A speaker by any other name?

January 12, 2006 4:16 PM

What's a nickname for the speakers on a stereo?

I know old school headphones are sometimes called "cans" and there has to be similar nicknames for speakers, but being neither an audiophile or someone who's down with the slang, I'm at a loss.

I'm not looking for the most widely used nickname. In fact, outdated, quirky or uncommon slang would probably be cooler for what I'm writing.

Thanks much.

posted by Gucky to Writing & Language (21 answers total)

I've overheard the cool kids call them "cones"
posted by pantsrobot at 4:19 PM on January 12, 2006

"Monitors"? That's more on the audiophile side.
posted by smackfu at 4:30 PM on January 12, 2006

drivers
subwoofers / woofers / tweeters (corresponding to the various types of speakers for the different ranges)
"twelves" or "tens" or "six by nines" (normally referring to car speakers)
posted by Rhomboid at 4:32 PM on January 12, 2006

The primary speakers in a surround sound setup are often called "mains".
posted by SpookyFish at 4:51 PM on January 12, 2006

Amps?
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:07 PM on January 12, 2006

Satellites?
posted by nessahead at 5:32 PM on January 12, 2006

Grills?

I dunno.
posted by gergtreble at 5:39 PM on January 12, 2006

Bins. Bit they have to be big.
posted by pompomtom at 5:46 PM on January 12, 2006

erm, 'but'.
posted by pompomtom at 5:47 PM on January 12, 2006

"Left" and "Right".

If rather than a stereo, it's a home theatre system, then Front-left, centre, well you get the idea :-)
posted by -harlequin- at 6:02 PM on January 12, 2006

A friend of mine calls them pushers or movers because they push/move air.
posted by forrest at 7:00 PM on January 12, 2006

speakers (AFAIK)

monitors are a type of speaker.

cones, drivers etc. refer to the individual speaker drivers in the speaker enclosure or to parts thereof.

mains and satellites etc. refer to speakers within a particular position.

grills are the things in front of the drivers.

Cans is a British term. The Brits call tubes valves if you care.
posted by caddis at 7:44 PM on January 12, 2006

Urban Dictionary has bumps. (They have a few other citations, esp. for car systems: six by nine, brace and bassbins.)
posted by rob511 at 7:50 PM on January 12, 2006

"On the Tannoy" is a britishy way of saying "on the PA". In the home HiFi sense, "the speaks" is about it. If you wanted to be brand specific, you could mention Lowther, Quad, Altec, ElectroVoice, Bozak, etc. More ideas here.
posted by Triode at 7:57 PM on January 12, 2006

isn't Tannoy a brand too, (one that often pairs well with triodes)?
posted by caddis at 8:02 PM on January 12, 2006

Tannoy is a brand. I have a nice pair of studio monitors.
posted by Goofyy at 8:13 PM on January 12, 2006

2 way 8 inch monitor.
posted by hortense at 8:32 PM on January 12, 2006

sealed or ported
posted by hortense at 8:40 PM on January 12, 2006

Buckets or bins if they're big enough.
posted by bunglin jones at 9:50 PM on January 12, 2006

Used more frequently with amps, the term 'cabs', meaning a speaker cabinet is often used.
posted by creeront at 8:49 AM on January 13, 2006

speaks
posted by davey_darling at 11:39 PM on January 13, 2006