[sublinear]

> Current loudspeakers use a magnet coupled with the movement of a copper coil to vibrate a membrane. In the future these heavy, bulky, and expensive components could be replaced by a dielectric elastomer membrane.

They mention efficiency, but not power. I don't like how this is framed as the general future of all speakers when it's really just the future of midrange drivers.

[teknopaul]

Heavy speakers is a plus when moving low frequencies. Otherwise you have to strap or bolt them down and together.

_Might_ be the future of mids, but I doubt it. Advancement in ribbon speakers is more likely IMHO. Also people develop a taste for how some speakers sound. I don't see guitar music being played on anything too different for a while, unless it has the same sound character. Even if technically it's a better reproduction, it has to reproduce how paper cone speakers sound now better than paper does. Seems unlikely. To win, people have to like the new sound more, or not be able to tell the difference.

[tchaffee]

Considering how many people listen to music through phone speakers or laptop speakers or portable mono speakers I think consumer tolerance is far higher than you're guessing. Many homes these days don't have any speakers aside from the ones that came with the TV and if you want higher quality you reach for the earbuds or headphones. The vast majority of people aren't audiophiles.

[fulafel]

There are cheaper and lower co2 footprint ballasts than copper and magnets for getting the weight.

[worik]

> Heavy speakers is a plus when moving low frequencies. Otherwise you have to strap or bolt them down and together.

I get it.

But I would rather have that in two parts. It is not always needed, in that there is a place to put the speakers, and I could leave the heavy stuff at home

[justinclift]

While that's true, there are niches that have different requirements.

One that springs to mind (for me) is audio monitors, where speakers are supposed to (in theory) be neutral in order to provide a good reference.