![Magnepan MG1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Magnepan_MG1.jpg)
A magnetostatic loudspeaker is a
dipole
In physics, a dipole () is an electromagnetic phenomenon which occurs in two ways:
*An electric dipole deals with the separation of the positive and negative electric charges found in any electromagnetic system. A simple example of this system i ...
loudspeaker
A loudspeaker (commonly referred to as a speaker or speaker driver) is an electroacoustic transducer that converts an electrical audio signal into a corresponding sound. A ''speaker system'', also often simply referred to as a "speaker" or " ...
that is similar to an
electrostatic loudspeaker
An electrostatic loudspeaker (ESL) is a loudspeaker design in which sound is generated by the force exerted on a membrane suspended in an electrostatic field.
Design and functionality
The speakers use a thin flat diaphragm usually consistin ...
but uses high
currents
Currents, Current or The Current may refer to:
Science and technology
* Current (fluid), the flow of a liquid or a gas
** Air current, a flow of air
** Ocean current, a current in the ocean
*** Rip current, a kind of water current
** Current (stre ...
instead of using high
voltage
Voltage, also known as electric pressure, electric tension, or (electric) potential difference, is the difference in electric potential between two points. In a static electric field, it corresponds to the work needed per unit of charge to m ...
s.
Permanent magnet
A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...
s provide a static magnetic field and wires or strips carrying audio frequency currents are bonded to a thin diaphragm. The current flowing in the conductors interacts with the magnetic field and creates sound in much the same way as in a conventional dynamic driver. Because of its dipole structure, this kind of speaker creates sound mostly to its front and back.
The
impedance of a magnetostatic speaker is often mainly resistive, but in some cases may be so low that the
amplifiers
An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It may increase the power significantly, or its main effect may be to boost the v ...
have to be ready to accommodate the low impedance load. Magnetostatic speakers provide good sound quality, and may be very thin, but for producing also lower frequencies with good enough sensitivity, their height and width dimensions must be rather large.
The principle behind a magnetostatic speaker
/
HiFi Advice
Magnepan is the main producer of magnetostatic loudspeakers for high fidelity home audio.
References
Loudspeakers
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