Speakers: Anything really new under the sun?

Thank you for weighing in. This is why I suspected the claim by @holmz (that there has been very little advances in materials since the 80's or 90's) might need checking.

@hilde45 sure, at the upper end there have been advances, but at the that higher end, they were doing good work 20 years ago. That link with the video up the page would be an example… but who exactly is running those drivers? We do not see them on any $2000 pair of speakers. Do they sound good, yeah they are great.

Take the OP’s speakers, or say the Moabs, and I doubt that we find anything earth shattering in terms of the driver technology. I doubt that the drivers would more than $10-$30 each. Maybe they are better than the $20 drivers 20 years ago… but how would we know?

There are still lots of speakers that have cabinet resonances these days, and they are using the same MDF and glues that they were using 2 decades ago. So something with bracing design and dampening is lacking… and that knowledge and material existed decades ago.

———

The AMTs that @arion described are a bit of a different beast… They might cost a lot more than the $20 drivers that I have been referencing.

Sure technology trickles down, But I am not sure it trickles down to $2000 range? It might.

———

The Monitor web site shows only minimum impedance, and sensitivity, and not impedance versus frequency, nor much else. So we are sort of assuming that the rest is OK.

But we really have no way of know much about them from the web site, other than the basics.

@jaybird5619 if you are in the SE, then maybe consider contacting Erin at Erins Audio Corner and have those Monitor speakers put onto his Klippel. Then we will know what they do, and whether new drivers and crossovers would be worthwhile.
He is in Alabama… 

@holmz I think we’re missing each other due merely to semantics, and I’m happy to let it rest. What has been said in this very interesting thread has gone way beyond resonances and has included materials in cones/drivers, ribbon tweeters, and other elements involved in making speakers. In your perspective (if I have your position right) these are minimal or even insignificant advances. To my mind, they seem substantial, and some here on the thread have agreed with that position. (Cf. decooney who worked in the industry and just said,

"Crossovers, caps, parts, Drivers, materials, cone materials, surround materials, internal wiring, binding posts, and even cabinet designs have improved compared to 20yrs ago....AMTs, better crossover parts and drivers with Nomex cones with better materials, new material diaphragms, decent solder, connectors, binding posts sound notably better than 20yrs ago.")

 

But I’m not an engineer or in the industry at all, so I cannot really judge what should count as a genuine advance. You seem confident that you know, so I will just let the issue/distinction rest.

@hilde45 I think that we are probably more in alignment than not.

Distortion
Those pistonic drivers, the Accutons, and various beryllium tweeter are covering cone break up.
(But we don’t see them on many low end systems.)

The new Purifi motors, as well as the ScanSpeak motors address more linear motors assemblies.
(And we do not see them on low end systems)

There are also some baskets which are stiller and reflect less energy forwards.

Resonance

There were great cabinets in the 80s and 90s which lacked resonances. And even better ones now.
But many singing cabinet boxes exist still.

Diffraction:

Diffraction is better known and accounted for now, but maybe not 100%

And that is only the mechanical part. There is also the cross over parts, etc.
The lion’s share of innovation has been in the active speaker space.

So yeah we are chipping away at it, but as the market is a driver, low cost usually results in things being cut so the technology is replaced with “good enough”.

Ideally we get really good speakers and they last a life time.
More often it is, “These will do for now.”

I’ll take a deep breath and you sir, have a nice evening.

@hilde45 Or, making your old speakers sound better is another option for some models if you don’t like new speakers. Can be fun. Wimslow, Troel’s Gravesen, Madisound, GR Research, others out there just to name a few.  

Wimslow:

https://wilmslowaudio.co.uk (UK)

Troels:

http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/Diy_Loudspeaker_Projects.htm#Up-Grade_Kits_For_Vintage_Speakers) (DEN)

Madisound:

https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/madisound (USA)

Referrals/Upgrades:

https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/speaker-repair (USA)

GR Research,upgrades:

https://gr-research.com/speaker-upgrades/

Neals:

Simply Speakers:

@holmz  Thanks for going into more detail, and I was being earnest when I said I wasn't really able to make a judgment. If you say that not much advance has been made in materials for the last twenty years, I can only just say "I don't really know how to judge that statement" and will leave others the happy chore of either affirming or denying your claim with evidence they find salient. I'm here to learn, and you're contributing to that, so thank you!