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The speakers
The speakers take the boosted signal from the power amp and deliver it to your ears. The way loudspeakers work is a fascinating process and will be dealt with at length in our Speaker column in this series. Essentially, loudspeakers transform electrical energy (the amplified signal) into mechanical energy (the motion of the speaker cone).
For now, know that all sound is vibration. When you snap your fingers, this action sets off a chain of frequencies in the air that eventually vibrate the membranes in your eardrums. You hear: "Snap!"
Sound energy is measured in wavelengths, known as hertz, and goes from 20 to 20,000 cycles. A cycle is the distance from the top of one wavelength to the top of the next.
Traditional loudspeaker design calls for three components to reproduce sound energy: woofers, tweeters and midrange drivers.
As the name implies, the woofer reproduces the lower frequencies, such as a large dog barking. The tweeter, also aptly named, replicates the higher register -- a bird singing. The midrange handles the frequencies in between.
Car audio manufacturers use various assortments of these drivers to achieve the sound they want. We'll go into this at length in a future installment.
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