Teach a noob, how do speakers work??

[rdlyn13000 10+ year member]

Hey guys sorry if this has been discussed and shoot me some links if it has but I came up with nothing while searching. Im the type of guy that needs to know how things work so i have some questions on subwoofers/speakers.

What does the magnet do? Why do we want BIG magenets?

Why single voice coil or dual? Why not 3 or 4 etc...

Why 8 ohm/4 ohm/2 ohm/.5 ohm etc...

Just in general what is going on in the speaker to make it work?

In Laymen's terms if possible. Thanks

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[Full Tilt 10+ year member]

I didn't really understand the 3rd question..are you asking about the difference between the ohm readings?

As far as the question about voice coils go, I'll try to answer it as well as I can. Basically, 1 or 2 voice coils are what provide the best efficiency of a subwoofer, and wil make the price cheaper because you're not putting 4 voice coils on it. 1 or 2 VCs are all you really need, which is why subs come in both D2 and D4 models. Allow me to explain.

Generally speaking, most people never run a CAR audio subwoofer above a load of 8 ohms, and .5 ohms is usually what most people don't go under.

If you have a 2-ohm DVC sub, you could either run it at 1 ohm or 4 ohms. If there are two subs, you could run it at .5 ohms or (I believe) 8 ohms.

If you have a 4-ohm DVC sub, you could either run it at 2 ohms or 8 ohms. If there are two subs, you could run it at 1 ohm or (I believe) 16 ohms.

(Getting into 3 subwoofers, you start getting into .67, 1.3, etc..)

Now, with only 2 voice coils, we've covered .5, 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 ohms, which are all generally what setups are run at. There's no need for any number of VCs above 2.

 

[rdlyn13000 10+ year member]

Thanks that helps some....

I'm also curious about the magnet and why you want them bigger? Is it to handle more power?

I'm assuming the amp puts the power into the sub which pushes it and the magnet pulls it back? So more power equals bigger magnet?

 

[Full Tilt 10+ year member]

[quote name='rdlyn13000']Thanks that helps some....

I'm also curious about the magnet and why you want them bigger? Is it to handle more power?

I'm assuming the amp puts the power into the sub which pushes it and the magnet pulls it back? So more power equals bigger magnet?[/QUOTE]

I couldn't answer that, hopefully somebody like @Kangaroux or @Bettr n&\#39; Revrse can help you.

 

[-01limited- 10+ year member]

This website is your best friend then. Read it

Basic Car Audio Electronics

 

[Kangaroux 5,000+ posts]

Bigger motors usually mean more motor force but it isn't something that's set in stone. There are a lot of variables that effect it.

 

[nateberrier 10+ year member]

A speaker and a microphone are essentially the same thing. When you have a coil of wire and you put electricity to it, that creates a magnetic field. Put to magnets together and they either stick or repel. When you put power to that coil its magnetic field opposes the one of the sub magnet. Stronger the magnet and more power to the coil, the more force that is behind the cone and under the right circumstances it will be louder. A lot goes into sub motors but thats the very basics. Spl subs are usually aluminum voice coils and the parts are designed to be light so they will move easier. Microphone is a speaker that is pushing a coil in a magnet and makes a small electromagnetic pulse that is picked up by the amp or computer. so you push power to a speaker and it creates movement, move the speaker and it creates electricity. Also you can lose a lot of power to the resistance built up by air pressure in the box, stiff spiders, and heat from too much power.

 

[SourDeez 10+ year member]

Ohms is the term used for measurement of resistance that an electrical current sees. This is used everywhere, not just car audio. The less ohms, the least resistance in the path, meaning more current can be pulled.

The reason different coils are offered is for customization when adding more subs (1 sub, 2 subs, 8 subs) all will need a different wiring combination to achieve certain ohm loads

 

[xShoWTeKx 10+ year member]

 

[rdlyn13000 10+ year member]

Good info guys!! So when you refer to motor is that just the magnet?

 

[SourDeez 10+ year member]

Yes

 

[snoopdan 5,000+ posts]

holy needing to learn DC theory.