a good site showing/explaining how speakers work, using Animation ....
http://animagraffs.com/loudspeaker/
http://animagraffs.com/loudspeaker/
dim_span said:a good site showing/explaining how speakers work, using Animation ....
http://animagraffs.com/loudspeaker/
chebby said:dim_span said:a good site showing/explaining how speakers work, using Animation ....
http://animagraffs.com/loudspeaker/
Worth making this link clickable.
The 2nd animation alone dispells the notion that current and electrons flow in one direction and makes the idea of 'directional' cables ridiculous!
andyjm said:...and at higher frequencies cones don't move in a uniform way like nice 'pistons' but those a very minor points and don't detract from the overall explanation.
margetti said:Great link! *biggrin*
TrevC said:margetti said:Great link! *biggrin*
Primitive devices really. You now know why they are always the weakest component of a hifi, and should always have the most cash spent on them.
Infiniteloop said:Primitive devices really. You now know why they are always the weakest component of a hifi, and should always have the most cash spent on them.
In my experience, I've found that the more you spend on the Amp controlling these primitive devices, the better.
Speakers need to be ruled.
It dawned on me yesterday when I posed the above question, that one explanation for the nonsense claims about amplifiers must be that of a serious misunderstanding of the extremely simple job that the amplifier actually does. And the greatest misconception must be, and seems to be, a belief that the amplifier is somehow in command of the loudspeakers. The opposite is true. The amplifier is most definitely not in command of anything[/u]. It is as dumb a piece of circuitry as you can ever have. It has no intelligence, no inspiration, no personality, no empathy, no knowledge or interest in the signal (music or test tones) passing through it. It is the original henpecked husband. It is totally at the mercy of, and under the thumb of, the loudspeakers connected to it. They bark: the amp jumps. They bark more: the amp jumps more. Until, of course, the dynamics of the music command the amp to jump higher than it has the energy to do so, and the best it can do is make a pathetic, half-hearted attempt to jump. The result is dynamic compression (accompanied by lots of distortion) as the amp shrieks in agony with the effort.
How does this seem so far? Counter intuitive perhaps?
Vladimir said:Infiniteloop said:Primitive devices really. You now know why they are always the weakest component of a hifi, and should always have the most cash spent on them.
In my experience, I've found that the more you spend on the Amp controlling these primitive devices, the better.
Speakers need to be ruled.
Harbeth's owner Alan A. Shaw disagrees. Clicky
It dawned on me yesterday when I posed the above question, that one explanation for the nonsense claims about amplifiers must be that of a serious misunderstanding of the extremely simple job that the amplifier actually does. And the greatest misconception must be, and seems to be, a belief that the amplifier is somehow in command of the loudspeakers. The opposite is true. The amplifier is most definitely not in command of anything. It is as dumb a piece of circuitry as you can ever have. It has no intelligence, no inspiration, no personality, no empathy, no knowledge or interest in the signal (music or test tones) passing through it. It is the original henpecked husband. It is totally at the mercy of, and under the thumb of, the loudspeakers connected to it. They bark: the amp jumps. They bark more: the amp jumps more. Until, of course, the dynamics of the music command the amp to jump higher than it has the energy to do so, and the best it can do is make a pathetic, half-hearted attempt to jump. The result is dynamic compression (accompanied by lots of distortion) as the amp shrieks in agony with the effort. How does this seem so far? Counter intuitive perhaps?
Quelle surprise
Vladimir said:Infiniteloop said:Primitive devices really. You now know why they are always the weakest component of a hifi, and should always have the most cash spent on them.
In my experience, I've found that the more you spend on the Amp controlling these primitive devices, the better.
Speakers need to be ruled.
Harbeth's owner Alan A. Shaw disagrees. Clicky
It dawned on me yesterday when I posed the above question, that one explanation for the nonsense claims about amplifiers must be that of a serious misunderstanding of the extremely simple job that the amplifier actually does. And the greatest misconception must be, and seems to be, a belief that the amplifier is somehow in command of the loudspeakers. The opposite is true. The amplifier is most definitely not in command of anything. It is as dumb a piece of circuitry as you can ever have. It has no intelligence, no inspiration, no personality, no empathy, no knowledge or interest in the signal (music or test tones) passing through it. It is the original henpecked husband. It is totally at the mercy of, and under the thumb of, the loudspeakers connected to it. They bark: the amp jumps. They bark more: the amp jumps more. Until, of course, the dynamics of the music command the amp to jump higher than it has the energy to do so, and the best it can do is make a pathetic, half-hearted attempt to jump. The result is dynamic compression (accompanied by lots of distortion) as the amp shrieks in agony with the effort. How does this seem so far? Counter intuitive perhaps?
Infiniteloop said:Oh, and don't you think that the owner of Harbeth might be somewhat biased towards more expensive speakers?
Vladimir said:Infiniteloop said:Oh, and don't you think that the owner of Harbeth might be somewhat biased towards more expensive speakers?
How much did your amp cost compared to your speakers?
Infiniteloop said:Vladimir said:Infiniteloop said:Oh, and don't you think that the owner of Harbeth might be somewhat biased towards more expensive speakers?
How much did your amp cost compared to your speakers?
£6K Vs £4.5K (Inc stands).
Vladimir said:Infiniteloop said:Vladimir said:Infiniteloop said:Oh, and don't you think that the owner of Harbeth might be somewhat biased towards more expensive speakers?
How much did your amp cost compared to your speakers?
£6K Vs £4.5K (Inc stands).
Therefore, slim are the chances of me convincing you that speakers are the most important link in the hi-fi chain.
Infiniteloop said:They were before I'd spent anything like that on my system.
Simply because of my previous experiences with various systems over many years.... But go on, have a try...
Vladimir said:Infiniteloop said:They were before I'd spent anything like that on my system.
Simply because of my previous experiences with various systems over many years.... But go on, have a try...
No reasoning or facts can sway the happy consumer from believing his Veblen goods are worth it. I've tried it more than once.
Vladimir said:Infiniteloop said:They were before I'd spent anything like that on my system.
Simply because of my previous experiences with various systems over many years.... But go on, have a try...
No reasoning or facts can sway the happy consumer from believing his Veblen goods are worth it. I've tried it more than once.
Infiniteloop said:Thought not.
If you've tried and failed several times, could it be that you are wrong?
Infiniteloop said:Vladimir said:Infiniteloop said:Oh, and don't you think that the owner of Harbeth might be somewhat biased towards more expensive speakers?
How much did your amp cost compared to your speakers?
£6K Vs £4.5K (Inc stands).
TrevC said:Infiniteloop said:Vladimir said:Infiniteloop said:Oh, and don't you think that the owner of Harbeth might be somewhat biased towards more expensive speakers?
How much did your amp cost compared to your speakers?
£6K Vs £4.5K (Inc stands).
You could swap your amp for a far cheaper one with the same power output and it's likely you'll hear little difference, but do the same with your speakers and the difference would be far greater. Speakers are always the weakest link in any system. Compare the abberations of frequency response and distortion produced by any expensive speaker to that from, say the keenly priced Behringer A500 amplifier and you should be able to see the point.