How do earbuds deliver deep bass frequencies with such tiny drivers?

Question

Usually when you have a smaller speaker, you sacrifice the low end, but earbuds seem to manage to deliver substantial bass nonetheless. I assume the proximity to the eardrum helps, but I don’t fully understand how.

In: 2000

Answer 1

Size of the speaker determines volume. The actual bass itself is determined by the frequency, larger speakers can have larger volume. Since the earbuds are right next to your ears, the tiny speakers can deliver low frequency (bass) audio waves through the small volume of air in the ear canal to your eardrums. Just like a large speaker can deliver low frequency audio across a room, or 3 city blocks down the street if you have enough subwoofers with enough power to do so