Some high Qts driver work great in boxes, sealed boxes. Take the classic WE Altec 755A, for example. Works on an OB, works in a sealed box, works in a leaky box, back horn, etc.
Before hifi, say 1950, radio and jukeboxes were the sound machines, and the same speakers used in the big theater systems, Jensen-style field coils were the best speakers for that too. Same with electric organs.
With the introduction of Alnico V in the 40s, it became possible to have speakers that didn't need a power supply to work. The field coil 12" of the TOTL EH Scott radios gave way to the 12" WE 728B of the TOTL Capeharts.
Really good speakers in the early days of hifi were still big however, and miniaturized or at least domesticated versions of the archetypal theater topologies.
I register
some 35hz energy from my 728Bs in 4 cu ft sealed cabs on an RTA and can hear same on a frequency sweep, but it really kicks in above 50hz. This is a fairly big box by today's home standard, but, sadly, it is all I can get away with.
Making matters much worse was the shift to the imaging/soundstaging aesthetic in the 80s, wherein dynamics was not a primary objective, and could even negatively impact the desired illusion of everything nicely arrayed in a showbox. A speaker with squashed dynamics and a touch of HF boost with do that just fine, better in fact than a super punchy "forward" speaker, which many of us are liking again these days.
I think of the Spica TC-50 and Celestion SL-600 of the 80s. Imaged like crazy, flat portrayal with no punch and snap. Everybody loved them, including me. However, I soon came to my senses on the bigger picture.
Back then, and even now, I liked Snells. They have good snap per cu.ft. and an open, lively sound. Still have two pairs, E and K. Also, Fried TLs from my hometown of Philly, but I like the LF more than the HF on those.
How to get dynamics on par with large theater speakers in a 2 cu.ft. or less box? Good question! Let me know if you find it. I think compromise is unavoidable.
The first thing that has to happen is that skilled designers need to recognize that dynamic portrayal is a desirable goal, which is happening more and more. The worst that could happen is that consumers have a wider range of presentations to select from. A chamber music fan might be happy with lower dynamics than a reggae or techno freak. And there are still a lot of people listening and evaluating in the imaging/soundstaging mode who aren't missing the dynamics. if this is a hidden secret, it is hidden in plain sight.
I don't pay too much attention to the contemporary speaker market, but I have heard Zu and Volti speakers with decent dynamic portrayal and somewhat manageable size.
I got to hear the US Army Blues, the Army's top jazz ensemble, last week. NO speaker will portray the dynamics of an 18 piece brass jazz orchestra. A five piece trumpet line will kill any loudspeaker on a wicked horn stab. Near take you head off!
http://www.kennedy-center.org/artist/B14817
Couple vids at the bottom of the page. Great band...but they didn't "image" as well as many high-end speakers.