What Is a Woofer?
A woofer is a type of loudspeaker that produces low frequency sounds. This is the opposite of a tweeter, which produces higher frequency notes. Woofers are used in modern hi-fi systems and, to a larger extent, in rock concerts and other live events that require louder amplification.
Other People Are Reading
-
History
-
The first loudspeaker was invented by engineers Chester W. Rice and Edward W. Kellogg, who used a cone, an electrostatic speaker and a pig intestine covered in gold leaf to conduct the audio signal. The cost to produce and the size needed for a loudspeaker meant that the development was put on hold and designers used small cone-shaped speakers instead. In 1947 Arthur Janszen, a Naval engineer, took part in a research project for the Navy and created an electrostatic "tweeter" to produce higher frequency sounds, which prompted the creation of the lower frequency "woofer" to be used with the tweeter for rounder-sounding audio.
Design
-
A woofer consists of a diaphragm or cone, magnets, a voice coil and dust cap fitted within a loudspeaker enclosure, which in the case of a low frequency woofer, is much larger than the speaker. An example of a popular woofer is a subwoofer, for its particularly low frequency range used in public address systems in entertainment venues.
-
Outdoors
-
Public address systems use woofers to largely amplify sound for speeches or music at large events. Subwoofers are popular in car audio systems; many car enthusiasts fit subwoofers to car audio systems to improve the quality of audio.
Indoors
-
Home audio systems such as boom boxes and stereo systems use woofers so the listener can hear the low bass sounds of music and speech.
Frequency
-
Humans hear a frequency of between 20 Hz and 20,000 Hz. Subwoofers have a range of about 20 to 60 Hz. A drop below 20 Hz is not heard but can be felt by humans. Lowest-felt frequencies produced by subwoofers are often used in musical instruments such as the drum and bass.
-
References
- Photo Credit Speaker image by PinkShot from Fotolia.com
