Speaker ports and impedance


Wise ones,
Is there a relationship between a speaker's electrical impedance plot and the cabinet design. I have noticed that J.A of Stereophile often correlates an impedance change at the tuned frequency of a speaker's port. I'm guessing it has something to do with physical impedance, but I have not found a reference in Harley's book.
duddley

Showing 1 response by gs5556

Yes, if you mean a speaker driver. A driver's impedance, by definition, is a change in resistance at different frequencies at constant voltage. While impedance depends on electrical factors, the driver's surrounding also affects the impedance.

A driver in free air will be at its highest impedance at its resonance frequency. When it is in an enclosure, the resonance frequency shifts to a different value, which depends on the enclosure size. The new rf will have a different impedance, which is much lower than in free air.

A ported type enclosure will cause the driver to have its lowest impedance at resonance - whereas in a sealed box the same driver will have its highest impedance.