Some historical remarks, of most popular domestic loudspeaker types (radios, record players, cabinets)
- First ones were cones, installed on record players where needle was directly coupled to tymphani. Response 300-2000Hz
-
1925 Rice & Kellog introduced dynamic drivers, radio loudspeakers were open baffles or installed in large leaky cabinets. Frequency response was like 100-3000Hz. PA speakers adopted horn loading.
- In
1954 Villchur introduced closed box (acoustic suspension) which gained popularity in slowly growing hifi market. Response 50-10 000Hz. This cult has revived best in Britain (BBC heritage).
- in '60 woofers & tweeters and crossover circuits gained popularity, basics laid by
Thiele & Small Response 30-20 000Hz
- in '70s
electrostatic panel speakers didn't get much popularity.
- Transmission line and
bass-reflex porting gained popularity during '70s with the rapidly growing cheap stereo set business. Boxes were made by robots, of plastic instead of wood/laminates.
The continuing popularity of BR enclosures came from the typical boosted bass response around 100Hz, which gave "better" sound in typical environment of these cheap stereo sets with small lightweight speakers. Many hifi speakers adopted this, because loud bass sells! Soon people also started to want to see the port, it was no longer hidden by cloth or put on the backside.
In this millenium people started to buy HT set with separate subwoofers, but still most main speakers have BR loading, sadly. Simultaneously high-end hifi market started to have life of it's own with cults of open baffles, horns, TL omnis etc.