Buying new or old speakers?

[Earjunkie]

Hi!

There's a pair of (Energy veritas 2.4i) available on second hand market which I'm tempted to buy. They are very cheap, about 1200€.

I have been saving up some money so I can buy a new pair of speakers, I've been looking at (Sonus Faber lumina iii).

The energy veritas are 20 years old. But as I remember they got good reviews. If I buy them I'm scared they will break down because of the age. What do you say about this?

Also I wonder how they perform in comparison to new speakers? How do they hold up to modern speakers in the 2000-2500€ range?

Should I buy the (energy veritas) or buy something new instead?

Thank you for replying!

 

[Mortsnets]

My experience is older speakers hold up pretty well and updating crossover components if needed is not too hard or expensive. Instead of new vs old I would compare the specific speakers by listening to them if possible.

 

[Rudy]

I'd be wary of anything with a foam surround on the woofers, although I don't think many modern speakers use them anymore (especially higher-end speakers).

But otherwise, I don't think age or price has much to do with it. Buy the speakers that sound the way you like them to sound, old or new. If you have a way to audition both, that might help you decide.

 

[Pat McGinty]

Foam surrounds are rather less lossy than butyl or neo or such "rubbers". The reason for their use is that one can hit a sensitivity target at a much lower cost than the more formidable motor needed to drive a "rubber" surround would engender.

So, yeah: cost reduction at the expense of product longevity. Steer waaaay way way clear of any product so conceived; that's not the only place where they cheaped out.

 

[Earjunkie]

I'd be wary of anything with a foam surround on the woofers, although I don't think many modern speakers use them anymore (especially higher-end speakers).

But otherwise, I don't think age or price has much to do with it. Buy the speakers that sound the way you like them to sound, old or new. If you have a way to audition both, that might help you decide.

Foam surrounds are rather less lossy than butyl or neo or such "rubbers". The reason for their use is that one can hit a sensitivity target at a much lower cost than the more formidable motor needed to drive a "rubber" surround would engender.

So, yeah: cost reduction at the expense of product longevity. Steer waaaay way way clear of any product so conceived; that's not the only place where they cheaped out.

Do you guys know if the (energy veritas 2.4i) are rubber or foam? Do you think it's a good speaker?

 

[Earjunkie]

My experience is older speakers hold up pretty well and updating crossover components if needed is not too hard or expensive. Instead of new vs old I would compare the specific speakers by listening to them if possible.

I don't have the possibility to listen to the (energy veritas). Only the (Fonus Faber) at the hifi shop.

 

[Olson_jr]

A while back, a friend was asking me what I knew about Energy Veritas 2.4 versus the updated Energy Veritas 2.4i. Having not heard either I could not help in that regard. But I do remember reading about some strange issues with the Energy woofers in the earlier models freezing/seizing and replacements were unobtainable, so folks were buying up the 2.4i woofers to try to use in the earlier model.???

He went down some giant rabbit hole reading about all that so he was well-informed when he went to demo the speakers. Turned out he did not like them. That being said, he is a hard rocker, louder is better, guy.

 

[Rudy]

Do you guys know if the (energy veritas 2.4i) are rubber or foam? Do you think it's a good speaker?

No idea--I have my "end game" speaker, and I haven't auditioned any outside of sitting in rooms at AXPONA where honestly, one system doesn't stand out from any other once I've heard a few.

 

[mythless]

The vertias have rubber surrounds. They are wonderful speakers. But, you would have to listen to them to make sure you like them first.

 

[Pierre]

Things that can go wrong in old speakers:

Aging woofer foam suspension -> seek rubber or cloth instead
Drying of ferrofluid in tweeter -> seek tweeters without ff, or replace ff
Neodynium magnet disintegrating. -> verify if happening, enquire on brand record
Crossover electrolytic caps drying out -> replace in time if there are any

Factors to consider: Do you have a friend well versed in speaker testing and repair? How long do you intend to keep the speakers?

Not intending to be discouraging. Energy is a quality brand. If all the drivers still work and you like the sound, then you can take a chance. Just be aware that such speakers don’t last forever and require TLC. Good luck!

 

[Kpatch]

Turned out he did not like them. That being said, he is a hard rocker, louder is better, guy.

That’s what I remember about my one time listening to the Energy veritas 2.4i, they could rock and roll and hold it all together. Loud, cohesive and impressive. So if you like to play loud rock you’ll like the Energys. That’s not to say they wouldn’t sound great with other music, but loud and fast is what I remember. Which brings up another issue. How big is your room? If small to mid-size, the Energys might be over-powering. I heard them in a large basement home theater room. The Sonus Faber lumina iii are smaller and would most likely complement a smaller room better. And the Energy drivers are proprietary drivers so you might want to contact Energy and ask about possible replacements, if in the future you find yourself needing new drivers for whatever reason.

Happy listening!

 

[Andyman]

As a guy who literally has refoamed hundreds of speakers fom the likes of JBL, Tannoy, Altec, AR, Advent, EPI, Ohm, Infinity, Boston Acoustics and others, I wouldn't run down foam surrounds at all. Most of the speakers I've done range in age from 60 to 20+ years old, so I consider it routine maintenance, which I think is pretty outstanding as they are dynamic components in constant motion in use.

Anybody here drive a car with 50 year old tires, brakes, exhaust, or suspension parts? No one, if any, I suspect. Refoaming is just basic simple maintenace that I suspect most folks will not have to revist a second time in their ownership/lifetime of the speakers.

All that being said, I also agree that listening yourself is critical, and preferably in your own room, as I have several speakers that sound different downstairs than upstairs. Let your ears be your guide.

 

[Tom Brennan]

Years ago I was in a DIY speaker club in Chicago and at one meeting a driver designer from Jensen gave a presentation. He demonstrated how foam surrounds absorbed resonances that spread out from the center of the cone whereas rubber surrounds could bounce the resonance back and cause flares and dips in the frequency response. He did this by demonstrating two drivers that differed only in the surround material.

The point--sometimes foam is used because it has better performance than rubber. You know, some very well designed and built JBL woofers used foam along with large Alnico magnets, cast frames and 4" edgewound voice coils. I doubt they were trying to save a few cents. Same goes for Lowther.