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RE: What Is The Biggest Problem With Speakers Today?

> By that I mean which one problem ---once solved--- will make the most
> dramatic improvement with how speakers sound?

By far the biggest problem for accurate loudspeakers for the home (accurate in the sense of direct sound which is unambiguous - indirect sound is a different matter) is the market which is negligible in size compared to that for loudspeakers that are attractive for audiophile reasons. Clearly this is not a problem for audiophiles but only those that want to purchase accurate home loudspeakers at consumer rather then specialist prices.

For the home audio industry this is more of a solution than a problem and dates back to the seismic shift away from technical performance to perceived performance in the late 1970s. It has meant there is no requirement to invest in technical knowledge about the product in the manner of medium and high tech industries and the one or two small companies that make an effort in this direction can command specialist rather than consumer prices.

The "solution" would be to make audiophiles want accurate loudspeakers in preference to audiophile loudspeakers. One could almost certainly do this through education/marketing but it would be insane for the current audiophile industry to do so because it would be committing suicide. The shift from high fidelity to audiophile in home audio happened for business reasons and those companies that did not adapt their approach and continued with a focus on real technical performance disappeared from the home consumer market. Some tried to go up market, some went to professional audio but many were acquired by companies that used their brands and products in a more appropriate manner.

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