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Speakers: Anything really new under the sun?

After a 20-year hiatus (kids, braces, college, a couple of new roofs, etc.) I'm slowly getting back into hi-fi.  My question: is there really anything significantly new in speakers design/development/materials? I'm a bit surprised that the majority of what I see continues to be some variation of a 2- or 3-way design -- many using off-the-shelf drivers -- in a box (usually MDF at it core) with a crossover consisting of a handful of very common, relatively inexpensive components. I'm asking in all sincerity so please don't bash me. I'm not trying to provoke or prove anything, I'm just genuinely curious. What, if anything, has really changed? Would love to hear from some speaker companies/builders here. Also, before one of you kindly tells me I shouldn't worry about new technologies or processes and just go listen for myself -- I get it -- I'll always let my ear be my guide. However, after 20 years, I'm hoping there's been some progress I may be missing. Also, I unfortunately live in a hifi-challenged part of the country -- the closest decent hifi dealer is nearly 3 hours away -- so I can't just run out and listen to a bunch of new speakers. Would appreciate your insights. 

jaybird5619
twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,318 posts
 

It all depends on the price bracket you're looking in.  There have been quite a number of innovations in materials used in drivers and cabinets, and in driver and cabinet construction.  But these only "trickle down" slowly.  

And then there's bending wave technology.

mahgister's avatar
mahgister
13,011 posts
 

Interesting! thanks...

It all depends on the price bracket you're looking in.  There have been quite a number of innovations in materials used in drivers and cabinets, and in driver and cabinet construction.  But these only "trickle down" slowly.  

And then there's bending wave technology.

ohlala
1,235 posts
 

Speaking of MDF, in the last few decades speakers have been developed with more ambitious cabinets in terms of construction and materials. Brands like YG, Magico and Rockport offer a refinement in sound that excludes MDF speakers, imo. While using similar cabinets, YG has also gone from paper to aluminum drivers, completely changing their sound. 

roxy54's avatar
roxy54
7,977 posts
 

I would say that it's down to refinements of existing technologies and passive components for crossovers. I believe that with all of the time that's passed, the ultimate success of any speaker is down to the talent of the person or persons who voice the speaker, even though of course the final sound is partially dictated by the room that it's used in.

ghdprentice
6,961 posts
 

I think all the basic technologies were developed decades ago, electrostatic, ribbon, AMT, dynamic… etc. But the progress of implementation has simply been a game changer; continued incremental improvement. I was in love with electrostatic and the ribbon speakers for over 30 years …   but after 10 years of listening to live acoustic music realized why traditional dynamic speakers are the most common. They are capable of reproducing the most realistic musical sound… and decade after decade of advancement has made a huge difference in their ability to present coherent and musical output… as opposed to some exaggerated and magical sounding aspect. Advances in building enclosures, drivers and crossovers has been phenomenal. You can see my systems under my UserID.

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