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Reference.org
Electrodynamic speaker driver
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<p>An electrodynamic speaker driver, often called simply a speaker driver when the type is implicit, is an individual <a href="/facts/Transducer/YS7zfv9d">transducer</a> that converts an electrical <a href="/facts/Audio_signal/rFSTI9IF">audio signal</a> to <a href="/facts/Sound_waves/DlKXlPuF">sound waves</a>. While the term is sometimes used interchangeably with the term <i><a href="/facts/Speaker_(audio_equipment)/tqEjnJ2z">speaker</a></i> (<i>loudspeaker</i>), it is usually applied to specialized transducers that reproduce only a portion of the <a href="/facts/Audible_frequency/LzHtINcf">audible frequency</a> range, or to the one or more drivers within a loudspeaker cabinet (or simply "speaker".). For <a href="/facts/High_fidelity/K6kaTHSw">high fidelity</a> reproduction of sound, multiple loudspeakers are often mounted in the same <a href="/facts/Speaker_enclosure/H2n9Xyg9">enclosure</a>, each reproducing a different part of the audible frequency range. In this case the individual speakers are referred to as <i>drivers</i> and the entire unit is called a <i>loudspeaker</i>. Drivers made for reproducing high audio frequencies are called <a href="/facts/Tweeter/UrmRhLj1">tweeters</a>, those for middle frequencies are called <a href="/facts/Mid-range_speaker/PybQvtY5">mid-range</a> drivers (much less commonly called squawkers), and those for low frequencies are called <a href="/facts/Woofer/cTSN55j0">woofers</a>, while those for very low bass range are <a href="/facts/Subwoofer/RYD1sR7V">subwoofers</a>. Less common types of drivers are <a href="/facts/Supertweeter/AAb6W1T1">supertweeters</a> and <a href="/facts/Rotary_woofer/a1HVM8CK">rotary woofers</a>. </p><p>The <a href="/facts/Acoustical_engineering/oSIa0pwR">electroacoustic</a> mechanism most widely used in speakers to convert the electric current to sound waves is the <i>dynamic</i> or <i>electrodynamic</i> driver, invented in 1925 by <a href="/facts/Edward_W._Kellogg/BAcRew3w">Edward W. Kellogg</a> and <a href="/facts/Chester_W._Rice/4Y8hwc0N">Chester W. Rice</a>, which creates sound with a coil of wire called a <a href="/facts/Voice_coil/0Ugf4567">voice coil</a> suspended between the poles of a <a href="/facts/Magnet/vvrg6VSk">magnet</a>. There are others that are far less widely used: <a href="/facts/Electrostatic_loudspeaker/czrhbcMK">electrostatic drivers</a>, <a href="/facts/Piezoelectric_speaker/FeJLCdzs">piezoelectric drivers</a>, <a href="/facts/Planar_magnetic_speaker/tqEjnJ2z">planar magnetic drivers</a>, <a href="/facts/Air_Motion_Transformer/kJJabUVb">Heil air motion drivers</a>, and <a href="/facts/Plasma_speaker/VhAu3VjM">ionic drivers</a>, among <a href="/facts/Loudspeaker/tqEjnJ2z">other speaker designs</a>. </p>