Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Classification of Speakers

There are many types of speakers/drivers used to get the highest degree of sound quality. All these drivers are sensitive to a range of frequencies and they are all incorporated in a single system to get the best sound experience.


The different types of drivers are:


Full-range Drivers – They are designed such that they have the maximum frequency response. It is usually small in size, typically 3 inches to 8 inches, and is designed to give a high frequency response and low distortion when outputting low frequencies. They are common in television sets and public addressing systems. It usually is employed along with another cone called the whizzer. It is a device the increases the frequency response of the driver and widens the directivity of the high frequency signals.


Subwoofer – It is a transducer used to output the low frequency range of the sound, which is usually below 120Hz. As the frequency response of the subwoofer is limited, its design too is simpler than the conventional speakers. The main purpose of the subwoofer is to get quality bass effects without the effects of resonance. Subwoofers can be broadly classified as active subwoofers and passive subwoofers. Active subwoofers have amplifiers within them but external subwoofers need external amplification.


Woofer – It is a transducer that is used to reproduce very low frequencies. Some systems incorporate woofers for very low frequencies and hence the subwoofer is not required in those systems.


Mid-range Drivers – It produces frequencies that fall in the mid-range of the frequency spectrum. They are made of either composite materials or paper. It is a air-compression type speaker and is invariably fixed to a horn.


Tweeter – It is a speaker that reproduces sound that fall under the higher end of the frequency spectrum. There are many designs for the tweeter depending on parameters like output level, frequency response, power handling capability and output fidelity.

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