New speaker technology vs. Old speaker tech???

New technology is most often introduced to aid in marketing (even by the raw-driver factories). The technology typically does not make the sound noticeably better, perhaps just 'different'.

For large speaker manufacturers such as B&W, new technology is used to create a new model lineup. Any franchised retailer must order the 'usual amount' each quarter or lose that franchise to a competitor.

Also, that 'new lineup' feeds the review machine. Reviews and 'product of the year' pronouncements rarely create immediate demand, based on my experience and that of very many other designers I've known for more than 25 years.

However, a retailer will show reviews to a prospective buyer, likely not an experienced audiophile and whose friends, like most of ours, are definitely not.

One important yet unspoken issue for any customer is that his friends do not make fun of his purchase.

I think the following is important to understand:
When that new model lineup is announced in October, in magazines and on websites, those press releases were submitted in early August, thus photographed in early July or before.

This means the warehouse was stocked in July, ready to ship. Which means part of that big batch of 10,000, sufficient for one year of worldwide sales, was shipped to the USA warehouse from China during June.

So that entire batch was made in March, April and May.

Which means the new parts, the new technology, was established in January. So it was 'proven to' and approved by marketing before Christmas.

Therefore, it was invented a year before its introduction to the public. Which means the pressure is on the R&D team for 'making improvements' every year.

This results in 'improvements' that make only small differences. Also, that new lineup in a store is already being redesigned.

I vote for using one's ears, including listening to live music, and for looking at how often a firm announces yet another breakthrough.

You're question isn't really about technology, than it is about what you prefer to listen to. An aluminum ribbon tweeter in a new MA can have the same issues that a 10 year old Magnepan, or even my 25 year old Clements RT-7's have. They can be a bit harsh.

I may be going in a different direction here but I wouldn't say the "technology" of speakers is improving. I mean the majority of speakers today use a box, pistonic drivers, wires and a crossover, basically the same as most speakers for the last 60+ years. Now, the refinement of the materials and the implementation of these parts "should" be improving but it's not really the technology that's changing in the majority of speakers.

In fact, speakers have lagged far behind amplification (chip amps, etc...) and front ends, streaming and hard drive systems and such as far as real technology changers. Ribbons and Stat's have been around 50+ years themselves and are certainly more refined and efficient than their early predecessors but even their technology remains pretty static (no pun intended).

IMHO good engineering, materials and execution trump new technology, particularly in speakers,

I'm with polarin. And oftentimes technology is used not to improve how a speaker sounds but to make it smaller or more profitable.