When shopping for a speaker or soundbar, you might encounter some words that sound more comical than technical. A tweeter? A woofer? What do birds and dogs have to do with producing a well-balanced sound experience?

As it turns out, these names are quite helpful in describing the function and sounds produced by the different components within a typical speaker enclosure. A tweeter is indeed like a bird, in the sense that it is small and designed to produce high-frequency sounds. Compare this to a woofer, which is bigger and produces deeper sound frequencies in the range of, say, a barking dog.

In this guide, we’ll focus on tweeters and the crisp, high end of the sonic range. These small but mighty pieces of hardware can fill a room with dazzling vocals, lead instruments, and other frequencies stretching toward the uppermost limits of audible sound.

What is a tweeter?

In simplest terms, a tweeter is the part of a speaker responsible for producing higher-pitched sounds. Tweeters are specially designed to reproduce the higher frequencies of an electrical audio signal — and the higher the frequency, the higher the pitch you hear in your music.

Though different types of tweeters can be tuned to produce narrower ranges of audio frequencies, tweeters as a group typically produce frequencies within the range of 2,000 Hertz (Hz) to 20,000 Hz. Hertz refers to the number of vibrations that occur in one second, and faster vibration speeds correspond to higher-frequency sounds. High-pitched vocals, crashing cymbals, and guitar solos are examples of sounds that fall within the lower end of a tweeter’s range (2,000 Hz). The higher end of the range (20,000 Hz) is associated with sounds that are barely even audible to humans, like dog whistles.

Tweeters are almost always the smallest speakers in an audio setup. Their small size is an important quality, as it correlates with the types of sounds they can accurately produce. Why? Because to produce these high-frequency noises, a speaker must be able to vibrate at rapid speeds. This is an easier job for smaller speakers like tweeters, which have a smaller surface area, lower mass, and other physical characteristics that allow the tweeter to move back and forth more freely. This back and forth vibration is essentially what produces sound, and faster vibrations translate to higher-pitched sounds.

What do tweeters do in a speaker setup?

Though you may have been unaware of their existence until just a moment ago, tweeters play an important role in most speaker setups. They’re built into the enclosures of many speakers and soundbars, where they’re responsible for reproducing the mid- and high-frequency sounds that cut through the audio mix — think vocals, lead instruments, and stirring string arrangements. In a home theatre speaker, tweeters handle many of the audio frequencies associated with dialogue and speech.

And, just as birds often sing in chorus, tweeters often work together to reproduce a particularly rich composition of higher frequencies. A speaker enclosure may house multiple tweeters, each of which serves a different role. Sometimes, the role a tweeter plays in a speaker configuration will determine its shape. A classical dome-shaped tweeter can produce a wide- and well-balanced range of sounds, while a directional horn-shaped tweeter can fire sounds into specific parts of a room to bring spatial audio content to life.

How many tweeters should I look for in a speaker?

There’s no “magic number” of tweeters that translates into high-resolution audio. The number of tweeters in a speaker depends on the type of speaker, its shape, and its intended use.

For example, Sonos Era 300 includes four tweeters that work together to produce high and mid-range frequencies. A forward-firing dome-shaped tweeter creates a round and smooth centre image, while two side-firing tweeters create stereo separation. A fourth, horn-shaped tweeter is tilted upward to fire sound off the ceiling while playing Dolby Atmos content — adding the extra dimension of height.

Other speakers can achieve a similarly impressive performance with a different configuration. A cluster of seven tweeters in Sonos Arc Ultra, for example, projects high frequencies toward the listener, the sides of the room, and ceiling for a beyond immersive home theatre experience.

In any case, keep in mind that the number of tweeters isn’t the only factor to consider. Other factors — like the shape and size of the tweeter and how it’s angled relative to the speaker’s other components — also play a role.

Tweeters vs. woofers

Of course, a speaker setup should be able to reproduce sound evenly across a wide band of audio frequencies — not just the mids and highs. For the spectrum of frequencies below 2,000 Hz, tweeters won’t cut it. Such frequencies require larger components designed to handle lower speeds of vibration.

Speakers that handle the broad middle range of audio frequencies (typically between 20 Hz and 2,000 Hz) are called woofers. Woofers are generally at least several inches larger than tweeters, and their bigger size corresponds with deeper and heavier sounds.

Unlike tweeters, woofers often require a large-ish external housing. This has to do with the nature of producing lower frequency sounds, which requires moving a larger volume of air back and forth. Without more space to displace air efficiently, the sound waves a woofer produces can be compressed and distorted.

A typical soundbar comprises both tweeters and woofers, which work in a synchronized fashion to reproduce sound as clearly and as accurately as possible. Reproducing sounds on the lowest end of the audible frequency spectrum — around 20 Hz to 120 Hz — typically requires a third type of speaker known as a subwoofer. Subwoofers are often housed in separate enclosures better suited to limiting distortion and enhancing the depth and richness of bass sounds.

Experience higher highs and lower lows with Sonos

A Sonos sound system can faithfully reproduce sounds across the entire band of human hearing — from the booming low end of an explosion to the crisp pop of a snare drum. Sonos Era 300 and Sonos Arc speakers feature precision-tuned speaker configurations that seamlessly blend high, mid, and low frequencies into a unified sound experience. And woofers such as Sonos Sub 4 bring bold bass to your home theatre setup in a size that won’t crowd out your other components. If you have any questions or need help selecting a speaker, get in touch with a Sonos expert by phone or chat.