| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Le | The inductance of a driver's voice coil, typically measured at 1 kHz in millihenries (mH). |
| Line Level | CD players, DVD players etc., are connected in a system at line level; usually with shielded RCA type interconnects. Line level is before power amplification. In a system with separate pre-amp and power-amp, the pre-amp output is line level. Many surround sound decoders and... Read More |
| Line-Source | A speaker device that is long and tall. Imagine a narrow dowel dropped flat onto the water's surface. The line-source has very limited vertical dispersion, but excellent horizontal dispersion. |
| Lobing | Any time more than one speaker device covers the same part of the frequency range there will be some unevenness in the output. (Picture the waves from one pebble dropped into a calm pool vs. two pebbles dropped several inches apart.) Lobing means that the primary... Read More |
| Loudness | Perceived volume. Loudness can be deceiving. For example, adding distortion will make a given volume level seem louder than it actually is. |
| Low Frequency Extension | Manufacturers, writers and salespeople toss around all kinds of numbers and terminology that can be very confusing and misleading. "This $500 shaving kit-sized sub is flat to 20Hz". Right, in your dreams . . . How is that cheap, tiny box and driver going to reproduce a 56-foot... Read More |
| Low-Pass Filter | A circuit that allows low frequencies to pass but rolls off the high frequencies. Most subwoofers have low-pass filters built in and many surround sound decoders have subwoofer outputs that have been low-pass filtered. |
