I think it is incorrect to say that wood box speakers today are no different than 20 or 50 years ago. In the last 10 years or so, access to inexpensive but accurate CAE software has become available to speaker manufacturers, and now they can design and tune their "Wood boxes" like never before.
Finite Element Analysis allows a speaker designer/engineer to check out the modal performance of a speaker before it is built, and improve it greatly. They have always braced boxes, but now the can do design iterations in CAE, optimize bracing, and make the old wood box perform like never before. Getting rid of box resonance has never been easier that it is today.
Once the design is optimized, you still have to listen to it of course and tune it properly, but they start off with a much better box than before. They can take one variable out before they even start.
-Geoff
Finite Element Analysis allows a speaker designer/engineer to check out the modal performance of a speaker before it is built, and improve it greatly. They have always braced boxes, but now the can do design iterations in CAE, optimize bracing, and make the old wood box perform like never before. Getting rid of box resonance has never been easier that it is today.
Once the design is optimized, you still have to listen to it of course and tune it properly, but they start off with a much better box than before. They can take one variable out before they even start.
-Geoff