Speakers

[badabing]

What advances have been made in speakers in the last 20 years?

 

[Sheep]

Depends on what speaker.

Subwoofer, a lot.

Fullrange, a little.

SheepStar

 

[badabing]

Depends on what speaker.

Subwoofer, a lot.

Fullrange, a little.

SheepStar

So loudspeakers are the same, now we have subs?
You are saying that for rock or jazz it should make no difference?

 

[Sheep]

So loudspeakers are the same, now we have subs?
You are saying that for rock or jazz it should make no difference?

Can you rephrase that, it makes no sense. I didn't bring up music at all.

SheepStar

 

[badabing]

Can you rephrase that, it makes no sense. I didn't bring up music at all.

SheepStar

This is not about HT. I am saying that speakers haven't changed in the past 20 years. materials, sonic quality, etc. 20-30 yrs ago we had 12" drivers in our towers. Our mains went down to 30Hz. The mids and highs were just as good. Now HT comes along and a 12" driver is for a sub only?

 

[Sheep]

This is not about HT. I am saying that speakers haven't changed in the past 20 years. materials, sonic quality, etc. 20-30 yrs ago we had 12" drivers in our towers. Our mains went down to 30Hz. The mids and highs were just as good. Now HT comes along and a 12" driver is for a sub only?

HT speakers don't need bass down to 30Hz. They need 80Hz, thats it.

If I was listening to music on a 2 channel (with no subwoofer) rig, then larger towers would be needed.

And BTW, I know what your talking about when it comes to "20 years ago". I have a pair of speakers that matches your description. Maybe you know of them, Pioneer HPM-100. I still use them.

Pic:

Different speakers for different purposes.

SheepStar

 

[badabing]

HT speakers don't need bass down to 30Hz. They need 80Hz, thats it.

If I was listening to music on a 2 channel (with no subwoofer) rig, then larger towers would be needed.

And BTW, I know what your talking about when it comes to "20 years ago". I have a pair of speakers that matches your description. Maybe you know of them, Pioneer HPM-100. I still use them.

Pic:

Different speakers for different purposes.

SheepStar

Those are about 30 yrs old. Carbon fiber woofers. A little too bright for my taste, but good units overall. Those would seem to be a great HT speaker! Dynamic and a bit bright. Just need some mag shielding!

 

[Sheep]

Those are about 30 yrs old. Carbon fiber woofers. A little too bright for my taste, but good units overall. Those would seem to be a great HT speaker! Dynamic and a bit bright. Just need some mag shielding!

They sit to low for HT.

You can turn the brightness down with the POT.

SheepStar

 

[Audioholics]

This is not about HT. I am saying that speakers haven't changed in the past 20 years. materials, sonic quality, etc. 20-30 yrs ago we had 12" drivers in our towers. Our mains went down to 30Hz. The mids and highs were just as good. Now HT comes along and a 12" driver is for a sub only?

Please don't display your ignorance for everyone to see it's embarrassing. Do some research before you spout off misinformed opinions. Almost everything about loudspeaker design has changed over the past 20 years - and this comes from the manufacturers who actually worked through that period of time you so flippantly act like you know something about.

 

[t3031999]

I would say that materials speakers are made out of has changed quite a bit.
Most speakers used to be made out of plywood, whereas now most are made of mdf or some composite product to dampen resonance.
Also I think sealed speakers used to be the most common, whereas ported are now almost all you can buy.
Other huge changes are in the electronics, both in the speakers and to test them. The cost of o-scopes and time signal analyzers has gone down meaning that more speaker manufacturers have access to quantitative data to help design speakers. As far as the crossovers better op-amp technology has lead to really nice active filters in powered speakers. Also, the manufacturing of capacitors, inductors, and resistors has gotten to be much more consistent leading to more consistent sound.
Also I think the market for higher-end audio has increased and therefore there is more competition to produce better speakers for lower cost, also the internet (site's like this one) has made speaker companies actually prove that there products are high quality instead of just relying on brand name.

 

[knobturner75]

I think that if you just look at the raw speakers themselves, not the enclosures. You will see that there is not that much of a design difference. I understand that there are advances in materials, but just the basic design hasn't changed. Basket, cone, voicecoil, and magnet. I have a friend, that went through training with Peavey and they told him, that the typical speaker is a better space heater than a sound generator. You know like the filament light bulb versus flourescent. I think it was like 90% heat and 10% sound, but don't take those for actual fact, I don't remember the exact ratio. It was pretty astounding though. He also told me that they are working on more efficient speakers. The only thing is, if I remember right, they have to be super cooled to operate. Of course, this is not practical, you don't need me to tell you that though. He said that a pair of speakers the size of a pack of cigarettes, could fill a very large room with quality sound. HMMMM sounds like Bose mentality.

I know there are some advances, but mostly they are just in materials. As far as basic, raw speaker design is concerned, other than materials, there are not that many advances in the last 20-30 years. IMO.

 

[Loner]

What advances have been made in speakers in the last 20 years?

Do you mean besides speaker materials, enclosure designs and crossovers?

I still use 20+ year old RSL Elan speakers. They're 12" three ways with an add'l tweeter and passive 12" in the rear. They still sound good but nothing compared to todays better speakers.

That's why I'm in the market for new speakers..........still got the WAF. She wasn't real happy with the number, size and $$ of the proposed setup.