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

Comparing speakers from the 1930's and today is like comparing fighter planes from the 1930's and today.  I really don't understand the comparison.  

Certainly gains have been made in speaker design equipment and the parts used to implement ever more refined designs. However, as the owner of a horn hybrid system, I have to agree that the fundamentals of design have not experienced a paradigm shift at all. 
Listen to Atmasphere. Ralph has devoted his life to these matters and has a well-deserved reputation as a straight shooter. 

atmasphere EVs, Klipsch, Altec and JBL all are not 1930s. The Altec A7 you use as a example of poor bass its again not a 1930s design but is a affordable down sized design so expecting that to have deep bass and to be a example of design faults from the 1930s is very off. And you say this- Most older speakers simply can’t reproduce it right- certainly nothing from the 30s can- again since you admit no experience with 1930s how can you say such a all encompassing thing. Your argument about old wiring well I see cloths back in and costly as all heck and noted more than a few modern builders that are using screw type connections and bakelite. And you mention a 98db loudspeaker that good to 20hz I would like to see that since Hoffmans iron law it would have to be giant. So thanks for replying etc but you haven't changed my mind.

I have no strong convictions either way in this discussion. But regarding the comment about modern jet fighters being superior to military aircraft from the 1930s, and other comments citing the superiority of modern technology, while that is certainly true I can say unequivocally as an antique radio collector that with perhaps a few exceptions the best performing and best sounding AM radios ever made were produced during the 1930s. (FM broadcasting didn’t exist at that time). Why would that be? Because in those days the centerpiece of home entertainment was AM radio, so there was incentive for manufacturers to implement that capability to high standards.

And by far the best sounding AM and shortwave radio I have ever heard, modern or vintage, is the 1936 McMurdo Silver Masterpiece V that is in my collection. Although "radio" is arguably a misnomer, as it is perhaps best considered to be a precursor of modern hifi systems. Its 18 inch speaker, btw, while labelled as a McMurdo Silver, I’m pretty certain was OEM’d by Jensen, and is very similar to the Jensen field coil drivers Larryi referred to in an earlier post.

Finally, I’ll mention that during the 1990s I owned two different pairs of very large 1960s Tannoy speakers, which incorporated 15 inch Tannoy "Red" dual concentric drivers that I believe would sell for something like $7K/pair today, or more. While I found their sonics to be somewhat disappointing, my impression was that the main reason for that was the design of the cabinets, and perhaps also the condition of the crossover components, not the drivers themselves.

Just my $0.02. Regards,
-- Al