The sound of membranes

Ever think about how we listen to reproduced music? Through vibrating membranes like the paper, plastic, or metal of a woofer cone: the thin Mylar, Kapton or exotic metal of a tweeter. And the sound they reproduce was likely captured by the thin membrane of a microphone. Of course our ears are membranes as well: thin skin, fibrous tissue, and mucosa called an eardrum, which converts acoustic vibrations to fluid movements transmitting sound to our brains. And these membranes all have a sound inherent to their makeup. The thin membrane of an electrostat sounds remarkably faster than the thicker cone of a dynamic driver. The light gold sputtered plastic film of a condenser microphone sounds different than the heavy ribbon of the microphone bearing the same name. Recording engineers choose which coloration best captures the artist by careful selection of microphone types, and control their mixes according to the membrane their speakers use too. It's comforting to believe membranes just work without imparting a color to the sound, but it isn't true.