What Is Speakers?
Computer speakers, or multimedia speakers, are speakers sold for use with computers, although usually capable of other audio uses, e.g. for an MP3 player. Most such speakers have an internal amplifier and consequently require a power source, which may be by a mains power supply often via an AC adapter, batteries, or a USB port. The signal input connector is often a 3.5 mm jack plug (usually color-coded lime green per the PC 99 standard); RCA connectors are sometimes used, and a USB port may supply both signal and power (requiring additional circuitry, and only suitable for use with a computer). Battery-powered wireless Bluetooth speakers require no connections at all. Most computers have speakers of low power and quality built in; when external speakers are connected they disable the built-in speakers. Altec Lansing claims to have created the computer. The parts of a speaker are:
The cone and the dust cap (the parts that move air and produce sound)
The spider and the surround (also called the suspension, these are the parts that hold the cone in place while still allowing them to move)
The magnet and the voice coil (the parts that interact to convert electric energy into motion)
The basket
The pole and top plate
And finally the frame that mounts everything together
The ultimate test of fidelity for a speaker is how similar the waveform in the air (the pressure wave) is to the electronic signal (the sound recording) that was sent into the amplifier.
If every frequency is accurately reproduced to the listener without adding or removing any information it’s probably a superb speaker.
There are several factors that determine how accurate the listening experience will be including the frequency response, the amount of distortion, and the directionality (dispersion) of the speaker. Frequency response is how loud the output of a speaker will be at different frequencies.
A typical test for frequency response sends out a sweep of frequencies from the bass to the mids, and up to the treble range to see if the sound from the speaker is the same in all these areas. The ideal frequency response for a speaker is very flat. This means the speaker would be the same level at low frequency as it is in the mids or highs. The goal of a flat frequency response is to ensure that the people listening to your music experience it the way you intended it. If your track is well mastered and sounds good on speakers with a flat response, you can be sure that it will sound its best on any playback system. Many speakers we use have limited frequency responses. For example: Try to hear the bass kick on your laptop speakers! No thump right? Most speakers also have lower output power. Ever try using your phone to play music at a party? Not a very jumping party I’m sure.
A lot of speakers also produce distortions, meaning they add frequencies to the music that were not there in the original recording. While there are times when distortion can sound good (think tubes and Eddie Van Halen) speaker distortion often sounds bad unless it was put there by choice. And after you spend time recording and mixing a song, you don’t want people to hear things in your music that were not there to begin with. Larger speakers are, on average, much better in terms of their frequency response and distortion but a big improvement would be to be able to produce better, more accurate sound from smaller speakers.
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The information is provided by Tecquisition for general informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal advice. If you have any feedback, comments, requests for technical support or other inquiries, please mail us by tecqusition@gmail.com.
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