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Speaker Mechanics The human ear depends on a thin membrane, the eardrum, which vibrates in response to sound waves. The brain translates the vibrations into what we experience as sound. Speakers create waves of sound very much like a drum makes noise. When you strike a drum, the skin of the drum vibrates, creating sound waves. Speakers start with a cone, and, like a drum, a diaphragm of paper, fabric or plastic is stretched across the wide part of the cone, where it is fastened to a metal ring. The smaller end of the cone contains an iron coil sitting in front of a magnet. The coil is connected to the wires that connect the speaker to the stereo or music player. Sound from the source is translated into electrical signals that turn the coil into an electromagnet. The magnetized coil either attracts or repels the magnet behind it, which moves the coil back and forth. The motion of the coil pushes and pulls the diaphragm, creating waves just like a drum, and pumping sound waves out from the speaker into the room---or straight into your ear.