Speakers

Simply put, speakers take electronic signals and turn them into sound. When referring to any sound system, the end quality is dependant on the speakers’ performance. The speaker gets the electronic signal stored on CDs, for instance, and gives it back into sound that can be captured by our ears.

Speakers are incredible products of modern technology that have profoundly marked our culture, but in itself, a speaker is a remarkably simple device. Even the best recordings put on the most advanced storage device and played by a top deck and amplifier will sound completely terrible if the system is connected to some very poor speakers.

Sound basics

If we want to understand how speakers work, we should first start with understanding how sound is produced. Sound consists of small fluctuations in the air pressure creating waves that travels from once source to the eardrum by changes occurring in the air pressure that gets into the ear. The inner ear sends signals to the brain which interprets the signals as sound.

Speakers create changes in the air pressure thus allowing us to actually hear our favorite movies or music. Speakers also make many different sound levels that change the vibrations captured by our eardrum. Quicker fluctuations in the air pressure create a sound wave frequency, by increasing the height of pitch involved in the sound. So, the lower the fluctuations, the lower the sound pitch. Amplitude is created when the eardrum reacts faster than the usual and this creates the increased volume level we hear.

The reason why we hear different sounds coming from different vibrating objects is because of the:

• Sound wave frequency: when the air pressure fluctuates faster, we hear a higher pitch, as a result of higher wave frequency.
• Air-pressure level: it is the wave’s amplitude that determines the sound intensity. Sound waves with greater amplitudes move our ear drums more and our brain decodes this as a higher sound volume.

A microphone has the same structure as our ears; it has a diaphragm that vibrates to sound waves. The signal coming from a microphone is encoded on a digital device under the form of electrical signal. When you listen to the CD, the amplifier sends the electrical signal to the speaker, which decodes it into physical vibrations to create sound waves that are ultimately captured by our ears.

Good quality speakers are optimized to produce extremely accurate fluctuations in air pressure, similar to the ones originally recorded by the microphone. Our entire sound experience changes, depending on the quality of our speakers. Subwoofers, amplifiers and various types of speakers create different sound effects and reproduce them in a way that can be decoded by our brains. Once our brain translates that, we are able to become absorbed by the world of television, movies or music.

Hi-Fi speakers

High fidelity or hi-fi speakers reproduce the sound in a very similar to the original performance. Ideally, hi-fi speakers have very little amounts of noise and distortion and an accurate frequency response.

How much power do you need?

Most people believe that if they use a 50 W per channel amplifier on their speakers, these would be destroyed.  What really damages the speakers is distortion.  If you increase the volume all the way up, there will be distortion, so if you start hearing that, turn the volume down.  A high power amplifier permits the volume in the system to be higher, while the volume control on the radio is down to the point where distortion has occurred. The best thing is to have a little more power than what you need in order to get cleaner sound. So how much power do you really need? Well, as much as you can afford. At a minimum, 30 to 50 Watts each would be OK for your front and rear speakers, while somewhere around 100-150 W should be OK for each subwoofer.

Choosing the best speakers for you

Sound quality, as well as other tastes like food or music is a personal preference and since we are all so different, we cannot say which the best speakers are. It is a matter of choice and it’s good whatever works best for you. When thinking about buying speakers, decide on the type of speaker you want and then narrow your search to a brand, style and sound quality you prefer. People who are really serious about getting the best out of their speakers should invest in some specialist speaker stands.

When you go shopping for speakers, a good idea is to test several models with some of your favorite CDs, so you can select those speakers that sound good to you. Depending on personal preferences, you can choose from multiple types of speakers: floor standing, bookshelf, satellite, in-wall and on-wall models. Here is a brief description of each type of speakers:

- Usually floor standing and bookshelf speakers give the best overall sound quality and connected to the amplifier and the receiver make the perfect match.

- Satellite speakers are small speakers that require a subwoofer and usually take less space.

- In-wall speakers offer good sound quality and the grills come in different colors to match the walls.

- On-wall speakers are usually bought for flat screen TVs.

All in all, a speaker should be matched with an amplifier or receiver to get the best sound quality.

Today, without speakers it would be impossible to enjoy entertainment the way we know it now. Taking the time to find the right model for your system is very important. Testing speakers, listening to different CDs and doing some research on them will help you make the best decision regarding the sound quality for your home and overall listening experience.