'square-wave proof' speakers?
|
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 170
veteran
|
OP
veteran
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 170 |
Hi folks,
Are there any speaker technologies that don't get damaged by loud square waves?
|
|
|
Re: 'square-wave proof' speakers?
|
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 3,602
connoisseur
|
connoisseur
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 3,602 |
Strange taste in music?
And my fiancee complains when I turn up Anti-Flag!
Bren R.
|
|
|
Re: 'square-wave proof' speakers?
|
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 34
enthusiast
|
enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 34 |
Are you talking about clipping?
|
|
|
Re: 'square-wave proof' speakers?
|
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 16,441
shareholder in the making
|
shareholder in the making
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 16,441 |
Do you mean true square waves, in which the speaker driver must try to instantaneously move from max positive excursion to max negative excursion, or semi-rounded square waves, in which the attack is not so harsh?
|
|
|
Re: 'square-wave proof' speakers?
|
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 170
veteran
|
OP
veteran
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 170 |
Bren, hah
Basically extreme clipping, yes-- by your description, PM, it sounds like loud square waves would fry every speaker known to man?
|
|
|
Re: 'square-wave proof' speakers?
|
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 10,654
shareholder in the making
|
shareholder in the making
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 10,654 |
Mike, it isn't entirely clear to me from what angle you're appoaching this. Although I rather like Bren's suggestion, I suppose that you're really thinking about clipping. A square wave of the same amplitude as a sine wave at the same frequency requires the square root of 2(i.e. 1.414)times as much voltage, and since power is proportional to the square of the voltage(i.e. P=V(squared)/R), this amounts to twice the power going into the speaker voice coil on a fully-clipped or square wave signal. Since the voice coil has to absorb twice the power, but it doesn't move any farther on the clipped or square wave to help it in cooling, it can overheat and fail if it can't dissipate the exta power over the time period involved. So, I suppose that answer is that no speaker is "square-wave proof", but the greater its power handling capacity, the greater its ability to play square waves at high level or to handle clipping without permanent damage.
Last edited by JohnK; 03/02/04 10:40 PM.
-----------------------------------
Enjoy the music, not the equipment.
|
|
|
Re: 'square-wave proof' speakers?
|
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 170
veteran
|
OP
veteran
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 170 |
John, that was very helpful. I had been of the thought that square waves damaged drivers through sort of 'jerking' them back-and-forth instead of a more normal sine-wave curve-- to hear it's a power / heat issue makes everything clear.
Thanks folks!
|
|
|
Re: 'square-wave proof' speakers?
|
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 16,441
shareholder in the making
|
shareholder in the making
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 16,441 |
The power/heat issue and 'jerking' back-and-forth are closely linked.
At either flat end of a square wave, the driver is not moving yet a lot of power is flowing through the voice coil. The back-and-forth motion of a voice coil is what cools it, so the only chance the voice coil has to cool while reproducing a square wave is while it's in transit between the two extremes.
Since more time is spent "excurded" (the horizontal parts of the wave) than in transit (the vertical parts of the wave), this leads to rapid head buildup.
|
|
|
Re: 'square-wave proof' speakers?
|
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 608
aficionado
|
aficionado
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 608 |
i believe these subs are designed to handle square waves http://www.globalsupersale.com/inc/pdetail?v=1&pid=3123
|
|
|
Re: 'square-wave proof' speakers?
|
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 10,654
shareholder in the making
|
shareholder in the making
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 10,654 |
Obviously that's the case, Ron, but now even the sine waves will come out square.
-----------------------------------
Enjoy the music, not the equipment.
|
|
|
Forums16
Topics24,944
Posts442,472
Members15,617
|
Most Online2,082 Jan 22nd, 2020
|
|
1 members (tiwee),
369
guests, and
5
robots. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
|