Loudspeakers have we really made that much progress since the 1930s?

I think that we could send people to the moon more safely and comfortably and be able to gather much more useful data now than we could in the 60s. The Apollo missions were more about national pride and developing technology that would help us in the cold war. Priorities have moved on and there’s not much reason to keep going back to the moon.

I’m sure that speakers from the 30s have their appeal, as do Duesenbergs, but today’s speakers are the right solution for the vast majority of people.

As 213runnin pointed out, we could go back to the moon today but we couldn’t do most of what’s being done today in the 60s. Go to Space.com or the Hubble Telescope website to see some awe inspiring pictures. People were excited about going to the moon because no one had ever done it before. I doubt it would cause much excitement today and would instead be considered a colossal waste of money, something else our government is much better at today. :)

I don’t know what you mean by "I’d aim higher than that" but let me guess and rephrase my point.

Todays speakers create a greater sense of awe and are more practical and attractive to the vast majority of listeners than 30s speakers would be if they were widely available. People talking in movies inspired awe in people in the 20s, but it no longer does, even though the soundtracks of current movies are far more sophisticated.

There are a few systems around using 30s speakers that may sound very good and are the "best" sounding to the people that own them, but, given the choice, the vast majority of people would prefer a system using current technology. This is a matter of taste and anyone who prefers 30s speakers will get no argument from me on whether they are the "best" FOR THEM. I fully acknowledge that 30s speakers are the "best" to the people that love them and would not try to convince them that they could get better sound from modern speakers.

However, I would put my money on the best current systems sounding better than the best 30s systems to, say, 90% of listeners.

12 people walked on the moon.  Enough about the moon.

Well, on sound quality, I guess we'll have to disagree and leave it at that.  I intend to look for better sound in new products and I hope that someday you'll find a pair of antique theater speakers to enjoy.

johnk, Why do you have trouble understanding that 30s speakers may perform as well or better than current speakers FOR YOU and your listening preferences, but others find that much progress has been made since then and prefer current speakers. I’d bet that you couldn’t find a single speaker manufacturer who would be interested in doing reproductions of speakers from the 30s.

I see this discussion playing out all the time.  Someone insists that everyone should want what he likes or owns. It just doesn't work that way.

If you want to discuss patents and when concepts were first published, you can probably find a better place to do it.

OK johnk, You found a guy on ebay selling boxes without drivers, seller name: mymuseum, and a company that imports replica drivers (from China?) that are probably made with current materials and technology.  No crossovers or other necessary electronics.

That does not represent a speaker manufacturer, IMHO.

Enjoy your Shearers! I and most other people will enjoy something more current, and no one’s choice is wrong.

I just looked up the links that you provided, johnk.

I have no problem at all with people listening to speakers from the 30s and saying that they prefer that sound above all other.

I simply disagreed with what you appear to believe, that there has been little or no progress in speaker technology since the 30s and that we should all own 30s speakers. Sorry, but I still think you’re wrong.

I think that speaker technology has improved significantly since the 30s and that everyone should listen to as many speakers as they can and buy the one that works best for them. That can be homemade speakers, speakers from the 30s, huge speakers, tiny monitors made in the 90s, the most recent Wilsons or Magnepans, Bose speakers, whatever one prefers.

I don’t even have a problem with people listening to speakers they don’t really like but they have to own because they can’t afford what they really want or their significant other won’t let them bring what they really want into the house.

So johnk, Enjoy your vintage speakers and believe in your heart that they are the best speakers in the world with my blessings. But if you try to tell me that they are the best speakers for me or that there has been no real advancement in speaker technology since the 30s, I will disagree.