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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
johnk's avatar
johnk OP
1,976 posts
 
Hello and thxs for replying. The dome was used in FC compression drivers in the 1920s Walter H. Schottky developed the very first ribbon loudspeaker that used diodes about 1925. Wool tar lead cork rubber high mass all were used back in the 1930s and are still considered advanced today and you will find those materials in some of the most costly designs today. As far as rare earths while very high gauss for size they mostly are aranged in arrays and have little mass, since most transducers today that use such are designed for high power this reduced mass over alnico or ferrites can cause thermal compression. This causes listening fatigue why many systems sound great for 30-40 mins then you had enough.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,337 posts
 
Of course there's been progress, to deny it is foolish.  The manufacturing process allows larger quantities to be made at a lower cost than was possible 75 years ago.  That said, the best designs from that period are marvels of design/technology and sound amazing.  But to use a motorcycle analogy, nobody uses a Vincent Black Shadow as their everyday ride.
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
It seems that the primary objective during the area of classic vintage speakers was efficiency,   faithful reproduction of human voice and acoustic instruments. Current emphasis seems to be accommodating high power amplifiers and ultra level  detail and resolution. The resultant sound character  reflects the different philosophical approaches. 
Charles, 
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
In terms of performance vintage speakers have stood the test of time far more so than motorcycles. That analogy doesn't work for me. Much larger gap between old vs modern motorcycles. 😊
Charles, 
dbphd
1,633 posts
 
Thanks johnk for the link in your OP.  It led me to information I didn't know about the Hartsfield, probably the third super speaker system I encountered as a kid after the Electro Voice Patrician and Bozak Concert Grand in the early 50's.  Can anyone imagine using a Paragon as a center speaker flanked by a pair of Hartsfields as was the original intention?  There were a number of new "HiFi" shops in the area that a Venice canal rat like me could haunt -- in retrospect, I don't understand why they were always so accommodating.  My 90's-era KEF Reference 107/2s continue to amaze me.
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