Which Amps and Speakers Had the Longest Production Run?

The Marantz 1060 may not win the prize but I don't quite believe how a series with a long production (71-78) run with an outdated design (CC in the late 70's) and found everywhere, can still command premium prices.
Simply the name on the top center of the faceplate. Serious Tax for that willingly paid by those that must have.
 
The Quad ESL57 was produced for nearly thirty years from 1957 to 1985.

Its descendants, the 2812 and 2912, are available today.
 
This list will include echoes of what has already been mentioned:

Altec voice of the theater
Altec 604 (still in production at great plains audio)
ls3/5a from various producers
Maybe a fostex driver like the fe103?
Dynaco Stereo 70
Technics SL 1200
 
The Marantz 1060 may not win the prize but I don't quite believe how a series with a long production (71-78) run with an outdated design (CC in the late 70's) and found everywhere, can still command premium prices.
Forgot about the 1060. I've rebuilt two and kept one.
 
This list will include echoes of what has already been mentioned:

Altec voice of the theater
Altec 604 (still in production at great plains audio)
ls3/5a from various producers
Maybe a fostex driver like the fe103?
Dynaco Stereo 70
Technics SL 1200
I built a VTA ST70. Its in my main system. Lots of originals out there along with stock and modded New reproduction kits.
 
Not a long runner, but the Yamaha NS-690 speaker system ran from '73 to '80 in 3 versions.
 
Dynaco MK lll, 1957 to now in kit form.
Dynaco ST-70, 1959 to now in kit form.
Dynaco ST-35, 1963 to now in kit form.
These can be bought in kit form as clones of the original, including reproduced transformers. Also in moddified versions in kit form or fully built.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynaco
 
Last edited:
Perhaps without setting a record, I'm sure that the AKG 240 headphones would qualify for a production-longevity list. They've been made in many iterations, but their 'family' has been in constant production for many decades now.
 
Perhaps without setting a record, I'm sure that the AKG 240 headphones would qualify for a production-longevity list. They've been made in many iterations, but their 'family' has been in constant production for many decades now.
Yup. I have a pair of the new 240's
 
I think stereo components used to have a much longer life cycle. Back in the 50's, 60's and 70's, the customer was quite happy to see the same old line up from their favorite brands year after year. But modern marketing and technology advances have combined to change the marketplace dramatically.

Few companies keep the same models and line ups without upgraded versions, etc every few years. It would be interesting to see models mentioned that are currently in production instead of from 50 or 60 years ago.

I can think of a couple. The Parasound Halo A21 amp has been in production for about 15 or 16 years, and I don't think they've tried to upgrade it or change it in any way except for part changes when suppliers went belly up.

Another is the Totem Acoustic loudspeaker company. The Hawk and the Dreamcatcher are both from 1999 so are 18 years in production.
 
Lowther started producing speakers in 1936 and 81 years later they're still in business. They must be doing something right.

P9190020.jpg
 
Back
Top Bottom