A magnetostatic loudspeaker is a

dipole In physics, a dipole () is an electromagnetic phenomenon which occurs in two ways: *An electric dipole deals with the separation of the positive and negative electric charges found in any electromagnetic system. A simple example of this system ...

loudspeaker A loudspeaker (commonly referred to as a speaker or speaker driver) is an electroacoustic transducer that converts an electrical audio signal into a corresponding sound. A ''speaker system'', also often simply referred to as a "speaker" or ...

that is similar to an

electrostatic loudspeaker An electrostatic loudspeaker (ESL) is a loudspeaker design in which sound is generated by the force exerted on a membrane suspended in an electrostatic field. Design and functionality The speakers use a thin flat diaphragm usually consistin ...

but uses high currents instead of using high

voltage Voltage, also known as electric pressure, electric tension, or (electric) potential difference, is the difference in electric potential between two points. In a static electric field, it corresponds to the work needed per unit of charge to ...

Permanent magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel ...

s provide a static magnetic field and wires or strips carrying audio frequency currents are bonded to a thin diaphragm. The current flowing in the conductors interacts with the magnetic field and creates sound in much the same way as in a conventional dynamic driver. Because of its dipole structure, this kind of speaker creates sound mostly to its front and back. The impedance of a magnetostatic speaker is often mainly resistive, but in some cases may be so low that the

amplifiers An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It may increase the power significantly, or its main effect may be to boost th ...

have to be ready to accommodate the low impedance load. Magnetostatic speakers provide good sound quality, and may be very thin, but for producing also lower frequencies with good enough sensitivity, their height and width dimensions must be rather large.The principle behind a magnetostatic speaker
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HiFi Advice

Magnepan Magnepan is a private high-end audio loudspeaker manufacturer in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, United States. Their loudspeaker technology was conceived and implemented by engineer Jim Winey in 1969. Overview Magnepan's speaker design, sold under ...

is the main producer of magnetostatic loudspeakers for high fidelity home audio.

References

Loudspeakers {{sound-tech-stub