Are Today's Speakers Better?

[flamingeye]

I love my (1997) Klipsch KG 5.5s but would trade in an-instant for the Klipsch RF-7 IIs just for the better cabinetry alone but the price for 4 is way out of my budget these days .
I`m sure speakers have improved over that many years like I said the cabinetry alone has improved and there are better materials being developed all the time as well

[xki]

I believe that design is the most important criteria. There are some designs over 50 years old that are still being produced and sold. Like briank pointed out, the speakers themselves have improved marginally but the electronics have substantially improved.

The speaker improvements are not to be dismissed. I remember when you had to have at least a 15" woofer to get any bass response at all. And that was down to about 45Hz... maybe. We now have 10" subs down in the 30's!

When I first got my La Scalas, I was driving them with a Sony 100 watt stereo amp. (Still have it.) I could blow the doors off of just about every other setup around. Things changed and my kit was just one of the many. Until ...... I moved into home theater and and updated everything with modern electronics. The La Scalas again blow the doors off of just about everything in their price range. I think it's the design.

So, the answer to the question is a qualified yes. Yes the engineering of today's speakers is much more refined and the raw materials are much more precise. The qualifier is that some older speakers were "right" to begin with and the improved electronics just help them keep up with the newer speakers. I like a lot of new speakers and I like a lot of old speakers. I think in the next few years I'll have to change my thinking but, for now, it's a tie.

[flamingeye]

Well the La Scalas are in a class all there own and (hard to beat) and many can`t fit something like that into there home (wish I could)
it`s hard to refine something that`s already out standing but of course OMO witch I`m not alone in considering the La Scalas

[xki]

I was just a dumb kid when I bought the La Scalas. Best purchase I ever let someone talk me into!

Yes, they are large-ish. And they take up a lot of floor space. But heck, when your eyes are closed they really blend into the decor well!!!!

[Deleted]

Feb 24, 2011 22:35:19 GMT -5 briank said:

I think speakers have improved only marginally, but electronic have improved substantially. Now if my bank account would improve substantially then all would be good. :-)

I'm afraid that IMHO the opposite is true. Speakers, especially subs and tweeters, have improved a tremendous amount while amps hardly at all. Horns are a different "animal" as they were nearly perfected decades ago.
Not perfect but their design constraints were well known way before the term "acoustic suspension" was coined. Crossovers have developed a tremendous amount over the last several years including accounting for the baffle step.

[gerbilaudio]

that question is a YES and NO, there are loudspeakers designed in the past that are timeless. For example the ESS HEIL drivers, the JANSZEN electrostats, RTR electrostats, Beveridge, KLH 9, original OHM walsh F or A and Infinity's RS V's and other vintage infinity's. These are just a few. As a loudspeaker collector of MANY designs, Today or yesterday is IRRELEVANT, it depends on the ENGINEERING feats of those audio pioneers who developed marvelous designs. newer is not always better, that has been proven time immemorial. There are technological advancements in materials and there are newer systems that are outstanding, but the DATE is irrelevant. I'll give you an example, the martin logan statement was made several years ago and although it's no longer manufactured except for special order, it is the best of the martin logan's, superior the new CLX series. Genesis, the founder being the chief designer for the original infinity's made their flagships some 10 yrs or so ago. There are also defunct manufacturers who made outstanding loudspeaker designs no longer being made like ACOUSTATS, ALLISON to name a few!
I know where I speak, I have acoustats, eminent techs, magnepans, SLS, BIC, ohm walsh, sunfire, svs, srs klayman signatures, janszens, ess heils, dcm, advents, klipsch, linaeum, wharfedale, audio pro. In fact, some of the best designs were made decades ago that can easily compete with systems of today. There are DIY systems that were built that surpasses most anything today from the past. Some of the top louspeaker designs worldwide aren't even current. The german physik gaub and lorely was made a number of years ago and so as the wilson puppies or whamm, the duevel's, the mbl's, magico, avan garde and the BEST EXAMPLE of all them is the never AGING KLIPSCHORN which is still standing strong after 65 plus years of production

[Nemesis.ie]

One thought on that though is "aging" how well do the speakers of yesteryear and what they were made of stand the test of time versus the modern materials? I know the woofers in my B&W DM3s have seen better days.

[Deleted]

Sorry to state the obvious, foam surrounds decompose over time. They claim new ones do not but time will show whether that is correct. Paper too can deteriorate, hopefully not the cones on my ScanSpeak midwoofers and Exodus subs though.

[Nemesis.ie]

The surrounds in the DM3s seems to be some kind of rubber, but it could be the glue failing rather than the material.

[skeetlong]

LordOfTheRingsee..Lol..as aways you put in a way we all can understand....you made my day with that one...but to say speakers today are better then the one's made back in the old days?..smaller driver's?..over say a 12"?..I have Polk70's they have 4.. 61/2"drivers and a 1"soft dome tweeter..and Luv them..are they any better then what i had in the past?..back in the 90's i had two CherwinVergas they had a 15" wolfer two 6" mids.and a horn they where huge!..paired with a Carver amp..an a SonyES AVR..They kick A$$!..But where not as musical as my Polk70's. or should i say as musically detailed as my 70s..but yes i would say the drivers are better today..