
In practice, we typically consider speaker distortion as the audible distortion we hear in the sound emanating from the speaker. To learn more about the differences between sound and audio, check out my article What Is The Difference Between Sound And Audio? This is rather difficult to calculate, considering sound and audio are two different types of energy. Speaker distortion, then, is technically only the difference between the waveform of the sound waves it produces compared to the waveform of the audio signal applied to its drivers. We’ll also touch on how distortion may or may not damage speakers.Īudio distortion refers to any deformation of an output waveform compared to its input. In this article, we’ll discuss speaker distortion in greater detail, going into its causes and effects. However, speakers can also distort if their drivers are pushed to the extremes of their designed motion, in which case they behave non-linearly and produce distorted sound. The most common is that the audio source, itself, is distorted. Why do speakers distort at high sound/audio levels? There are two main reasons why a loudspeaker would distort at high levels.


The speakers may have even been distorting without you noticing at all. If you’ve ever cranked up the volume of your favourite songs in the car, you may have noticed audible speaker distortion.
