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Tech That Flopped!

Every few months someone releases technology that seems to be revolutionary, but goes nowhere a couple of years later. Some tech gets acceptance and even imitation. Some goes wildly successful.

Ideas that are a huge success:
  • Acoustic suspension
  • Bass Reflex
  • Soft dome tweeters
Some ideas, well, it's not so clear:
  • Perfectly time aligned speakers ilke Thiel/Vandersteen
  • ESL
  • Line Arrays
  • Plasma tweeters
  • Transmission line
What tech have you seen come and go, was it worthwhile?

Best,

E
erik_squires
stereo5's avatar
stereo5
2,766 posts
 
The Elcasette player/recorders
erik_squires OP
5,268 posts
 
DAT and it's 48 kHz/16bit format wasn't much better. Also along these lines were the Sony PCM --> VHS converters.
kosst_amojan
2,095 posts
 
A lot of those "not so much" technologies have drawbacks and quirks. I've always thought line arrays we're a silly idea for home installation. Although with the advent of digitally manipulated speakers like those B&O monsters and the little Kii's, I'm just waiting for someone to come out with active beam steering line arrays. 
Has anyone actually mastered the true transmission line? Great theory. Debatable application. 
And if course plasma tweeters... If only they sold inert gas at Walmart! Tubes are more hassle than I want to deal with. Speakers I need to refill? Ummm.... No. 
gawdbless's avatar
gawdbless
1,165 posts
 
Laser Disc...............
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
4,163 posts
 
The Vandersteen 2 has probably the highest sales of any audiophile loudspeaker since it's introduction, so why wouldn't time aligned loudspeakers fall into the success category? 

Sometimes the case is not that a technology was bad, but that it has been eclipsed by a better or more practical technology.  The 24-track tape recorder was the world wide standard for recording studios, but multi-track hard drive based recording technology has supplanted it.

Whatever happen to the BGS Signal Completion processors?  Are Kimber Iso/Mike recordings still being made?
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