Speakers: Anything really new under the sun?

I'm a bit new, myself. Are open baffle speakers with active woofers as with the Spatial X3 an old design? They seem new to me...

Interesting discussion. I would have thought that the "materials science" factor, mentioned by a couple folks here, would have answered the question as "yes," but apparently this factor is just a minor one in the eyes of some. Hmmm. I guess I really don't have a good grasp on what, overall, makes a speaker design "different" in a significant way. 

@holmz Not sure what you're saying. Are saying something like,

(a) "There was such a thing as "materials science" back then?

That's too obvious a point for me to assume you're making.

The other option is that you're implying something like,

(b) "Not a lot of progress has been made in materials science as it applies to audio."

Do you mean (a) or (b) or something I'm missing? Thank you.

@arion 

There are advances in materials all the time. Manufacturing process improvements help companies build products that are more consistent....We...have invested considerable resources to design, develop and manufacture our own AMT drivers. Advances in adhesives, diaphragm architecture and substantial research of magnetic motor structures have allowed us to build AMT drivers that cover the range from 120 Hz to 24 KHz.

Thank you for weighing in. This is why I suspected the claim by @holmz (that there has been very little advances in materials since the 80's or 90's) might need checking.

@holmz I think we’re missing each other due merely to semantics, and I’m happy to let it rest. What has been said in this very interesting thread has gone way beyond resonances and has included materials in cones/drivers, ribbon tweeters, and other elements involved in making speakers. In your perspective (if I have your position right) these are minimal or even insignificant advances. To my mind, they seem substantial, and some here on the thread have agreed with that position. (Cf. decooney who worked in the industry and just said,

"Crossovers, caps, parts, Drivers, materials, cone materials, surround materials, internal wiring, binding posts, and even cabinet designs have improved compared to 20yrs ago....AMTs, better crossover parts and drivers with Nomex cones with better materials, new material diaphragms, decent solder, connectors, binding posts sound notably better than 20yrs ago.")

 

But I’m not an engineer or in the industry at all, so I cannot really judge what should count as a genuine advance. You seem confident that you know, so I will just let the issue/distinction rest.

@holmz  Thanks for going into more detail, and I was being earnest when I said I wasn't really able to make a judgment. If you say that not much advance has been made in materials for the last twenty years, I can only just say "I don't really know how to judge that statement" and will leave others the happy chore of either affirming or denying your claim with evidence they find salient. I'm here to learn, and you're contributing to that, so thank you!

@holmz Good. We agree, then, that "there is new stuff happening." That makes sense to me, too.  It's what others here have said regarding advances in materials in the speaker industry.