What's the difference between speakers?

[jarsoffart]

What's the difference between monitors, amps, computer speakers, home theater speakers, and all the other types? Only thing I can think of is the amps concentrating less on quality and more on volume. Please enlighten me.

 

[tronester1]

Originally posted by: jarsoffart
What's the difference between monitors, amps, computer speakers, home theater speakers, and all the other types? Only thing I can think of is the amps concentrating less on quality and more on volume. Please enlighten me.

Monitors are usually refering to studio monitors, nearfield. They are designed for a VERY flat frequency response so that the engineers can mix the music properly. Amplifiers do one thing, make a small signal bigger. So, the bigger the amplifier the louder you can get. That is the only reason you would need a larger amplifier - for more SPL. You do not gain sound quality from going from one amplifier to another. Computer speakers are usually cheaper, use very small drivers, and have limited low frequency response. They also overrate their power specifications, sometimes by quite a bit. Home theater speakers are used to watch movies with. You typically have 5, but you can use 2 if you want. You can also use 4 and not use a center channel, which is what I do, I dont notice a difference unless I sit off axis. A typical home theater will also have a subwoofer. Now, a TRUE subwoofer is a device that will play extremely low frequencies, like below 20hz. VERY few mass market subwoofers could actually be considered a subwoofer, a more proper definition would be "bass module".

Let me know if you have any more questions.

 

[Goi]

I beg to differ. Different amp designs lead to different sound, with different parameters(THD, frequency response, SNR, etc). Its not just about power. Besides, a doubling of power only leads to a 3dB increase in SPL, which is just barely audible. So, you can "gain" sound quality from going from one amp to another, depending on what you perceive sound quality to be.

Also, you seem to be a bit too stringent in your definition of a subwoofer. The human hearing range is roughly 20Hz to 20KHz, so an ideal subwoofer would be capable of reproducing at least 20Hz to whatever lower limit frequency the main speakers are capable of. Of course, we can still feel stuff below 20Hz even if we can't hear them, so it'd be good to have a subwoofer that is able to reproduce signals below 20Hz, but there are few that can do that.

I agree with the rest of what you said though

 

[tronester1]

Originally posted by: Goi
I beg to differ. Different amp designs lead to different sound, with different parameters(THD, frequency response, SNR, etc). Its not just about power. Besides, a doubling of power only leads to a 3dB increase in SPL, which is just barely audible. So, you can "gain" sound quality from going from one amp to another, depending on what you perceive sound quality to be.

Also, you seem to be a bit too stringent in your definition of a subwoofer. The human hearing range is roughly 20Hz to 20KHz, so an ideal subwoofer would be capable of reproducing at least 20Hz to whatever lower limit frequency the main speakers are capable of. Of course, we can still feel stuff below 20Hz even if we can't hear them, so it'd be good to have a subwoofer that is able to reproduce signals below 20Hz, but there are few that can do that.

I agree with the rest of what you said though

All amplifiers have a flat frequency response from 20hz to 20khz +/- 1dB or better. If they dont, they really are not a good amplifier. THD is inaudible until the amplifier is near its linear limits. After that, it begins to increase significantly to the point where it does infact become audible. Once again, if your amplifier has audible distortion within its linear operating range, then you either need to quit listening to test tones, or the amplifier is a very very poor one. As for the SNR, that is pointless, 100 dB signal to noise ratio? Come on, you cannot hear that. Think about it this way, when you are playing music peaking at 120dB, which is deafining by the way, the noise floor is at 20dB!!! Your air conditioning is probably louder. Besides, they can A weight it and make it sky high, like 100dB, but C weighted its as poor as 60dB. Something tells me you still wouldnt be able to hear noise at 60dB SNR.

Actually, *Generally Speaking* yes you usually get 3dB increase in SPL with doubling amplifier power, but typically other factors come into play such as power compression and boundry reinforcement, making the 3dB per doubling of power just a general rule of thumb.

As for the subwoofer, yes I should have been more clear about that. A *TRUE* subwoofer will extend and have usable response to at least 20hz, hopefully lower. The upper limit is undefined, but typically is around 80hz. The things that come with computer speakers, however, are not subwoofers, they are infact bass modules, as they typically have an F3 of 40hz or higher, even for the more expensive models. Thats an entire octave above true subwoofer.

P.S. My subwoofer can extend below 20hz! 🙂

 

[Goi]

Well, I guess a lot of tube amps aren't good amplifiers then 🙂
Again, I must say that it depends on what one perceives sound quality to be. Some like a flat frequency response. Some like a sweeter midrange. Some like a forward presentation, others like it laid back. Some prefer a wide dynamic range, others prefer a wide soundstage and pinpoint imaging. There's a thousand and one things that can be different, and sometimes cannot be measured or explained quantitatively.

Anyway, this is a thread on speakers, so let's concentrate more on that. There's really no international convention/standard on what a "true" subwoofer is(except perhaps the THX standard), just unwritten rules, and so your opinion is as good as mine. The thing that comes with computers often have problem producing bass at all, so should be more appropriately called midbass modules 🙂

P.S. mine too 🙂

 

[tronester1]

Originally posted by: Goi
Well, I guess a lot of tube amps aren't good amplifiers then 🙂
Again, I must say that it depends on what one perceives sound quality to be. Some like a flat frequency response. Some like a sweeter midrange. Some like a forward presentation, others like it laid back. Some prefer a wide dynamic range, others prefer a wide soundstage and pinpoint imaging. There's a thousand and one things that can be different, and sometimes cannot be measured or explained quantitatively.

Anyway, this is a thread on speakers, so let's concentrate more on that. There's really no international convention/standard on what a "true" subwoofer is(except perhaps the THX standard), just unwritten rules, and so your opinion is as good as mine. The thing that comes with computers often have problem producing bass at all, so should be more appropriately called midbass modules 🙂

P.S. mine too 🙂

OK, OK, you got me. It really does depend on the person's amplifier preference. But seriously, if an amplifier has a "sweet" midrange, I assume you are talking about frequency response abnormalities or phase shift, impulse response, harmonic distortion, etc. Would that not be technically saying the amplifier does color the sound? In that case, it is not working linearly, or the designers engineered it to sound different.

Would a blind test between two amps be an adequate measurement?

Yes, A subwoofer is basically whatever the marketing folks decide it to be. But in my opinion, its a device that goes from 20hz to 80hz. Yeah, the computer things should be called midbass modules!

 

[Goi]

Yup, I'm talking about one or more of those things you mentioned, and they're probably due to the inherent design of the amp. It doesn't only apply to amps either, speakers also have characteristic sounds and tonal qualities to them. For example, Klipsch and Paradigm have traditionally been noted to be "bright".

As for DBTs, from what I understand they can only be used to prove that differences do exist, rather than to prove that they don't. IMO too many people get caught up in the DBT argument and then forget about the music altogether...quite pointless I would say. In the first place, the DBT methodology was never meant to be applied in the audio field.