New speaker technology vs. Old speaker tech???

Johnk,

I am so MUCH in agreement with you here. There are a number of very old drivers that can be used in modern systems that are, in some respects, unmatched by anything new. Some of these are limited in application because of practical concerns (size) but not in terms of sound quality (e.g., Western Electric 555 driver and 15a horn combination for midrange). I own a "modern" system where I have replaced the midrange driver/horn with a Western Electric 713b driver and 120125 horn. The driver was probably made around 1939.

I have heard a terrific system built around a 13" Jensen fieldcoil driver used as a bass/midrange driver with a simple highpasss network feeding a dome tweeter for very high frequencies. This is also a terrific sounding system based primarily on ancient drivers.

When stereo became popular, for practical reasons, the entire focus on speaker design was to develop smaller systems. Efficiency was also sacrificed in the process because, near the same time, higher powered transistor amplification became practical and cheap. In many respects, sound quality has not really recovered since then.

There are not that many "modern" horn drivers that even come close to comparing with some very old designs, apart from some attempts at exactly replicating those old horn drivers (the Japanese G.I.P. drivers, for example). Those modern, non-replica horn drivers that are really good are also terribly expensive, such as ALE drivers (a set of drivers cost more than a house). What else do folks put up as examples of modern compression/horn drivers that can compete with the best old stuff: Avantgarde?

All speakers should use the appropriate magnets (if they use magnets at all), whether Alnico or other material. The woofer and the midrange of my speakers DO use Alnico. The woofer, which is modern could have been made with alternative magnetic material; the very vintage midrange compression driver could not have been made with the current, exotic alloys. I like the sound of my system, although I don't know to what extent the use of Alnico, vis-a-vis the use of other magnetic material, has improved the sound.

It might well be the case that certain current designs would not work well with Alnico. Alnico magnets are relatively weak and may not work well with designs that require a smaller magnet and very high flux density concentrated in a small area. Alnico also demagnetizes more easily, particularly if heated, which would be bad news in designs where high current could cause heating.

There is also the approach of using no permanent magnet in a dynamic driver. I have heard some VERY good fieldcoil drivers. The problem here is that the requirement for a power supply dramatically increases the complexity of a system. Good power supplies are quite hard to find.

Yes, I agree that given the limited and fixed supply of ancient horn compression drivers they are not a realistic option for most people. It is also unfortunate that the good replicas and good modern alternatives are also quite pricey, with a few exceptions. I wish more companies would join the likes of Avantgarde in incorporating such old ideas into very modern designs. The likes of Cogent, G.I.P. and Goto cannot realistically advance horn popularity because of their super high prices.

I am at least encouraged by the growing use of wide range dynamic drivers in modern form (e.g. Voxative), although prices need to come down for these designs too (Tangband is one of the cheap players in this arena). It would be particularly nice if the best of these designs would trickle downward into the more affordable territory.

That is not to say that I don't enjoy hearing certain ultra modern designs. Modern speakers can easily beat the very old designs in most respects, but not all, and in many areas that really count, I like the old compression drivers (they deliver incredible low-level dynamics, plenty of detail and "texture" without sounding bleached and brittle). Still, I could easily see myself living with the likes of Raidho speakers.

I am pretty much ignorant of new vs. old crossover components. I have not experimented with old stuff. However, I have heard systems where someone went through a lot of trouble and expense to find and employ some very old Western Electric capacitors and inductors in their crossovers and the speakers sound very good. I might be inclined, in the future, to upgrade my crossover, but, I would be more likely to try modern Duelund caps and inductors rather than the really old stuff.