1.The difference between full-range speakers and coaxial speakers
The difference between full-range speakers and coaxial speakers is that full-range sound is transparent, while coaxial speakers have point sound sources and a wide frequency response range: full-range speakers have only one speaker, while coaxial speakers use coaxial speakers, which have a tweeter in addition to a mid-bass speaker. In terms of price, full-range speakers are cheaper than coaxial speakers.
The speaker is actually a conversion device that converts electrical energy into sound. When different electronic energies are transmitted to the coil, the coil generates an energy that interacts with the magnetic field of the magnet. This interaction causes the paper plate to vibrate. Because the electronic energy changes at any time, the speaker coil will move forward or backward, so the speaker paper plate will move with it. This action changes the density of the air and produces sound. In 1958, stereo records came out, and the sound entered the three-dimensional world.
The speaker does not need to be redesigned like the cartridge, and consumers can just buy one more speaker of the same type. But because of this, the large speakers are no longer popular. Everyone needs a new product that is small and has enough low frequency, and the air cushion speaker came into being. The hero behind the popularity of the air cushion speaker is to deal with the low efficiency problem caused by the air cushion design. The air cushion speaker is also the culprit behind the amplifier. In the 1970s, many people had this concept: if it is not a high-output amplifier, it is not good, and if it is not an air cushion speaker, it is not advanced enough.
In the speaker system, speakers (speakers or horns) are mainly divided into two categories, one is full-range speakers, and the other is crossover speakers. So what is a full-range speaker? What is a crossover speaker? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?
2.About full-range speakers
Full-range speaker: a speaker made of only one full-range speaker. In fact, it is impossible for one speaker to cover all frequency bands. The full-range speaker generally refers to broadband, that is, the frequency range is relatively wide. The frequency range covered by the previous full-range speakers is 200-10000Hz. In recent years, with the continuous advancement of acoustic technology, general full-range speakers can now reach a frequency range of 50-25000Hz, and the low frequency of some speakers can dive to 30Hz.
The frequency range that the human ear can hear is 20-20000Hz. Full-range speakers can basically cover all the sounds in the frequency range that the human ear can hear. Unfortunately, the full-range speakers currently on the market, although full-range, are actually mostly concentrated in the mid-frequency range. The expressiveness of the bass and treble is slightly weaker, so the sound heard is relatively flat and the three-dimensional sense is not that strong.
Full-range speaker features/advantages:Point sound source, so the phase is accurate; the timbre of each frequency band tends to be consistent, which can easily bring better sound field, imaging, instrument separation and layering. Because the mid-frequency stage has strong expressiveness, and most of the sounds made by people are mainly mid-frequency, full-range speakers are very suitable for listening to human voices, and the distortion rate of the ear is low, and the human voice is quite full and natural.
Disadvantages of full-range speakers: Because they have to meet the needs of different frequency bands, the design and final performance of each frequency band are constrained. The extension of both high and low frequencies is relatively limited, and transients and dynamics are relatively compromised.
3.About crossover speakers
A crossover speaker means that its frequency range is divided into stages, and the signal frequency is more focused. Crossover speakers are usually built with dual-frequency speakers or three-frequency speakers or more. Why is the frequency of a crossover speaker more focused? In addition to the number of speakers, there is a crossover in the crossover speaker. So how does the crossover work?
Take the three-frequency speaker as an example. This crossover can send the bass part to the woofer that is responsible for the low frequency, the midrange to the midrange speaker, and the treble to the tweeter. In this way, each speaker performs its duties and gives full play to its own advantages, which can make the extension of the high and low frequencies wider, and thus can usually cover a wider frequency range than a full-range speaker.
Features/advantages of frequency-divided speakers: Each frequency band is sounded by an independent unit, so each unit can work in the best condition. The extension of high and low frequencies is easier to achieve, and the independent intermediate frequency unit can bring extremely high playback quality, and the overall electro-acoustic conversion efficiency is high.
Disadvantages of frequency division speakers: Since frequency division speakers have more units, there are certain timbre and phase differences between them. Therefore, the frequency division network introduces new distortion to the system. The sound field, image, separation and layering will be more easily affected, the sound field will not be so pure, and the overall timbre will also deviate.
4.About coaxial speakers
Coaxial speakers: a special form of frequency division speakers, which cleverly place the tweeter of the speaker at the center of the mid-bass diaphragm, so that the mid-bass unit and the tweeter are on the same axis, and the front looks like two concentric circles, so it can ensure that the acoustic center of the high and low frequencies is the same point, so it is called a coaxial speaker.
We often hear friends confuse coaxial speakers with full-range speakers. Of course, these two speakers have their common points. They both build a point sound source, but the structure of coaxial speakers is different. The two speakers are in a frequency division state and have their own division of labor, responsible for the operation of the treble and mid-bass respectively.
Features/Advantages of Coaxial Speakers: The design structure and form of coaxial speakers can be said to be painstaking. It has the characteristics of extremely high phase fidelity of full-range speakers, and outputs more natural sound in the form of standard point sound sources. At the same time, in terms of listening experience, it also has the powerful expressiveness of crossover speakers in high and low bass. The bass is realistic and cohesive, the energy density is large, and the transient state can be better collected and released, making the sound layering clearer and the details more prominent.
Disadvantages of coaxial speakers: Although coaxial speakers have so many advantages, they also have defects, because their high and low coils are on the same axis and share a magnetic circuit, so there will be some interference between the two voice coils, which may cause the two voice coils to not move correctly, making the sound not so smooth and balanced. Although coaxial speakers solve the problem of phase fidelity, the sound performance has not been improved, and the other disadvantages of ordinary crossover speakers still exist in coaxial speakers.
5.Summary
To talk about the difference between these two types of speakers, I saw a vivid metaphor on the Internet. Full-range speakers are like one person who does all the work, while crossover speakers assign different tasks to different people. Since each person has different abilities, if these people are assigned to tasks that suit them and work in the same direction, then the work will be done well and more efficiently. However, if they do not work together, too many people will interfere with each other and become a burden. Full-range speakers do not need to bear such risks, and the cost is relatively low.