Last week, we explained the difference between $100 and $100,000
speakers. But in the name of clarity, we focused on traditional
loudspeakers, around longer than Keith Richards. Here are the
newer crazier types. Alright, so the way speakers generate sound
is by moving air. In your standard setup, an alternating current
runs through a voice, turning it into an electromagnet that is
attracted to and repulsed from the permanent magnet in the
driver, which moves the diaphragm (the cone) back and forth. Air
is moved, sound is emitted. But magnets aren't the only way to
generate sound, obviously. Here are a few other ways speakers
can get air a-shakin': Electrostatic speakers are probably the
most well-known alternative to traditional loudspeaker design.
In some ways, they're a lot like your standard speaker—a
diaphragm moves back and forth. What's different is the shape of
the diaphragm and how the system makes it move. The diaphragm is
a thin film with electrically conductive material that's
stretched out between