[prepress]

This is a somewhat different idea than my preamp thread.

I have had my Mirage M-3si speakers since February 1993, and they have been great for the whole time; they are the oldest part of my system other than the turntable. And as the upstream equipment has changed the sound has improved. But now I find myself at a point I didn't think I'd ever be.

In theory I will be retiring in 7–8 years, Lord willing, at which time I will be on a fixed and reduced income; the Mirages would be about 28.5 years old if I still have them then. With that, it may be difficult or even impossible to replace them adequately for financial reasons, should they fail during retirement. The idea came to me to consider a preemptive strike of sorts and replace them now, or at least before retiring, to give my wallet a chance to recover. I would then have a new(er) speaker which should take me well into my later years. The logic made sense at one point, but during a brief session yesterday listening to a local college station playing old R&B from the 50's, I considered how good the sound was, and now question the "early replacement" theory I started with.

I'd be giving up a working, well-liked known for an unknown. I really like the M-3sis. And as time moves on, money is a bigger and bigger factor regarding a potential replacement. The replacement speaker itself is a secondary question right now.

So I wonder what anyone else's perspective might be, especially if they've done anything like it before, what their rationale may have been. I am a bit torn. Do I keep the M-3sis and take my chances, or move to replace what isn't broken? There's an element of fear here, I understand, and it isn't necessarily logical to be afraid of what hasn't happened or might happen.