subject: Car Audio Speakers: What You Need To Know [print this page] Speaker systems r vr important bu th r th units tht tull reproduce th sound frm electrical energy. Whn I buy speakers, I nl wnt t gt high end. Hr wht u nd t know, nd wht t lk for:
First, let's start wth th types f speakers tht you'll encounter n th car audio world.
Woofer: A large speaker designed t reproduce th lwr frequencies f th audio spectrum.
Mid: A medium sized speaker designed t reproduce th middle frequencies f th audio spectrum.
Tweeter: A small sized speaker designed t reproduce th highest frequencies f th audio spectrum.
There r thr variations f th speakers vlbl well.
You've rtnl heard f "subwoofers" tht reproduce th lowest f th audio frequencies. Essentially, th r th m thng woofers, ut bigger nd wth mr power handling. Th result? Thunderous bass! Lk th gods nt t themselves...
You mght l encounter "midbass" drivers. Th r similar t woofers, but r uull ud t bring mr bass t th front soundstage. Oftn times, th r connected t crossover networks.
Another type f speaker u mght encounter called "supertweeter", nd reproduces th highest frequencies n th audio spectrum.
Now, t shock you...
When u buy "speaker", u r tull buying speaker system. AKA, mr thn n thng working tgthr t produce result. Let's tk lk t th types f speaker systems available...
TYPES OF SPEAKER SYSTEMS:
Basically, thr r tw types f speaker "systems" tht exist.
1. "Coaxial", "three way", "full-range", etc.
These speaker systems r designed t fit nt th factory speaker location n ur vehicle. Th r ftn referred t "speaker", but hv mr thn n speaker, nd wll l ntn crossover. (coaxialspeak.jpg)
2. "Components", "Seperates"
These speaker systems essentially tk vrthng frm th bv speaker system, nd break t u nt parts. (componentspeak.jpg)
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE, AND WHY SHOULD I CARE?
To restate th obvious, n speaker system h ll f t components n n package, nd th thr speaker system h ll f t components n seperate packages. Bth speakers d th exact m thing, nd work n th exact m way, BUT COMPONENT SYSTEMS ARE BETTER.
Why?
I'll tll you, hoss!
But bfr I do, u huld knw but th PROPERTIES OF HIGH FREQUENCIES. OK, it's boring, I'll give u th executive summary: High frequencies r extremely narrow n thr dispersion. (Whu huh?) In short, high frequencies (if w uld them) disperse lk string. Lw frequencies, f w n thm disperse lk fan. So, n high frequencies don't disperse vr well, th nd t b aimed t th ears, thrw w won't hear them! Th n f th advantages f component systems; th llw th tweeters t b aimed! Wh d w wnt this? S whn singer hits n "s word", r cymbal crashes (both f th thng happen n th higher frequencies), th sound wll SPARKLE, rthr thn sound dead nd flat.
PIX: tweeterdisperse.jpg, wooferdisperse.jpg
Another advantage f components: Thr crossovers r uull higher quality units thn you'll find n coaxial r full-range speakers systems. Th good bu you'll introduce l distortion t ur speakers, nd b rtn tht ur speakers r nl playing th frequencies tht they're designed t play. Th result? BETTER SOUND.
The lt advantage f components tht th r GENERALLY designed fr people wh r mr interested n sound quality. Bu f this, components r generally higher n quality. Whn t m t coaxials, vn th mt expensive models wll b eclipsed b th quality f components n th m price range.
OK, OK. I knw nt vrn wll ndr component speaker systems. Th truth tht th r harder t install properly nd mr expensive. Of course, f sound quality ur thing, you'll g thrugh th extra effort! Evn car manufacturers r gttng wth th program th days, nd include component speaker systems n thr vehicles. Evn m lowly Honda Civic h 'em!
Crossovers:
So, you've rbbl noticed m ung th word "crossover" above. Wht u m nt knw wht crossover is, nd wht t does. Basically, crossover takes full spectrum audio signal, nd breaks t u nt dffrnt frequency "bands", nd sends th rrt frequencies t th rrt speakers. Here's picture! (xover.jpg)
If th explanation w t simple fr you, u n check ut m crossover page fr mr n depth info. Thanks!
OK, OK, OK. It's time t gt dwn t business, nd lk t speaker specifications, nd hw th affect you.
Size:
This ftn expressed n inches (but mtm metric fr european brands), nd refers t th MOUNTING f th speaker, nt th actual speaker. Fr rund speakers, th diameter gvn uh 6.5" r 5.25". Fr oval speakers, th dimensions r given, uh 5x7" r 6x9".
Mounting Depth:
Basically, th tells u hw deep th speaker bhnd t mounting. Mt speakers r but 3-4" inches deep. Th important t knw bu u wnt t b ur tht thr nugh room bhnd th speaker t mount t properly.
Frequency Response:
This tells u wht frequencies th speaker capbale f reproducing. Mt good speakers wll g lw 50hz, nd ll th w t 20,000hz (and beyond). However, f you're planning t add subwoofers t ur system, u don't nd ur speakers t g muh lwr thn 100hz. Also, it's nt essential fr ur speakers t g higher thn 20,000hz n u lowly humans can't hear nthng n tht frequency range.
Power handling:
This th amount f power speaker n handle wthut gttng damaged. Th uull expressed n tw ways: RMS nd MAX. RMS wht th speaker n handle continuously, nd th MAX rating tells wht th speaker n handle n short bursts.
Impedence:
This measured n Ohms, nd tells u hw muh resistance th speaker has. Basically, th nl thng uful but th spec u knw wht amp t hook ur speakers u to. Mt car speakers (with th exception f subwoofers) r 4 ohm speakers, nd ll auto amplifiers r built t handle 4 ohm "load". Mt amps n l handle 2 ohm loads, but 2 ohm speakers r vr rare. I wuld th spec muh mr important whn t m t subwoofers rthr thn speaker systems.
Sensitivty:
Measured n db, sensitivty essentially tells u hw loud speaker wll be. Whn powering ur speakers ff f lw power amplifier, u wnt mr sensitive speaker. Whn powering ur speakers ff f high power amplifier, th sensitivty rating muh l important. Also, mr sensitive speakers tend t distort mr easily.
A quick word but power handling, amps nd distortion...
SPEAKERS DO NOT GET DESTROYED BY VOLUME, BUT BY DISTORTION! A such, t ur main goal t limit th amount f distortion tht ur speakers receive. Nt nl d th mk ur music sound better, but t l protects ur speakers frm premature damage.
THE EASIEST WAY TO DO THIS IS BY...
Buying muh power u n afford, vn f t exceeds th "power handling" spec fr ur speakers.
WHAT?!!! WHY??!!!
Because, because, bu turning u th volume t high wht u ur amplifier t "clip". Th th worst distortion tht u n send t ur speakers. It caused b trng t gt t muh volume ut f n amp tht can't provide it. SOOOO, u gt BIG, BAD amp wth plenty f power. Now, whn u turn u th volume high, ntd f pushing th amp's limits, you're ut starting t gt th amp going. So, ntd f clipping, th amp sends nice clean signal t ur speakers. N distortion, n damage, NO PROBLEM!
Now tht I've educated you, it's time t thnk but wht u wnt frm ur speakers...
Alan Bayer n entrepreneur nd car audio enthusiast. H urrntl runs n eBay store at:
