S is for speakers

 

You’ve just made the most professional recording you can, but hearing the truest representation will ultimately rely on the quality of your speakers.

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To hear the best reflections of your own music, you’ll have to test your track on a myriad of different speakers: be it hi-fi, monitors or headphones.

There are many variables in perceiving the sound from your speakers: their position, the type of speakers and their quality.

Fluctuating with the electronic signal

All audio signals sent to speakers are amplified [click here to read our instalment on Amplifiers] to a set level before they are sent to the speaker cones (drivers).

Fundamentally, each speaker works as a power converter that is converting electrical power into mechanical power and then into the acoustic power ultimately heard.

On each driver is a ‘permanent magnet’ which contains a ‘voice coil’ – both creating a magnetic field. An electronic current travels through the speaker and fluctuates in amplitude and polarity. The magnetic field of the voice coil changes accordingly.

The electronic power is subsequently converted to mechanical power by the fluctuating magnetic field of the voice coil interacting with the constant magnetic field of the permanent magnet. It causes the voice coil to move in and out in accordance with the direction and amplitude of the applied electrical signal.

Then, the mechanical energy is converted to acoustical energy. This is done by the drivers (the front surface) connected to the voice coils. It is the front surface that moves in and out and produces the change in the air pressure that our ears hear as sound waves.

Factors

It’s difficult to get an accurate representation of the entire spectrum of sound from a speaker. Most speakers use two cones (drivers) - a ‘tweeter’ for the high frequencies and a ‘woofer’ for low frequencies. The point from which the signal is divided is usually at a particular frequency – this is called the crossover frequency (most 6.5" woofers perform well with a crossover frequency of 2khz or below, for example).

Some professional studio monitors use three or more drivers to refine this procedure (other cones include the ‘squawker’ for mid-frequencies and ‘subwoofers’ for very low frequencies).

Where a speaker is placed in the room makes a difference to the producer, mixer and listener alike. In the studio, it is important to position the monitors in the correct place to listen to the truest representation of the sound. In the lounge room, the sound can change depending on where the speaker is placed in the room in relation to the listener.

Theoretically, it is best to position speakers in the shape of an equilateral triangle (five to six feet ideally) where the third point is your head, this gives the optimal sound in a stereo field.

This positioning can vary depending on the room – its size, design and available free space. It also depends if a speaker is designed to sit on a wall or not.

Types of listening boxes

Passive: when a speaker is receiving its output directly from an amplifier. The speaker only splits the signals in a high and low frequency at delivers it to the drivers.

Powered: Already equipped with an inbuilt amp, these maintain a consistent quality of sound.

Active: Like powered speakers, there is no external amplification device, but they are speakers with a difference: these speakers use their own electronic circuitry to split the frequencies and then deliver each individual one into individual amplifiers that then feeds to the drivers. Active speakers are known for their accuracy in splitting signals and are flexible enough to incorporate equalisation features.

Monitors: The characteristics of your chosen monitors will colour the sound of everything you record and mix. Set aside your hi-fi speakers (they may be useful as a reference check later), studio engineers will want a purpose-built speaker that’s ‘tuned’ to the room. Such speakers are typically designed for ‘nearfield’ – a term coined in the 1980s predating the ‘home studio’ phenomenon. They reveal the details of the sound that would get lost on hi-fi speakers, therefore monitors are important for an engineer to hear the problems that need to be fixed.

A nearfield monitor has the subjective sound and tonal quality that appeal to an engineer.

Headphones: A listening device that fundamentally works like a speaker, headphones are important for those occasions when the engineers are dubbing an instrument or vocal line. Headphones ideally should be light and comfortable, of good listening quality across the frequency ranges, powerful, stereo and accurate.

Buying

It is easy to take what a speaker can do for granted, but it is more than just key to the signal chain, it is the product of it. A speaker can give more character to the overall sound than the amplifier and condenser combined, so it is a delicate and important link to get right.

Before buying a speaker, think about your room size: you might only need something small and contained. A small enclosed space calls for a standmount speaker while a large open space would warrant a larger floorstanding speaker. The ultimate speaker will sound better if it is suited to a room size whether it is for the home or for professional uses.

You’ve read it. Now review it.

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