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Loudspeakers have we really made that much progress since the 1930s?

Since I have a slight grasp on the history or loudspeaker design. And what is possible with modern. I do wonder if we have really made that much progress. I have access to some of the most modern transducers and design equipment. I also have  large collection of vintage.  I tend to spend the most time listening to my 1930 Shearer horns. For they do most things a good bit better than even the most advanced loudspeakers available. And I am not the only one to think so I have had a good num of designers retailers etc give them a listen. Sure weak points of the past are audible. These designs were meant to cover frequency ranges at the time. So adding a tweeter moves them up to modern performance. To me the tweeter has shown the most advancement in transducers but not so much the rest. Sure things are smaller but they really do not sound close to the Shearer.  http://www.audioheritage.org/html/profiles/lmco/shearer.htm
johnk
inna
5,245 posts
 
Perhaps there cannot be any more breakthroughs for a very long time, who knows? When all you really want to do is sell sell sell, you will create nothing except more ways to sell.
johnk's avatar
johnk OP
1,490 posts
 
One does have to take a financial risk when working with or bringing out new innovations could be a bit of corporate repression of design in favor of safe bets thus more profit? Could be that reproduction of sound for human use can only be effectively generated by a limited num of combinations thus replication? Maybe humanity copies and improves more than invents and innovates? Maybe my perceived biases do not allow me to see or hear all the massive innovations in audio reproduction?  
kosst_amojan
2,095 posts
 
I can't believe this is a serious post. I suppose you could say a Pagani Zonda is just an evolution of the Model T. I guess one could say an Intel i7 is just an evolution of the Altair too. Sound has come a long way in the last 30, much less 90 years. 
randy-11
1,913 posts
 
Think outside the box
inna
5,245 posts
 
Well, all these questions go far beyond audio. Perhaps, nothing is ever new under the sun. I view speakers making as a fine art, unlike everything else in a chain, that is just art.
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