Drive unit

A physical device designed to generate an acoustic sound wave in response to an electrical input signal. Drive units can be designed to reproduce almost the full audio spectrum, but most are optimised to reproduce a restricted portion, such as a bass unit (woofer) or high-frequency unit (tweeter). A range of technologies are employed, with most being moving-coil units, but ribbon and electrostatic drive units also exist, each with a different balance of advantages and disadvantages. Also known as a ‘driver’.