A speaker is defined as an electromechanical transducer that converts electrical energy into mechanical vibrations. What that technical jargon means is that a speaker is that component of your audio system, which gives you the sound. Speakers are the most visible and more importantly most crucial components of any audio system. Speakers have a greater impact on sound quality, character and power, than any other component of the audio system.
Looking at an audio system you’d see a mass of plastic, silicon, metal, wood, and numerous other materials, which combine to give you a great sound experience. Each of these basic parts are used to create the basic components of an audio system, namely the speakers, amplifiers, preamplifiers, CD players, etc. In very simple words the CD player runs the disc, the preamplifier adjusts the volume and balance, the amplifier provides electrical power to the audio signal, and the speakers use that power to create sound waves by vibrating various materials (the membrane like object that you see) and in turn, creating vibrations in the air. This complex string of mechanical and electrical devices combine to produce the magic of sound.
Of the many components of a sound system the speakers are the most important since they are directly responsible for the “sonic” experience as speakers, are the actual reproducers of the sound. All the components of an audio system play critical roles in the quality of the final sound produced. Speakers cannot reach their maximum potential without being accompanied by high quality components and on the other hand, the best of amplifiers, CD players, preamplifiers, and other components cannot make a bad speaker sound good.
Because they are the physical components that actually create sound waves in the air the speakers are the most focused upon components of any sound system. It is extremely difficult to efficiently and effectively vibrate air with little distortion (thereby producing an audio signal in the form of sound waves) than it is to produce small electrical signals that mimic those sound waves. The problem is further complicated because of size & cost limitations. Making powerful and high quality speakers, while keeping them small is in itself a difficult task to deal with. The suppleness of the speakers is another vital variable that controls the quality of sound produced. Even a little dust accumulated on speakers may cause the quality of sound produced to vary greatly from the desired level (simply because it hampers the flexibility of the speakers). Just try the following experiment: remove the outer covering from one of your speakers (car or home) and simply put a finger on the speaker while playing your favorite song. The sound will be so muffled and distorted that you will be surprised!
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