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Frequency response
A speaker's frequency response spec refers to the range of frequencies a speaker can reproduce without distorting. Theoretically, the human ear can detect frequencies between 20 Hz and 20,000 Hz, though a more realistic range might be something like 30 Hz to 15 kHz. So if a speaker claims to have a frequency response range of 60 Hz - 20 kHz, you can expect it to play across that spectrum of frequencies with equal accuracy, right?
Well, theoretically — but as we've already seen, theory and reality rarely coincide in terms of actual A/V products. Different speakers are designed to reproduce different frequencies. A subwoofer will not give you much in the way of high frequency response, and a 4" car speaker is not going to give you much bass response. But aside from the physical limitations associated with the size and driver configuration of a speaker, speakers tend to overemphasize certain frequencies and neglect other frequencies as a necessary byproduct of converting electrical energy into acoustic energy. For this reason, frequency response ratings are often described in terms of a +/-3 dB range.
Michael Riggs, author of Understanding Audio and Video, puts it like this: "Clearly, the ideal [frequency response] would be something like +/-0 dB from 30 Hz to 15 kHz, corresponding to a straight horizontal line across the response chart (that is, 'flat' frequency response). In practice, however, most audio components fall short of perfection. This is especially true of devices such as microphones...loudspeakers, which convert mechanical energy to electrical, or vice versa." 4
As with determining a speaker's sensitivity rating, a speaker's stated frequency response specs are only as good as the method used to determine them. They can give you an idea of the potential bass extension or high frequency coverage of a particular speaker, but they do not describe how neutral, or "flat," the speaker's timbre is. For that kind of judgement, you need to listen to the speaker.
4 Michael Riggs, Understanding Audio and Video, Pioneer Electronics, 1989, p. 42.
A speaker's frequency response spec refers to the range of frequencies a speaker can reproduce without distorting. Theoretically, the human ear can detect frequencies between 20 Hz and 20,000 Hz, though a more realistic range might be something like 30 Hz to 15 kHz. So if a speaker claims to have a frequency response range of 60 Hz - 20 kHz, you can expect it to play across that spectrum of frequencies with equal accuracy, right?
 This diagram shows you where different instruments fall within the audible frequencry spectrum. |
Well, theoretically — but as we've already seen, theory and reality rarely coincide in terms of actual A/V products. Different speakers are designed to reproduce different frequencies. A subwoofer will not give you much in the way of high frequency response, and a 4" car speaker is not going to give you much bass response. But aside from the physical limitations associated with the size and driver configuration of a speaker, speakers tend to overemphasize certain frequencies and neglect other frequencies as a necessary byproduct of converting electrical energy into acoustic energy. For this reason, frequency response ratings are often described in terms of a +/-3 dB range.
Michael Riggs, author of Understanding Audio and Video, puts it like this: "Clearly, the ideal [frequency response] would be something like +/-0 dB from 30 Hz to 15 kHz, corresponding to a straight horizontal line across the response chart (that is, 'flat' frequency response). In practice, however, most audio components fall short of perfection. This is especially true of devices such as microphones...loudspeakers, which convert mechanical energy to electrical, or vice versa." 4
As with determining a speaker's sensitivity rating, a speaker's stated frequency response specs are only as good as the method used to determine them. They can give you an idea of the potential bass extension or high frequency coverage of a particular speaker, but they do not describe how neutral, or "flat," the speaker's timbre is. For that kind of judgement, you need to listen to the speaker.
4 Michael Riggs, Understanding Audio and Video, Pioneer Electronics, 1989, p. 42.
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