Anatomy of a loudspeaker

While we are miles ahead of our early entertainment punters both in high-definition audio and video, little
has evolved over the years when it comes to the fundamental of audio reproduction. The basic design of most mainstream loudspeakers is still revolving around speaker drivers, the cabinet and its electronics--yes, there's a circuit board hidden inside your boom box. To help you wade through the various jargon and elements of this important home theater component, here's our quick guide to the anatomy of a conventional loudspeaker.

Our subject in this article is the Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) DM604 speaker illustrated on the right. It's a three-way front-ported floorstander equipped with a 25mm dome tweeter, a 180mm midrange driver and another two 180mm bass units. Already overwhelmed by the technicalities? Fear not, read on for more details.