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The Voigt pipe is a type of loudspeaker enclosure that embodies a combination of transmission line, ported enclosure and horn characteristics. It is highly regarded by some speaker designers, as evidenced by established manufacturers such as Castle. Due to its relatively high efficiency the design is frequently employed in full-range loudspeaker designs. The concept is that the sound emitted from the rear of the loudspeaker driver is progressively reflected and absorbed along the length of the tapering tube, almost completely preventing internally reflected sound being retransmitted through the cone of the loudspeaker. The lower part of the pipe acts as a horn while the top can be visualized as an extended compression chamber. The entire pipe can also be seen as a tapered transmission line in inverted form, that is, widening rather than narrowing from top to bottom. The driver is usually positioned close to the middle of the baffle or slightly lower. Its relatively low adoption in commercial speakers can mostly be attributed to the large resulting dimensions of the speaker produced and the expense of manufacturing a rigid tapering tube. The Voigt pipe was designed in 1934 by Paul G. A. H. Voigt and is also referred to as a tapered quarter-wave pipe (TQWP) or tapered quarter-wave tube (TQWT).
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A subwoofer is a loudspeaker designed to reproduce low-pitched audio frequencies known as bass and sub-bass, lower in frequency than those which can be (optimally) generated by a woofer. The typical frequency range for a subwoofer is about 20–200 Hz for consumer products, below 100 Hz for professional live sound, and below 80 Hz in THX-approved systems. Subwoofers are never used alone, as they are intended to augment the low frequency range of loudspeakers that cover the higher frequency bands. While the term "subwoofer" technically only refers to the speaker driver, in common parlance, the term often refers to a subwoofer driver mounted in a speaker enclosure (cabinet), often with a built-in amplifier.
A loudspeaker is an electroacoustic transducer; a device which converts an electrical audio signal into a corresponding sound. The most widely used type of speaker in the 2010s is the dynamic speaker, invented in 1924 by Edward W. Kellogg and Chester W. Rice. The dynamic speaker operates on the same basic principle as a dynamic microphone, but in reverse, to produce sound from an electrical signal. When an alternating current electrical audio signal is applied to its voice coil, a coil of wire suspended in a circular gap between the poles of a permanent magnet, the coil is forced to move rapidly back and forth due to Faraday's law of induction, which causes a diaphragm attached to the coil to move back and forth, pushing on the air to create sound waves. Besides this most common method, there are several alternative technologies that can be used to convert an electrical signal into sound. The sound source must be amplified or strengthened with an audio power amplifier before the signal is sent to the speaker.
An audiophile is a person who is enthusiastic about high-fidelity sound reproduction. An audiophile seeks to reproduce the sound of a live musical performance, typically in a room with good acoustics. It is widely agreed that reaching this goal is very difficult and that even the best-regarded recording and playback systems rarely, if ever, achieve it.
A tweeter or treble speaker is a special type of loudspeaker that is designed to produce high audio frequencies, typically from around 2,000 Hz to 20,000 Hz. Specialty tweeters can deliver high frequencies up to 100 kHz. The name is derived from the high pitched sounds made by some birds (Tweets), especially in contrast to the low woofs made by many dogs, after which low-frequency drivers are named (woofers).
A woofer or bass speaker is a technical term for loudspeaker driver designed to produce low frequency sounds, typically from 40 Hz up to 500 Hz. The name is from the onomatopoeic English word for a dog's bark, "woof". The most common design for a woofer is the electrodynamic driver, which typically uses a stiff paper cone, driven by a voice coil surrounded by a magnetic field.
An electrostatic loudspeaker (ESL) is a loudspeaker design in which sound is generated by the force exerted on a membrane suspended in an electrostatic field.
A horn loudspeaker is a loudspeaker or loudspeaker element which uses an acoustic horn to increase the overall efficiency of the driving element(s). A common form (right) consists of a compression driver which produces sound waves with a small metal diaphragm vibrated by an electromagnet, attached to a horn, a flaring duct to conduct the sound waves to the open air. Another type is a woofer driver mounted in a loudspeaker enclosure which is divided by internal partitions to form a zigzag flaring duct which functions as a horn; this type is called a folded horn speaker. The horn serves to improve the coupling efficiency between the speaker driver and the air. The horn can be thought of as an "acoustic transformer" that provides impedance matching between the relatively dense diaphragm material and the less-dense air. The result is greater acoustic output power from a given driver.
Klipsch Audio Technologies is an American loudspeaker company based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in Hope, Arkansas, in 1946 as 'Klipsch and Associates' by Paul W. Klipsch, the company produces loudspeaker drivers and enclosures, as well as complete loudspeakers for high end, high fidelity sound systems, public address applications, and personal computers.
A bass reflex system is a type of loudspeaker enclosure that uses a port (hole) or vent cut into the cabinet and a section of tubing or pipe affixed to the port. This port enables the sound from the rear side of the diaphragm to increase the efficiency of the system at low frequencies as compared to a typical sealed- or closed-box loudspeaker or an infinite baffle mounting.
Bowers & Wilkins, or B&W, is a British company that produces audio equipment, most notably loudspeakers. B&W was founded in 1966 by John Bowers at Worthing, West Sussex, England. Currently, B&W, while still based in Worthing, is part of the B&W Group Ltd., which also includes audio equipment manufacturers Rotel and Classé.
An acoustic horn or waveguide is a tapered sound guide designed to provide an acoustic impedance match between a sound source and free air. This has the effect of maximizing the efficiency with which sound waves from the particular source are transferred to the air. Conversely, a horn can be used at the receiving end to optimize the transfer of sound from the air to a receiver.
A full-range loudspeaker drive unit is defined as a driver which reproduces as much of the audible frequency range as possible, within the limitations imposed by the physical constraints of a specific design. The frequency range of these drivers is maximized through the use of a whizzer cone and other means. Most single driver systems, such as those in radios, or small computer speaker designs, cannot reproduce all of the audible frequencies or the entire audible audio range.
An acoustic waveguide is a physical structure for guiding sound waves.
A loudspeaker enclosure or loudspeaker cabinet is an enclosure in which speaker drivers and associated electronic hardware, such as crossover circuits and, in some cases, power amplifiers, are mounted. Enclosures may range in design from simple, homemade DIY rectangular particleboard boxes to very complex, expensive computer-designed hi-fi cabinets that incorporate composite materials, internal baffles, horns, bass reflex ports and acoustic insulation. Loudspeaker enclosures range in size from small "bookshelf" speaker cabinets with 4" woofers and small tweeters designed for listening to music with a hi-fi system in a private home to huge, heavy subwoofer enclosures with multiple 18" or even 21" speakers in huge enclosures which are designed for use in stadium concert sound reinforcement systems for rock music concerts.
An acoustic transmission line is the use of a long duct, which acts as an acoustic waveguide and is used to produce or transmit sound in an undistorted manner. Technically it is the acoustic analog of the electrical transmission line, typically conceived as a rigid-walled duct or tube, that is long and thin relative to the wavelength of sound present in it.
A line array is a loudspeaker system that is made up of a number of usually identical loudspeaker elements mounted in a line and fed in phase, to create a near-line source of sound. The distance between adjacent drivers is close enough that they constructively interfere with each other to send sound waves farther than traditional horn-loaded loudspeakers, and with a more evenly distributed sound output pattern.
A parabolic loudspeaker is a loudspeaker which seeks to focus its sound in coherent plane waves either by reflecting sound output from a speaker driver to a parabolic reflector aimed at the target audience, or by arraying drivers on a parabolic surface. The resulting beam of sound travels farther, with less dissipation in air, than horn loudspeakers, and can be sent to isolated audience targets, unlike line array loudspeakers. The parabolic loudspeaker has been used for such diverse purposes as directing sound at faraway targets in performing arts centers and stadia, for industrial testing, for intimate listening at museum exhibits, and as a sonic weapon.
A coaxial loudspeaker is a loudspeaker system in which the individual driver units radiate sound from the same point or axis. Two general types exist: one is a compact design using two or three speaker drivers, usually in car audio, and the other is a two-way high-power design for professional audio, also known as single-source or dual-concentric loudspeakers.
The Kienle Resonator System has been developed by Ewald Kienle since 1970 to replace the loudspeaker reproduction used for digital organs which is regarded as unsatisfactory by many churchgoers.
A transmission line loudspeaker is a loudspeaker enclosure design which uses the topology of an acoustic transmission line within the cabinet, compared to the simpler enclosures used by sealed (closed) or ported designs. Instead of reverberating in a fairly simple damped enclosure, sound from the back of the bass speaker is directed into a long damped pathway within the speaker enclosure, which allows far greater control and use of speaker energy and the resulting sound.