No one has suggested that there has been no progress since 1930s. The BIG deal is that very good sound is now affordable and practical. The stuff from the 1930's, 1940's and 1950's that deliver good sound were meant for theaters and would not fit in any normal living room and was extremely expensive given wages at that time. Even theaters could not afford the Western Electric systems and most of these were leased.
There is no doubt that, given advancements in technology and knowledge, it would be possible to make similar sounding gear that is better. There are companies that intend to do just that--make gear that sounds like old Western Electric, Lansing, Klanghorn, etc. gear--but actually improve on performance (e.g., ALE, Cogent, Goto). There are current manufacturers that attempt to make close replicas of such gear (e.g., Line Magnetic and G.I.P. Laboratories). Whether any such gear is actually "better" is purely a subjective judgment. In any case, the sound of these followers of old school sound is quite different from mainstream gear and it is pointless to argue which sound is "better." If you like that sound there really hasn't been that much progress, and it is largely an academic exercise arguing that advanced technology "could" make that kind of sound better because there are so few companies working in that area.
Have all of those who have been arguing that modern gear MUST be superior actually heard a Shearer system or a system with a WE 15A horn or any of the other 1930's contenders?
