Choosing a bookshelf speaker

How to choose and buy a bookshelf speaker

A bookshelf speaker is any speaker you can fit on your bookshelf sounds like the right answer. However some bookshelf speakers are large enough to sit nicely on a stand or even the floor. (though we don't recommend the floor!)

The best thing to do is to look for a bookshelf speaker that fits both your size requirements AND your listening requirements. The beauty of bookshelf speakers is that you can usually find a size that will fit almost any situation. Bookshelf speakers usually fall in the range of 24 inches tall by 12 inches wide by 12 inches deep but can be much smaller than this.

Most bookshelf speakers can be used as a pair of stereo speakers for traditional music listening or as front channel sound or rear surround sound in a home theater setup. Some may be small enough to mount on a wall.

What makes a good sounding bookshelf speaker?

A good bookshelf speaker is one that fits your listening needs.

Sound
Sound is a very subjective topic when it comes to speakers. We recommend listening to bookshelf speakers in your home. Purchase them either in a store with a no hassle return policy or online from a vendor with a good return policy. Look for a return policy that also pays for return shipping.

SizeFind one that will fit on your shelf, stand or bookshelf without being crammed in. Speakers will sound very different depending on how close to the wall or shelf side they are. Make sure they have some breathing room.

Type of cabinet - Acoustic suspension, Front ported or Rear ported.A acoustic suspension speaker does not have a port (hole you see in many speakers either on the front or back) although this gives you some placement flexibility it may also diminish the bass or require more power to deliver the bass.

If the speaker is rear ported make sure you have some room for the port to "work". Placing a rear ported bookshelf speaker (or any rear ported speaker) right up against the wall will greatly diminish it's sound quality. (or at least alter it)

Front ported speakers have the port in the front which gives you some of the advantage of the bass producing port with more flexibility to place it closer to the wall.
More to come on choosing a bookshelf speaker next week.

For more on bookshelf speakers see Buying bookshelf speaker

The Speaker Guys Stove

Differences between 2 way and 3 way loudspeakers

What do we mean by 2-way and 3-way loudspeakers?

If a speaker is referred to as a 2-way loudspeaker it means it has 2 speakers in it, each delivering a separate frequency range, usually high and low. If it is a 3-way loudspeaker it will have 3 speakers in it, each delivering a separate frequency range, usually high, midrange and low.

Why do 2 way & 3 way loudspeakers have more than one speaker?

Different sound waves are reproduced better by different speaker sizes. High pitched sounds like cymbals require a speaker to move very fast to reproduce the sound, as where low frequency sounds like a bass drum or guitar require a much larger speaker to move a greater volume of air. Although you could have one speaker to do both a two-way loudspeakers breaks up the task into two speakers, each specializing in producing a specific range of sounds. This means that each speaker will do a better job of reproducing the sounds within its frequency range. (referred to as frequencies) Low frequencies usually are those below 150Hz while most speakers can produce sound as high as 20kHz Frequency Range

	Frequency Range	What type of sounds
Very Low	under 30Hz	Bottom notes on a pipe organ, rumble of explosion - Subwoofer only
Low	30Hz to 160Hz	Bass Tuba, Bass Guitar - Woofer
Mid	160Hz to 3kHz	Human voice, Trumpet, Sax - Woofer or Midrange
High	3kHz to 20,kHz	Cymbals, Piccolo - Tweeter

Crossovers

To split the sound between 2 or 3 speakers, we use something called a crossover. The crossover takes the signal from the amplifier and splits it into 2 or 3 frequency ranges and sending those signals to the speaker best designed to handle those frequencies. In a 2-way speaker, the sound is split between the tweeter and the woofer. The highs go to the tweeter, the lows to the woofer.

What is the benefit of a 3 way speaker system?

3 way speaker systems include a mid-range driver. This is usually a speaker that is smaller than the woofer in the system, and gets program material in the "middle" of the frequency spectrum. This allows the system to have one speaker that can concentrate on producing things like voices, saxophones and other instruments in this range. 

Does a 3-way speaker sound better than a 2-way speaker?

As with all questions involving speakers the answer is a solid "maybe". Although it would seem that splitting the signal into 3 ranges would increase the accuracy of the music reproduction of a speaker, it depends on how well the crossover is "tuned" (setup) and several other items including cabinet design, how well the other speakers are matched to each other, the listening room and what type of sound you like. 

How do I choose a good two way or three way speaker system?

Our advice is to "use your ears". Purchase your speakers online from a reseller or a local dealer who will let you return the speakers if you don't like the way they sound in YOUR house. Don't purchase speakers based on "price". Price is seldom and indication of how good a speaker will sound. We've heard $300 pairs of speakers that sound and look every bit as good as $800 speakers. 

Types of Woofers

What is a Woofer and what does it do?
The woofer is usually the part of a 2 or 3 way loudspeaker which conveys the low frequency, or bass information. A woofer works like all loudspeakers by taking electrical signals from an amplifier which moves the speaker “cone” which in turn moves air and generates sound.
It is usually the cone material that is used in most speaker marketing material to get you to buy speakers.

The job of the woofer speaker cone is to be rigid enough to create the intended sound and stop moving as soon as that sound is over without adding any additional sound coloration caused by the cone material.

Common Types of material used in Woofers

• Paper
  It is mistakenly believed that paper is an old fashioned way to build a speaker. This is not really true. Although paper does react to humidity and temperature changes some types of woofers sound wonderful made out of paper


• Doped paper (usually with a plastic of some type)
  To get around the environmental issues many speaker makers add plastic and other materials to make paper speaker cones more “stable” and ridgid.


• Polypropylene
  This is by far the most common material used in today’s speaker manufacture. It is stable, easy to work with and behaves very well. You’ll see many other plastic materials listed out there, mostly to make the speaker appear to be exotic.


• Kevlar or other woven man made material
  Kevlar (a brand name) is a woven fiber material. These can have a high level of stiffness allowing the speaker to produce the sound and stop moving when it’s supposed to. Beware of the marketing hype that goes with this type of material. These speakers can sound very good but do need to be constructed and carefully built.


• Metal
  You would think that since metal is rigid it would be the perfect woofer material. Metal can produce great low end sound but it is also not without certain colorations depending on the material and how it interacts with the rest of the speakers components.
  

Another important part of a woofer is the surround. A common and good surround is butyl rubber.

This is not an exhaustive list but does represent the most common types. There are hundreds of subcategories under each of these as speaker manufacturers try to differentiate their speakers and make them special. The question is do any of these speaker types sound better than the others?

Which speaker material sounds best in a Woofer?
As with any speaker there are many factors that go into a “great” sounding loudspeaker. The key is to not buy into the hype around any specific product. All of the above materials are capable of adding excellent low frequency music reproduction to a loudspeaker. Some of the factors that contribute to the overall quality of a woofer are:

• The cabinet
• The crossover
• Ported or not ported. (a hole in the front of back of the speaker cabinet which increases ambient bass response)
• Your listening environment
• Your taste in sound

Of the 5 ways to judge a good loudspeaker and woofer your listening environment and your taste in sound are ultimately the most important. The best thing to do is find either a web site or local retailer that will let you audition the speakers you choose in your home. Speakers will sound TOTALLY different in your home than they do in the store.

The age old advice is to listen to music you know well when you first get the speaker home. The easiest way to judge is with your own ears. Remember you don’t have to pay a lot to get a really high quality loudspeaker, you just have to use your ears!

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