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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
donvito101
278 posts
 
And how many Acoustic suspension speakers are still around? Not many!
teo_audio
932 posts
 
that’s a shame as bass reflex is ’bass distortion in a can’ - no way around it.

Popular does not mean correct it just means popular.
erik_squires OP
5,268 posts
 
@donvito101 -

You are kidding, right? All sealed cabinet, voice coil speakers fall into the category of "acoustic suspension."


Best,

E
shadorne's avatar
shadorne
7,333 posts
 
@teo_audio      

Bass reflex is not always adding distortion.

On extremely large cabinets with specific heavy duty woofers the reflex port can be used not to extend LF response but to enhance linearity and increase SPL capability.

It is true that the majority of bass reflex is used to make a small box sound bigger and this is a pursuit of quantity at the expense of quality

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5myKfuIAXmY
erik_squires OP
5,268 posts
 
BR vs. AS is a debate that will never die.

All of my current speakers are BR, but I’m not religious about it.

I can say most definitely that these two technologies are among the most accepted ways to make a loudspeaker for the home, so neither fits the category of a flop.
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