One area where I think we are in much better shape is in tweeter technology.
For a traditional speaker (not horn or ESL,etc.) tweeters have achieved remarkable extension and low energy storage. The innovation of the ring radiator moved the bar up considerably for what could be done with an inexpensive tweeter. Top level AMT show remarkably low distortion or thermal compression in addition to extension. It's easy to find tweeters that are flat through 20 kHz even among soft domes.
While the idea of Be tweeter diaphragms has captured the imagination, they vary greatly in quality and are now equaled or bettered by others.
Another might be how inexpensive really good film caps are now.
For a traditional speaker (not horn or ESL,etc.) tweeters have achieved remarkable extension and low energy storage. The innovation of the ring radiator moved the bar up considerably for what could be done with an inexpensive tweeter. Top level AMT show remarkably low distortion or thermal compression in addition to extension. It's easy to find tweeters that are flat through 20 kHz even among soft domes.
While the idea of Be tweeter diaphragms has captured the imagination, they vary greatly in quality and are now equaled or bettered by others.
Another might be how inexpensive really good film caps are now.