If it weren’t for speakers you would not be able to listen to your favourite song or enjoy a movie on a Friday night or even talk to a friend on the phone and much more! Most of the music we hear around us is played back with big loudspeakers attached to stereos or tiny headphones. Television, radios, computers, phones, talking toys are just a few of the electric gadgets which create sounds with loudspeakers. We all know the obvious that speaker’s produce sound, but do you know how they work? Well this blog post (and future blog posts) will guide you through theoretical overviews of how speakers work and everything you wanted to know about speakers!
Firstly let’s talk about the history of speakers; have you wondered who invented speakers? Evolution of speakers? Let’s talk about horns; these were the earliest form of sound which was invented in the 1888 - 1920s by Thomas Edison, Magnvox, and Victrola. Horns do not use electricity thus did not amplify the sound very much. However, in the future, horns were created with the use of electrical amplification which allowed sound to be generated to fill a large public space. Horns were later replaced with records although smaller horns were still used in homes. Let’s now move on to the standard dynamic loudspeaker that we all know today which was developed in the 1920s. It uses a magnetic field to move a coil or magnet which is connected to a diaphragm. Other kinds of speakers and sound amplifications are horns, electrodynamic loudspeaker, flat panel speakers, plasma arc speakers, piezoelectric speakers and the list goes on and on.
Now that you all know about the history and types of speakers let’s move on to sound. How exactly is sound made? Well if you are a student who has taken physics before you must have learned about sound, wasn’t that the easiest unit?! Anyways, if you did not take physics don’t worry, I got you! Sound is a phrase that typically refers to frequencies that the human ear can hear. It is created when an object vibrates or moves, when this happens it transmits kinetic energy to the air particles around it which then we are able to hear the sound. Frequency describes the length of a single wave; it is affected by the speed of vibration. Slower vibrations create lower-frequency sounds while faster vibrations create higher-frequency sounds. Human ears can hear frequencies from 20Hz to 20 000Hz, thus if a sound’s frequency is on the lower end of our hearing scale we hear deep/low sounds which we call Bass. When the sound’s frequency is on the higher end, we hear high-pitched sounds which we call treble. This is just the basics of sound, in future blog posts you will learn how exactly sound is made by speakers.
Before we learn about how speakers work, we first need to know the parts of a loudspeaker speaker. Starting from the back of a speaker, we have the yoke. This part affects the efficiency and stability of the magnet assembly. It also has very significant effects in distortion mechanisms and voice temperature which essentially affect thermal compression and power handling. Next we have the magnet, which is the driving force of the speaker. Its structure is what creates the standing magnetic field which gives the voice coils generated field something to push off of. Next we have a front plate; this along with the yoke and magnet completes the magnetic circuit. Then we have the voice coil; the voice coil and standing magnetic field are what makes the cone move. When an electrical current from an audio amplifier is put into a speaker’s voice coil, it generates an alternative magnetic field. Next we have the suspension which keeps the voice coil aligned and acts like a spring when the speaker is in motion. Then we have a cone which is the biggest factor in determining the frequency response and overall sound of the speaker. The larger the cone, the more mass and surface area a speaker will have which means more air can move which leads to a louder speaker. The next part is called the surround aka front suspension; this joins the cone to the chassis. It controls the cone excursion and also determines how energy travelling through the cone is absorbed. Lastly we have a dustcap, this keeps dust and dirt out of the voice coil.
Stay tuned for the next post in which I will be talking about how speakers exactly work. In this blog post we learned a little bit of history of speakers and the types of speakers, we also learned about sound and parts of the speakers, this will all connect to the next blog post. See you next time!
Firstly let’s talk about the history of speakers; have you wondered who invented speakers? Evolution of speakers? Let’s talk about horns; these were the earliest form of sound which was invented in the 1888 - 1920s by Thomas Edison, Magnvox, and Victrola. Horns do not use electricity thus did not amplify the sound very much. However, in the future, horns were created with the use of electrical amplification which allowed sound to be generated to fill a large public space. Horns were later replaced with records although smaller horns were still used in homes. Let’s now move on to the standard dynamic loudspeaker that we all know today which was developed in the 1920s. It uses a magnetic field to move a coil or magnet which is connected to a diaphragm. Other kinds of speakers and sound amplifications are horns, electrodynamic loudspeaker, flat panel speakers, plasma arc speakers, piezoelectric speakers and the list goes on and on.
Now that you all know about the history and types of speakers let’s move on to sound. How exactly is sound made? Well if you are a student who has taken physics before you must have learned about sound, wasn’t that the easiest unit?! Anyways, if you did not take physics don’t worry, I got you! Sound is a phrase that typically refers to frequencies that the human ear can hear. It is created when an object vibrates or moves, when this happens it transmits kinetic energy to the air particles around it which then we are able to hear the sound. Frequency describes the length of a single wave; it is affected by the speed of vibration. Slower vibrations create lower-frequency sounds while faster vibrations create higher-frequency sounds. Human ears can hear frequencies from 20Hz to 20 000Hz, thus if a sound’s frequency is on the lower end of our hearing scale we hear deep/low sounds which we call Bass. When the sound’s frequency is on the higher end, we hear high-pitched sounds which we call treble. This is just the basics of sound, in future blog posts you will learn how exactly sound is made by speakers.
Before we learn about how speakers work, we first need to know the parts of a loudspeaker speaker. Starting from the back of a speaker, we have the yoke. This part affects the efficiency and stability of the magnet assembly. It also has very significant effects in distortion mechanisms and voice temperature which essentially affect thermal compression and power handling. Next we have the magnet, which is the driving force of the speaker. Its structure is what creates the standing magnetic field which gives the voice coils generated field something to push off of. Next we have a front plate; this along with the yoke and magnet completes the magnetic circuit. Then we have the voice coil; the voice coil and standing magnetic field are what makes the cone move. When an electrical current from an audio amplifier is put into a speaker’s voice coil, it generates an alternative magnetic field. Next we have the suspension which keeps the voice coil aligned and acts like a spring when the speaker is in motion. Then we have a cone which is the biggest factor in determining the frequency response and overall sound of the speaker. The larger the cone, the more mass and surface area a speaker will have which means more air can move which leads to a louder speaker. The next part is called the surround aka front suspension; this joins the cone to the chassis. It controls the cone excursion and also determines how energy travelling through the cone is absorbed. Lastly we have a dustcap, this keeps dust and dirt out of the voice coil.
Stay tuned for the next post in which I will be talking about how speakers exactly work. In this blog post we learned a little bit of history of speakers and the types of speakers, we also learned about sound and parts of the speakers, this will all connect to the next blog post. See you next time!