The sound radiation from convex and concave rigid diaphragms represented by portions of a spherical surface was investigated for the purpose of modeling a dome loudspeaker. Pressure responses, radiation impedances, directivity patterns, and some other characteristics were obtained and compared with those of a circular flat diaphragm of the same radius. While the on‐axis pressure response of the rigid flat piston remains constant, the response of the convex dome decreases for aboutka≥ 1 as the height of the dome increases. The concave dome has a wide smooth peak aroundka= 1.5 and many peaks and dips for larger values ofka. The radiation resistance of the convex dome increases by the rate of 12 dB/oct or less up to aboutka= 2.0 and remains almost constant in higher frequency regions. On the other hand, the radiation resistance of the concave dome has its largest peak at the frequency corresponding to the peak of sound pressure response and shows many peaks and dips in higher frequency region. The radiation reactance of the convex dome is smooth and always positive, while the concave dome also exhibits negative reactance due to the resonance in its cavity. The directivity patterns of either the convex or concave dome do not have minima with zero sound pressure and their radiation patterns are generally wider than those of the circular plate.