Audio Terms Explained

Improve our Dictionary of Audio Terms: Send new term definitions proposals to addtopic71@lp2cd.com

Diaphragm  --  The moving membrane in a microphone or loudspeaker.
Diaphragm in a microphone
The interior of a microphone is comprised of a permanent magnet, a coil of wire and a diaphragm which, like the eardrum, vibrates to changes in air pressure. The vibration of the diaphragm in conjunction with the permanent magnet and the coil converts changes in air pressure into changes in electrical voltage. As air pressure increases, the diaphragm within the microphone is pushed towards the back of the microphone, inducing a voltage; as pressure decreases, the diaphragm travels outwards inducing a voltage in the opposite direction. Like the eardrum, the diaphragm will move in a parallel motion to the movement of the example sound, the vibrating bass drum skin. The resulting voltage will be a continuous parallel voltage image of the movement of that bass drum skin. 

Diaphragm in a speaker
Once sound has been converted to an electrical voltage, the "voltage image" can be amplified and then used to drive speakers. Like the skin of the bass drum, the movement of the speaker diaphragm compresses and decompresses air to produce sound. If the voltage is going upwards, the speaker will travel outwards; if the voltage is going downwards, the speaker will travel inwards. The resulting movement of the speaker will be parallel to the movement of the skin on the bass drum, to the movement of an eardrum, to the movement of the diaphragm within the microphone, and to the induced voltage.