Basic Speaker Terminology Decoded

By WebDrafter.com, Inc. w/ permission

Thinking about buying new speakers? If you are, it is likely you have done some research on various products and you have come across numerous terms used to compare them. It can be intimidating to confront this technological jargon. Hopefully, I can help! Here is a quick run down of some common terms you are likely to encounter while looking for your perfect set of speakers.

Woofer - no, it isn't a vocal dog or somebody who eats quickly. A woofer is the part of the speaker (driver) that handles the mid-range and low frequency bass.

Sub-woofer - this driver creates very low frequencies. It provides that thump that you can often feel in your chest!

Tweeter - Nope, not an angry bird. A tweeter is a part of the speaker that handles the treble range of sound. Basically, the high pitched sounds.

Diaphragm - This is a part of the speaker that vibrates with the voice coil and then causes the air to vibrate, which is what we perceive as sound. It is where the "rubber meets the road" for sound creation.

Voice Coil - The coil is a wire surrounded by magnets. The voice coil is attached to the diaphragm and receives the electronic sound signals from the amplifier. Basically, the sound signals cause the voice coil to vibrate which then causes the diaphragm to vibrate which creates sound.

Amplifier - this device increases the sound signal coming from your audio source. Without a amplifier all your music would come across the speaker at a level barley audible, if at all.

Three-way speaker - a speaker system that uses three drivers to break the audio into high, mid-range and low frequencies. Each frequency is handled by the tweeter, woofer and sub-woofer respectively.

Two-way speaker - a speaker system that splits the sound into two parts - the tweeter and the woofer. The tweeter handles the high frequencies and half of the mid-range while the woofer handles the other half of mid-range and the low frequencies. Two way speaker systems are generally considered to have inferior quality as compared to three-way systems.

This quick primer should give a a little more clarity when shopping for speakers. Even a little bit more knowledge is helpful as it give you a good jumping off point to ask more, precise questions. Happy shopping!

For more information on speakers and speaker repair visit www.midwestspeaker.com.

Article independently authored by Eric Parish. The Content herein may or may not reflect the views and opinions of Midwest Speaker.

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