In the audio world, newer doesn't always mean better, though in most cases it does. In electronic products such as smartphones, TV's, video game consoles, and computers, are contanstly being replaced by newer models with more impressive specs and performance. In audio however, this isn't the case. Lets take the Empirical Labs Distressor for example. The Distressor had its 15th year old birthday last year. The Avalon 737 channel strip is also more than a decade old. The RME Fireface series is coming up on a decade. The Lynx Aurora converters are now over 5 years old. Yet these products are still popular and selling well today. If you notice, most of the new gear today is made to sound like the old gear of the past. The Vintech series is made to recreate the classic Neve sound, and the Daking mic pre and eq is modeled after the Trident console. I'm not saying go buy the oldest gear you can afford, but I am saying if your looking at gear and one was built in 07, and one 05, don't expect the one built in 07 to sound better because its "newer".
Because audio gear made over a decade ago can still be relevant today is actually a good thing. I don't think anyone will reinvent the microphone anytime soon. What I mean by this is you have condenser, ribbon, and dynamic mics. Will there be an awesome new technology to come out that will replace these types of mics making them obsolete? Not likely. So its a good thing because the same mic, mic pre, eq, and compressor you use today will still be able to function 20 years from now. This means you can buy gear and use it for the rest of your career. How many other industries can say that? Another good thing is that after a decade of production there are plenty of used ones available for cheaper. The bad thing about old gear still being relevant is that prices aren't likely to drop because of a products age, which makes sense. It something has been selling well for over a decade then why drop the price? If anything prices go up. An engineer I know was telling me the other day how his friend bought a tubetech CL1B for around $1800 brand new years ago. Now the price is almost doubled at $3500. So don't let the age of a product discourage you from purchasing it. (Unless its truly vintage and may be in need of constant repair.) Who knows, that gear you may end up buying that's a few years old may end up being a classic. Then you can be the one saying you bought it at lower price 10 years later when the price is doubled.
Because audio gear made over a decade ago can still be relevant today is actually a good thing. I don't think anyone will reinvent the microphone anytime soon. What I mean by this is you have condenser, ribbon, and dynamic mics. Will there be an awesome new technology to come out that will replace these types of mics making them obsolete? Not likely. So its a good thing because the same mic, mic pre, eq, and compressor you use today will still be able to function 20 years from now. This means you can buy gear and use it for the rest of your career. How many other industries can say that? Another good thing is that after a decade of production there are plenty of used ones available for cheaper. The bad thing about old gear still being relevant is that prices aren't likely to drop because of a products age, which makes sense. It something has been selling well for over a decade then why drop the price? If anything prices go up. An engineer I know was telling me the other day how his friend bought a tubetech CL1B for around $1800 brand new years ago. Now the price is almost doubled at $3500. So don't let the age of a product discourage you from purchasing it. (Unless its truly vintage and may be in need of constant repair.) Who knows, that gear you may end up buying that's a few years old may end up being a classic. Then you can be the one saying you bought it at lower price 10 years later when the price is doubled.
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