" EARLIER DAYS SPEAKERS WERE TOO GOOD. NOT SO NOW "

[Music Madhu]

We quite often come across statements like. " "EARLIER DAYS SPEAKERS WERE TOO GOOD. NOW A DAYS SPEAKERS ARE NOT SO " ...
Do you agree with these statements ?
I personally believe that as technology is emerging day in Day out , all the speaker manufacturing companies are stretching their limits to improve the performance of their products .
So if there is no improvement why to make a new model ?

This applies equally to electronics also.... Amps , CDPs, etc ..

Waiting to hear more from expert audio freaks.

Cheers

 

[sunder]

but beyond everyone’s reach.

Well said.

 

[arj]

There were good and bad speakers in the past and good and bad now. although the really good ones in the past are the ones we hear about now .
as @yogibear aptly put it, affordability is perhaps an issue !

 

[drkrack]

Today's cutting edge top of the line speakers will be way better than previous decades top speakers ; but they will be prohibitively priced!

Due to the unavoidable selection bias, it appears that (now affordable) previous speakers were well made..
It's like saying nowadays Bollywood music isn't good, but crap songs were there in old Bollywood movies as well!

 

[alclik]

I am not sure about the prohibitively priced audiophile grade audio, but as far as entry level and affordable audio is concerned, it has never been better in terms of price vs performance. In India it's not as good as the States but for the entry level but still not very bad if you know what you are buying.

This video explains it quite well:

 

[liverpool_for_life]

The Internet has been a great leveler in this industry. IMO, if you are an AV enthusiast, this is truly a "golden age".

If you go the Internet Direct(ID) company route, there's tremendous value to be had for high-fidelity equipment. As someone else posted above, price/performance ratio is the best it has ever been in this industry. If you're willing to look past "audiophile convention".

 

[square_wave]

If you know how to shop well, affordable audio has never been better. Look at Elacs as a good example of a mainstream brand. There are dozens of small manufacturers out there who sell direct to customer and they deliver outstanding value. I think it is the high end scene that has become too expensive these days because of the shrinking customer base. It is possible to get outstanding sound out of an restored to original spec vintage design especially if the original design was high end in the first place. Considering the reasonable price points of such an endeavour, a similar cost new design may not give you the same performance.

Look at this speaker as an example :

https://pbnaudio.com/m25-loudspeaker/

Pbn audio has many speakers but then it also has this model based on classic JBL drivers. Considered to be one of the finest speakers out there. It also costs a lot. But, if you know how to restore a JBL classic, you may able to get "similar" sound and performance at far less outlay.

This means that technology is available for whatever sound you want in this age and times!

 

[alclik]

I cannot comment on HT but if you are passionate music listener and willing to work a little, go DIY route for a great sounding stereo setup.

10-100X VFM and can be done in India.

That's good to know! Would love to see some Indian example(s)...

 

[aganja]

I have some great Stuff by DNM audio B 101 bookshelf, AU-8080stereo receiver & PSW 100 powered subwoofer

Also have a second set up in my bedroom ,cosmic amp & old aiwa speakers

my total system cost for both combined is 28 thousand