Impedance (actually resistance) would be the thickness of the pipe. Straw - high impedance. River - low impedance. Voltage would be the difference in pressure between the two ends of the hose. Current would be the speed of water.l. Power (watts) how much water actually makes through, either because it is fast or because the pipe is thick.
Sensitivity however is not quite as you describe it. Once you pump “water” through it, it shows how much useful work will be done. It could be almost useless and that is low sensitivity. Or a small amount of water makes a lot of music, because the machine is efficient, that is high sensitivity. Low sensitivity is good because it is noise resistant. High sensitivity is good because low power is needed.
I said resistance, because we were simplifying to a constant stream of water in one direction (DC), but the music signal is not. Music is AC, it is water going back and forth, wobbling. Turns out if it does that, the “pipe” behaves differently depending on frequency. So impedance us resistance under one particular frequency. In audio it is 1kHz. It is not enough to fully explain the property of the headphones, just an approximation. Different headphones with the same impedance at 1kHz can have a different impedance when low bass is played.
Tube amp is a good device to generate a huge differences in pressure to push your straw, but quickly run out of water. Solid states usually just generate an infinite amount of water to power river headphones, but normally with low difference in pressure.
If you are interested, capacitor is a rubber cap preventing water in the middle of the pipe. It can be stretched one way up to a certain point. If the water is not actually going anywhere, but wobbles back and forth, it wobbles too mostly unnoticeable. So it removes DC from AC.
The inductor is a wheel in the pipe. It spins using inertia. It takes work to speed it up and to slow it down. It removes AC from DC.
Linear power supply is like a water tank. You pour messy sprinkles of water on the top, but a constant stream of water comes out at the bottom.
Water analogy is the best.
Impedance (actually resistance) would be the thickness of the pipe. Straw - high impedance. River - low impedance. Voltage would be the difference in pressure between the two ends of the hose. Current would be the speed of water.l. Power (watts) how much water actually makes through, either because it is fast or because the pipe is thick.
Sensitivity however is not quite as you describe it. Once you pump “water” through it, it shows how much useful work will be done. It could be almost useless and that is low sensitivity. Or a small amount of water makes a lot of music, because the machine is efficient, that is high sensitivity. Low sensitivity is good because it is noise resistant. High sensitivity is good because low power is needed.
I said resistance, because we were simplifying to a constant stream of water in one direction (DC), but the music signal is not. Music is AC, it is water going back and forth, wobbling. Turns out if it does that, the “pipe” behaves differently depending on frequency. So impedance us resistance under one particular frequency. In audio it is 1kHz. It is not enough to fully explain the property of the headphones, just an approximation. Different headphones with the same impedance at 1kHz can have a different impedance when low bass is played.
Tube amp is a good device to generate a huge differences in pressure to push your straw, but quickly run out of water. Solid states usually just generate an infinite amount of water to power river headphones, but normally with low difference in pressure.
If you are interested, capacitor is a rubber cap preventing water in the middle of the pipe. It can be stretched one way up to a certain point. If the water is not actually going anywhere, but wobbles back and forth, it wobbles too mostly unnoticeable. So it removes DC from AC.
The inductor is a wheel in the pipe. It spins using inertia. It takes work to speed it up and to slow it down. It removes AC from DC.
Linear power supply is like a water tank. You pour messy sprinkles of water on the top, but a constant stream of water comes out at the bottom.