What Is a Diaphragm in an Earphone?
Earphones are basically a set of small loudspeakers worn over or near the user’s ears. They are electronic transducers, that convert an electric signal into a corresponding sound. Many years ago, earphones were large devices, resembling bookshelf speakers with tiny cones and woofers. They often included miniature circuits in circuit boards as well as speaker wire to handle the electrical processes. However, with the invention of the portable computer, the size and power requirements of many computer programs have decreased, making earphones smaller, lighter, and more efficient. This has also made for a general decrease in the cost of portable audio devices overall.
There are many types of earphones, available for users. One of the most important things to know before buying earphones is what you will be using them for, since different types come in different purposes. Some earphones are intended to handle bass sounds, while others are meant for hearing higher frequencies. Additionally, earphones can be used with portable music players and other audio devices. Some earphones can also take advantage of personal computer technology by converting digital audio signals into analog audio signals. In fact, even some stereo headphones make use of this technology.
There are several factors that can influence the efficiency of any earphone, one of which is the diaphragm of the earphone. The diaphragm is the cartilage that lines the inner part of the ear canal. When a diaphragm is not properly aligned, sound from the ear canal will not be converted to sound, but vibrations instead. The size of the driver inside the earphone, therefore, affects how well the sound is converted into energy. Usually, the larger the driver inside the earphone, the smaller the diaphragm needs to be in order to ensure that all the energy that the earphone channels receives is captured and converted into electrical signals. It is also important to note that in earphones that are meant for better sound quality, the driver size needs to be at least one third bigger than the speaker’s size to ensure that there is plenty of room in the driver’s ear canal to ensure that the diaphragm is properly angled and properly sized.