this, Thoreau would never have gone into the woods to begin with.

www.stereophile.com

 

[restorer-john]

let's pretend that my anechoic chamber and calibrated mic are unavailable to really test these louds. What do tweeters with "old" dried out ferrofluid sound like ? What am I looking for ? Are there signs beyond the tweets of age in a typical speaker ?
I guess what confuses me is the consumer interest in vintage speakers who might be even older than mine. Ex. Altec Lansing Voice of the Theaters, vintage Klipsch, JBL, Yamaha NS1000-series, etc.

Bottom-line, are new speakers more accurate b/c of their youth ?

Tweeters will lose their output when the ferrofluid dries- it can actually impede the vc to the point they sound dull.

So many issues with older speakers, it really is a crap-shoot.

 

[Prana Ferox]

The answer to the OP's question is 'right until the owner's son discovers metal'

 

[Penelinfi]

Check if the surrounds are still intact. Second thing is ferrofluid in tweeters, which can dry out after 15-20 years (but I think that only happens if its exposed to air?).

Sometimes the carrier oil soaks into felt damping material or even the tweeter diaphragm, or gaskets

 

[egellings]

let's pretend that my anechoic chamber and calibrated mic are unavailable to really test these louds. What do tweeters with "old" dried out ferrofluid sound like ? What am I looking for ? Are there signs beyond the tweets of age in a typical speaker ?
I guess what confuses me is the consumer interest in vintage speakers who might be even older than mine. Ex. Altec Lansing Voice of the Theaters, vintage Klipsch, JBL, Yamaha NS1000-series, etc.

Bottom-line, are new speakers more accurate b/c of their youth ?

Maybe it's because the designs are more competent, rather than the speaker being newer.

 

[MattHooper]

No idea. But my Spendor S 3/5s bought in 2001 still sound fantastic. And my pair of Thiel 02 speakers, bought in the early 80s, still sound fantastic and as far as I can tell the same as they always have.

 

[Pareto Pragmatic]

Maybe it's because the designs are more competent, rather than the speaker being newer.

True, but the OP did ask "... as they were designed."

No idea. But my Spendor S 3/5s bought in 2001 still sound fantastic. And my pair of Thiel 02 speakers, bought in the early 80s, still sound fantastic and as far as I can tell the same as they always have.

My 1984 Heresies I had for 20 years sounded great too. But then I spent $20 to recap them, and they really cleared up. The drivers, that's another issue, forced by my wife refusing to move them, much less sell them. She loves those things.

We can't really notice the slow changes, we adapt to them.

 

[tomtoo]

I dont know but avoid direct sunlight. And awai from radiators.

 

[Eric Natural]

We can't really notice the slow changes, we adapt to them.

I think this is the challenge here - are my ears compensating for how I'm accustomed to listening to them in the room ? They sound great, even with a dented dome.
Obviously, I listen to other speakers elsewhere in my house and in my modest hobbyist recording studio & they're all also of high quality(except the little Apple Mini Homepods in the dining room :=). I still love the character of the Studio 6s, finding them fairly accurate. I'll keep them rocking until/unless I hear a fuzz-iness in the tweets after replacing the gold domes(many thanks to my granddaughter's finger). Grateful that I've found the british supplier for replacements.
Wish me luck !

 

[egellings]

I think this is the challenge here - are my ears compensating for how I'm accustomed to listening to them in the room ? They sound great, even with a dented dome.
Obviously, I listen to other speakers elsewhere in my house and in my modest hobbyist recording studio & they're all also of high quality(except the little Apple Mini Homepods in the dining room :=). I still love the character of the Studio 6s, finding them fairly accurate. I'll keep them rocking until/unless I hear a fuzz-iness in the tweets after replacing the gold domes(many thanks to my granddaughter's finger). Grateful that I've found the british supplier for replacements.
Wish me luck !

Slow changes remind me of my eyeglasses getting dirty as time goes by. I don't notice the incremental change over time, but when I wash the glasses, then the change (vision degradation) sticks out like a sore thumb.