How can one speaker driver reproduce multiple frequencies?

[@wayfarin]

i knew the answer to this and have a engineering degree, but i still finished the video for the sheer joy of hearing good teaching. love it

[@TheErow44]

This video has literally made me a better mixer!! I now think about how my Eq decisions are affecting the movement of the speakers, rather than just what sounds better, and the results are better translation!! Thank you 🙏

[@trikki69]

I think this calls for PS Audio to make a speaker with 50 thousand divers in it so each if them can be dedicated to a specific frequency. ;)

[@mannymore_music]

I think about 19980 would be enough 😂

[@brucegarethgeorge]

@@mannymore_music yes but you will induce is comb filtering

[@MuminovicGoran]

and we will put them all in your room :)

[@artkulak9802]

The answer to this lies with the Danley Sound Labs Synergy Horn. Multiple drivers, each group best suited to their operating bandwidth, all acting together as one if they were one single driver - full range broadband, controlled directivity, linear phase, single point source.

[@techno_magnus]

That would be actually sick...

[@cobraofearth]

I searched youtube specifically to find the answer to this question, and this exceeded my expectations. Thanks for the beautiful explanation.

[@harriglnola7655]

GREAT explanation!!! I never really thought about that in detail. I appreciate the person who asked the question AND I appreciate you for elating it. Awesome! I'm less ignorant on that matter. 😁.

[@Peter_S_]

Another way to answer the question is that according to mr. Fourier, ALL sound is made of lots of simple and perfect sine waves at different frequencies all piled on top of each other.

[@StrongFives]

SynthSchool on youtube has a nice demo showing Overtones, harmonics and Additive synthesis. Also, another youtube channel - Project studio handbook, has an excellent video for Complex sounds - sound theory.

[@PeteRoyJackson]

Yes, but they’re all flattened and combined into 1D numeric data. See latest comment above.

[@Darshil-P]

Wow, that's the exact question I was here for, glad I found the video!

[@patricj951]

Interesting question! Fascinating that a woofer can reproduce low and high frequencies at the same time. And everything between. But actually the answer on this question is the same for why our ears can hear different frequencies at same time.

[@madmanjoe]

Best answer to this particular question I have heard. Makes it easy to understand.

[@joesmith389]

I’ve always had this question. Great explanation.

[@russputin6294]

Paul has this incredible knack of making extremely complex concepts absolutely understandable to oafs like me. Well done and thank you! ;0)

[@kamathln]

@2:24 .How many of you remembered "Winamp"'s sample music?

[@0richbike]

Excellent explanation! So when is the PS Doppler defeating driver going to be available?

[@sekanto1]

I love this man so much. I think I'm just gonna binge these videos, learned a lot from this one.

[@palmspar]

Nice explanation!

[@JulienFade]

You simply must love this guy!

[@Reflectiveness]

I loved hearing your explanation. I must confess I had no idea how it worked.

[@geoffreygawler598]

Great vid Paul! Explained a few things I've been wondering about for a long time

[@DileepaRanawake]

Absolutely love this explanation. Was perplexed too. Thanks Paul

[@mu_on]

Paul you are so funny and pleasant to watch, even on subjects I already know / understand, I enjoy listening to your explanations. Keep it up, and long live to you.

[@reyramos66]

The best answer yet! Without having to go to the equations, transforms and mathematics. Understanding the equations and theory is one thing but, the visualization of how the signal is converted into multiples sounds coming from the same surface is not as easy. Great!

[@AuroraColoradoUSA]

Actually a visual of the waveform is a critical part of that explanation...

[@Gar136]

This is exactly the answer I was looking for, I had this exact same question and could not get a simple answer, thank you very much!!!!!

[@Parasite743]

This is the kind of man i want to be when i'm older! peppy and running like a machine. 😂🤣🤣

[@heavyferrum397]

WOW! This explanation is really good! I'm mind blowned.

[@deankim6687]

This has been my favorite Q&A so far. I’ve always wondered this myself.

[@ea6427]

you did a great description and demonstration thank you so much

[@reelsportrd]

Awesome, thanks for the easy to understand explanation! This is a question I had last year and couldn't find the way to express it to get an answer, but you made it very clear to me.

[@lundsweden]

A single driver causes doppler distortion: KEF speakers just entered the chat!

[@petersdrue]

It was a great explanation. I do wish you'd have mentioned the Fourier Transform. It was one of the coolest things I learned in my engineering undergraduate and you explain things so well. It feels a shame not to tell everyone else. But you explained the principal of the Fourier Transform without having to dive into calculus.

[@sillyninja65]

frequencies and how they create multiple sounds it blows my mind. i feel the answer is so simple that is too good to be true

[@VamsiMohanKrishnaVadrevu]

I understand that the larger drivers (which have a movement range in inches) have doppler distortion.. But do dynamic driver headphones also have doppler distortion? Their range of motion is so very small (less than 2 or 3 millimetres, isn't it?)

[@kylestreicher2161]

thank you for the wonderful explanation - this has been a true mystery for my entire life

[@CubicIronPyrite]

I'd upvote this video 10 times if I could, just for the explanation of Doppler distortion.

[@jegr3398]

Your ear can pick up multiple frequencies at the same time even though it's a single device that is reacting to the sound pressure wave. All of those multiple noises are baked into the soundwave, it's just how sound works, it's actually quite mindblowing when you think about it.

[@rubickon]

although i will never buy or hear your companies speaker, it a pleasure seeing your videos sir

[@mostirreverent]

Thank you Paul, I just posted this question on some other clip this week

[@grandrapids57]

Brilliant explanation.

[@carlosbauza1139]

Multiple frequencies playing at the same time on the same speaker diaphragm can be explained on the basis of the waveform stimulated by the input. Same applies to the eardrum. Multiple frequencies stimulate it as a "waveform" at each instant in a continuous stream of different changing waveforms over time. waveforms

[@gregmorris2022]

Great video. I’ve been wondering this for 30 years. Can’t believe I never thought to ask Paul. 👍

[@LividLeon]

Great video because i notice when you match your two excursion peak by setting appropriate filter it sound cleaner.

[@bobidderis3880]

That brings to another level of question. I think speakers don't play the exact separate sounds from the source. I mean it didn't play musical instruments separately apart. They just play the harmony of the sound that's been recorded from the source (mixed). Sometimes something we think so simple turns out to be underlyingly complicated yet amazing.

[@claudec2588]

fantastic answer. I really liked the info about doppler distortion. Makes me feel good about my speaker choice.

[@MrDac0964]

Great question, i’ve also wondered about about it for a long time now. Thanks Paul for choosing that question and great explanation of the mystery behind a single woofer or driver in general. 👍🏼

[@PeteRoyJackson]

Except it’s not really the truth...

[@davegongwer106]

i am using analog presently - what can i add to get DAC???

[@djvartan]

One of your best videos yet.

[@rashidsiraj1960]

Your explanation for the use and understanding speakers are very good I want to know the roll of Damper in Diffrant speaker

[@1jhnpennington]

Great explanation. Never understood before now.

[@PLFORTE1]

I've always wondered this myself! Great video, keep it up and live forever :)

[@TheGrandmaMoses]

Thank you very much for this perfect explanation, exactly what I was looking for.

[@KarlHamilton]

Great question, I'd never thought about that before!

[@JDoors]

I never thought about a single cone reproducing multiple frequencies at the same time before, but once you asked the question, I couldn't stop thinking it must be impossible! Also didn't think about Doppler distortion before (though I've hard the term, just not in reference to speaker cones reproducing multiple frequencies). Thanks for the education.

[@PeteRoyJackson]

It is impossible. There is only 1D information, as is the case with light. It turns into 2D information magically. Because the information is in the being, not the wave. The wave is simply numeric data.

[@jaxnean2663]

no, THANK YOU! I've always wondered about this issue. great explanation

[@robertsparkman8516]

If you want to see what those multiple frequency patterns look like look up vibration modes of a membrane, drum heads and speaker cones, in our case.and thanks for reminding me about dopler distortion, a reminder that transducers are so important, pickups, mics, cartridge, speaker.those are the things that make the biggest difference. Good one ,Paul.

[@cpselvam1]

Hi Paul I want to be part of your team. I am an audio enthusiastic and I just started as a hobby when I was just 13 years old. I have assembled many solid state amplifiers and tube amplifiers. I am 55 years old now, but ready to work hard. I am from India and currently a VICE PRESIDENT in one of the company in India which is in to IT services. But my passion is audio amplifiers and speakers. I am a diploma Engineer in Electronics and Communication Engineering. Hope you will read my comment.

[@mikelnw102]

Nice and clear explanation. I really love it, Awesome

[@drlouiscardinal752]

As much as I love Paul that video didn’t help me....I’ve always wondered about this question and still do,.....give it another shot Paul. Lol. Keep up the great work.

[@justinmallaiz4549]

dr louis cardinal : simple and correct answer: It’s not playing two frequencies at the same time, It’s playing one waveform...from a start to a finish... how people break down, analyze, measure, calculate etc.. a waveform using frequencies isn’t relevant...or in this case confusing as your thinking backwards: eg: frequency ismore of property of sound than a building block

[@benwelsh16]

Great explanation P

[@Leviathan1101]

Best and funniest answer I've seen in a long time 5:32

[@mikedupree832]

Isn't what you hear the combination of many frequencies? So unless a test Freq, don't we hear the combination, not a single Freq?

[@rich1051414]

We can hear multiple frequencies at the same time, if we couldn't, we would not be able to have a conversation while others were talking.

[@johnyang799]

Our concha is essentially a FFT our hair cells are responsible different frequencies.

Haha.. yes you end up hearing the combination but they don't blend to a mud - when analyzed , you can see clear differences - The blending of frequencies and soundstage such as Stereo to how it's processed in the brain, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys kind of looked at it how you are thinking and how he made music. He felt we ended up hearing it as 'summed' ultimately, but the phenomena he missed out on being deaf in one ear is spatial (stereo) which requires 2 ears to decode :)

[@ThinkingBetter]

Our hearing involves many hair cells that vibrate as tuned to different frequencies allowing us to sense multiple frequencies in parallel: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Anatomy_of_Human_Ear_with_Cochlear_Frequency_Mapping.svg

[@ThinkingBetter]

naibafabdulkobor My point is that the mechanical Fourier analysis done in the ear allows nerve pulses to be frequency specific. Of course our hearing is much more than a spectrum analyzer but the main topic was about how multiple waves combine. You can argue if you should interpret any wave form as a sum of sine waves or not but it’s the view of science making us able to design and create stuff from audio filters to RF antennas.

[@gexoll]

Thank you for the video! What I wanna know is more like when it comes to mixing music, focusing on just one speaker. When you you are listening to a song in head phones and you hear let's say the vocals and they feel like they are coming from the center of the speaker and you also hear background vocals that feel like they are coming from a wider ring on the speaker, what is that? and how can you control that?? (Panning doesn't always work using one speaker)

[@FungedeBagre]

Thank you!

[@A-I-R-W-A-L-K]

I've been wondering this myself. Great video, Paul.

[@Paulmcgowanpsaudio]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed and had a chance to watch it.

[@masterleafcnc]

Looks like you weren't alone this time :) Great videos by the way. Very informative.

[@DavidB-tw9tp]

Very nice video! I'm 17 and I find you super funny, keep it going! :)

[@techno_magnus]

I'm 15 and I think he's very informative and HILARIOUS

[@barryp9463]

it was a great question and a great break down of the answer

[@Invictus96vid]

Each ear has one tympanum. That tympanum is analogous to a speaker diaphragm. If our ears are able to use one vibrating sheet (tympanum) to transfer various and multiple frequencies to the rest of our auditory systems, speakers should be able to do the same thing.

[@WitzyZed]

Invictus96vid same as a microphone, too (dynamic mics at least)

[@rotaks1]

Good one!

[@disnaess]

Great example.

[@anthonynicholson5523]

engineer the reverse a living human ear that grows to the size of a volkswagon bug and play music through it

[@justinmallaiz4549]

Invictus96vid : politely refuting the Doppler claim?

[@EminBastea]

what if you play 2 hz and 3 hz simultaneously?

[@Enemji]

In a live situation, if two drums are played in opposite phases, will I hear nothing?

[@jimolson9671]

It is possible if you were in the exact location where the frequencies were 180° out of phase with no time shifting. But that is very difficult to postulate in reality.

[@Laykun9000]

@@jimolson9671 You can get this to happen with tuning forks. In this case it would represent reality accurately as those frequencies would cancelled out in real life (negative pressure cancelling out positive pressure). This is something usually demonstrated in high school physics.

[@jimolson9671]

Flüg I understand he can readily demonstrate this in a controlled environment. But to live drums that is not a controlled environment in my opinion. That is why I answered the way I did

[@Enemji]

Flüg - I can see that happen in speakers. I was curious how it actually applies in a live setting such as a stadium setting.

[@Enemji]

LD Blake - But it will still be cancelling to a good extent?

[@johnkostyrka80]

Good to know I am not the only one who has been wondered about this 🤯

[@charliedavidson3878]

Two thumbs up . The industry started with full range drivers and along came filters / crossovers . The same can't really be true for tweeters they cannot handle the long throw of the lower frequencies and would rip the soldered leads out . Since the travel at higher frequencies is almost micro . As speakers get older the caps often fail causing full signals into mids and tweeters . Since I'm a Klipsch fan, lots of mods for the heritage speakers that would lower or raise the crossover points . Back in the day Speakers had selectable crossovers it allowed listeners to tweak their speakers on the fly . I always felt that crossing over before the amplifier stage was best , why amplify unwanted signals ? Downside more amplifiers plus side more power more accuracy more detail etc...

[@lahattec]

To be technically correct regarding the Doppler distortion, it is related to acceleration, not distance. I stationary train whistle at 1 mile away has the same pitch as it would if right in front of you. it is the change in distance over time that makes for the Doppler effect, and a slower change in distance has less Doppler effect than does a fast change in distance.

[@stevemcstevens]

Ive often wondered about this n been baffled. Thank you for a great explanation!

[@GarrettChristopher]

Great video!

[@Whitefox-pc7lp]

what about an audio software/hardware solution to where each instrument is ran to its own set of speakers?

[@keanu_]

Ich liebe es, wie er diese Frage absolut fühlt

[@marcusm5127]

What decides the optimal speaker size? Is it the power of the system that decides how big cones you need to make sound of it? Meaning that bigger is better if you just have the electronics to play it?

[@SJMessinwithBoats1]

@Marcus M, It's always been said to start at mid-range. Human voice is what we want to be correct. Standard is the 4" cone. It's light weight, can cover say 100 cycles to 3khz. That's a little out on the lower number, but let's just say it's the same as Paul's IRSV's. So we know that tones are best if played over the widest range on one driver. Everything looks the best when it's a single driver doing most of the range. But this isn't headphones, this is SPL in air. Next is how loud is the music naturally? I got about 85db at 15th row on a 7th and 8th grade school concert. What is your music generally speaking and do you play at live levels?

[@justinmallaiz4549]

Marcus M ... simply answer: size of room, desired volume , and consider other sacrifices willing to make. (Like :frequency response or efficiency) .. Its all about vibrating the air .. how much, how far, how quick, how accurate and with how much power

[@elementkx]

If I had you as a professor, I wouldn't have failed out of school. Lol keep it up.

[@carldel444]

Have you ever worked with The Slow Mo Guys. Their high speed camera could capture what you described in this video.

[@hourglassindependent5176]

I finally understand. Thanks!

[@ianmichael5768]

Thank Superposition. Or Fourier. And... thank you Paul!

[@Rick_Dunaway]

These are great, thank you for sharing the knowledge that you have gathered throughout your life's journey. Some lessons cost more than a money can buy, but you offer them to us all for the low low price of a few moments of our attention. So my question is this, what lesson has you benefited most from and which bit a knowledge cost the most? Any advice for us yet to make our mark in this life?

[@azmike1956]

Like sine waves superimposed on a scope but using sound instead. Cool!

[@Vtrontv]

Great explanation!

[@jkoorts]

Is the wave form through speaker cables called AC (5V to 0V to -5V)? or is it a wave form from 0 Volt to some positve Volt?

[@AndyU96]

Appreciate the video, I got your point at 4:41

[@AndrewDInSydney]

Would it not be possible to make a software algorithm that modified the higher frequencies to compensate for the Doppler shift going into the speaker driver?

[@billwillard9410]

That was a good one - signed, Moose and Squirrel.

[@seanmangan2769]

What is the Xmax of that woofer?

[@darinb.3273]

It is VERY EASY to have a visual using Audacity Just as Paul was explaining, think of the higher pitched tones riding voltage of the lower frequencies, naturally each is riding the lowest. Think of it like a surfer riding a wave on his surf board and jumping up and down at the sametime. Of course that would cause the surfer to fall off but anywho. Not the same concerning the electrical signals that the woofer, mid and tweeters deal with hopefully that gives a different explanation in addition to Paul's.

[@daveddbled29]

Excellent non tech (layman's) explanation. Thank you 😊

[@InsideOfMyOwnMind]

5:46 channeling Fred Rogers.

[@ashtongrist]

IVE ASKED THIS IN SO MANY FORUMS. MIND BLOWN What is inside a tube of stripy toothpaste? I tried everything to mess up the stripes.

[@johnb1010]

To some degree the Questioner was right, just a typical speaker doesn't produce all the frequencies at one time, they miss huge chunks of the signals. This is the premise of Hi Fidelity, the engineers and designers that make these systems have overcome huge challenges to bring audio reproduction to life.

[@pura_boda]

Really thank you very much!! This is a doubt I have had a lot of time. Suscribed, first video I see from you. Hope you have psychoacoustics videos.

[@lundsweden]

So I guess all waves sum and are actually just one wave (per channel).

[@davesbrewing]

Why are there two magnets in that woofer? Are you going to DVC for your servo feedback signal instead of an accelerometer?

[@SJMessinwithBoats1]

@LD Blake True but this isn't a shielded woofer, DVC subwoofers are more versatile but the total power going in counts like a single coil.

[@justinmallaiz4549]

.. because 1 magnet wasn’t big enough 👍

[@VamsiMohanKrishnaVadrevu]

If we were able to record on a dynamic mic and be able to reproduce the sound on the same dynamic driver then we wouldn't have doppler distortion right? because while recording, the dynamic membrane is going to record the desired frequencies at those different distances while moving.. and while playing back the dynamic driver with similar characteristics is going to faithfully reproduce it back..thereby nullifying the doppler distortion.. Is this true?

[@saeidmoghaddam]

thank you so much .this was my question too. but i have also another ? about this. is there any limit to a speaker? i mean how much frequencies that one speaker produce at same time?

[@lacollinenordest]

I love this guy