Sound quality of Newer versus Older speakers

@artemus_5 ,

Loudspeaker design seems no more immune to the vagaries of fashion than anything else.

Huge boxes, big boxes, smaller boxes, thin tall boxes, sealed boxes, ported boxes, horned boxes, backless boxes, paper cones, plastic cones, metal cones, hemp cones, kevlar cones, ribbons, panels, 1 way, 2 way, 3 way, multi drivers etc etc.

Perhaps we should ask whether any loudspeaker ever managed to surpass the 1957 Quad ESL?

Or are we still just going around in circles sampling different dishes off the same menu?

Fish or steak sir? With wine or port?

@alexberger,

Great posts.

An historical perspective is usually a very good thing to have. No wonder so many would be 'influencers' might seek to belittle it or even eradicate it completely.

The reduction in size and the almost universal deliberate tilting of the FR means that accuracy is usually the first thing that's sacrificed.

Even in 2021 it's very difficult to find a pair of loudspeakers (or headphones) that have a flat frequency response.

Although it is encouraging that mastering engineers still seem to prefer loudspeakers to mix on as opposed to headphones.

[Apparently mixes done on headphones transfer to loudspeakers less well than those done the other way around].

Hopefully sites like ASR will continue to expose such practices and thereby give users advice on how to EQ these design characteristics out to match their taste and their room.

The very best example of imagery that I ever heard was during an audition of a Quad ESL. The baritone sounded palpably three dimensional between the speakers. 

So of course I had to buy them.

However my experiences at home were not so good (I later learned on here that my Naim amps were not the best match - the seller was using Quad amps, valve I think).

Still, I have to admit that no speaker that I've heard since  (>25 years ago) has been able to recreate such 'reach out and touch' imagery as those Quads did.

There is a huge amount of circumstantial evidence suggesting that loudspeakers are getting better, but are they?

Well, if they are, then perhaps folks like Amir at ASR will be able to demonstrate that in due course.

@alexberger,

It’s incredible just how hot the voice coils can get.

Hundreds of degrees Fahrenheit.

After 30 minutes or so it’s more than likely to have some effect particularly with some designs.

Thankfully I’ve only ever had to replace one driver because of this, but compression due to overheating has certainly been an issue with some of my speakers in the past.

The trick is to hear it (in any sized speaker) and back off before the poor thing gives up the ghost.

@alexberger,

Hi,

I think one early sign of compression is when you start to crank up the volume but the sound doesn't get much get louder.


@speakermaster,

Have a look at the Quad 63s, Tannoy Berkeley's/Arden's, JBL l100s, Spendor BC1s, vintage Celestion's, Wharfedale's, Harbeth's etc.

What about the old Sonus Faber's? Weren't they always beautiful?

Are modern designs really that better looking?

The fact that the classic rectangular box is so familiar and still liked by so many people means it's very difficult for any speaker design to get away from it - despite its obvious sonic shortcomings.

It's certainly a good thing that modern speakers tend to be offered in a greater range of finishes these days. Nowadays I tend to prefer speakers that colour match the wall behind, so I'd much prefer it if different grille colours were offered as a choice.

Anyway, I think audiophile fashions can change dramatically over the years. Some of those old backlit Japanese amps and receivers from the 70s/80s are now suddenly starting to look extremely stylish to me.

@avanti1960 ,

"I would say speakers of today tend to be more over the line towards detail and speakers of previous eras tended to be under the line and closer to forgiving."


Isn't this the dreaded upwards tilting of the high frequencies that many loudspeaker manufacturers are still tempted to introduce for the sole effect of being more impressive in the show room?

This practice (along with tipping of the bass - the so called smiley EQ) seems to be even more common in the world of headphones where a design with a flat response is almost unheard of.

No wonder most engineers still prefer to mix on professional monitors.