Speakers: Anything really new under the sun?

I'll second the Tekton innovations. My 4 1/2 foot Pendragons with the 7 speaker array and upgraded wiring and caps Delivered to me for $2550.  Nothing I've heard under 5K comes close to the Music these make. Tekton Design.

Line arrays have appeared several times over the years and most have been very interesting and very good. Pipedreams come to mind.

But the latest and most interesting are Arions. I have a Mundorf AMT in my Tetra 606s. Dipole, they produce open and clear trebles. In the YouTube from the Florida Audio Show, the sound I heard from the Arion/Audio Research room was beyond any of the others from this show. This was especially evident in a drum solo on a LP. The presence and impact was unlike any I have heard. This lead me to exchange several emails with Arion and brought me to the point of almost going to Charlotte. If I ever wanted to change speakers, Arion would be on the top of my list.

Even only hearing a MP4 YouTube!

Very true. Nothing really new at any price point tho I still like a standard Brit Box as much as anything. All else is window dressing.

@strawj 

Very true. Nothing really new at any price point tho I still like a standard Brit Box as much as anything. All else is window dressing.

 

Absolutely. To think out of the decades old box is fairly easy, I'm sure we could all do it, but to bring it to the market takes an awful lot of ingenuity and guts.

The usual obstacles of price and consumer expectations are always there obstructing your way.

The biggest one, however, may be that undefeatable foe, domestic acceptability.

It's so formidable, that it's even more or less seen off most of those large loudspeakers that previous generations got to enjoy.

I was at lecture where I heard a prominent designer unabashedly declare that he began his new design from the premise that it must be domestically acceptable.

That is to say, a slim cabinet.

Of course, there are always constraints in anything you do, but to see sound quality demoted in such a way is always disappointing.

Therefore we should always give credit to designers like Hiroshi Kowaki who bring us products like the TD712z, or Lawrence Dickey with his dynamic Vivid Audio speakers. 

Neither of these designs can be called your typical box, but alas neither also seemed destined to be commonly found either.

The TD712z mark 2 is certainly the speaker I'd most want to hear.

It's already well over a decade old and still no sign of a mk3. I guess when your working at the periphery of what is possible, time moves slowly.

 

Another way to look at speakers and design is to study the company.  Companies have cultures and some are in for profit (the big ones) and have a quarterly report that drives everything, including engineering budget to invent or build new things.  They hire the top engineers and have the brain power to develop new ideas.  These engineers might have a revolutionary idea but whether they can pursue it depends on if it will make more money.  These companies have a board, have an owner(s) who are not engineers, a larger staff with a CFO and very formal company structure.   They move forward new ideas that improve income- period. 

 The small companies are more often Engineering driven, and they will develop a new idea even if it puts them out of business (engineers are often not good business people).  They may struggle with staying around, but they are constantly developing new new new.   We can all think of companies like this.  I think of PS Audio, Cardas, ATC, Kii, etc. people like that.  They have an engineer at the helm and he calls the shots, win or lose.   We may not always agree with them, but they break new ground.  They will not be cheap products and are often the most expensive. 

So if you want new tech, look to the engineering based companies.  If you want a deal, look to the manufacturing based companies.  And stay aware of brands that change hands, as the brand value may have arisen through engineering, but the new owners see that brand as a way to grow the business through manufacturing.  This has happened quite a few times lately with major Danish and English brands.  

Brad