What's the difference between copper and aluminum voice coils?

one is made of copper and the other is made of aluminum.

yea, performance wise

Aluminum tends to dissipate heat faster.

K, cuz i'm getting one AQ hdc318 and running it on one 2200d and didn't know if I need to get the aluminum or copper coils. I heard that with a certain amount of power you should get either copper or aluminum. Any input on that?

1 aq2200d isn't a lot of power for the AQ, i'd do Copper Coil.

If you were competing and running let's say the AQ3500d to 1 sub, then i'd say get the Aluminum.

Using the Aluminum Coil with low power will not be as loud as Copper Coil until you start using large amounts of power.

thanks a lot man, i forgot which you already told me

Aluminum tends to dissipate heat faster.

Nope. Copper is 1st, then Aluminum, then Stainless Steel.

Which is better is all dependent on the application and goals of the speaker.

Aluminum tends to dissipate heat faster.

Nope. Copper is 1st, then Aluminum, then Stainless Steel.

Yes, this is something that is a bit misunderstood. Forgive me, as I have hardly studied thermodynamics, but....

Thermal conductivity refers to how well an item conducts heat. On the other hand, we also have Newton's law of cooling. I will save you the math, but the general premise is that the greater the difference between the body and its environment, the greater the rate of heat loss for that body.

Simple conclusion:

1) Copper is a better conductor of heat than aluminum. As such, copper can get hotter, quicker than aluminum.

2) Because copper can get hotter, quicker, it also presents a larger difference between the temperature of the body (the copper) and the temperature of the environment. As such, copper cools more quickly. This is the "dissipating heat" part that was referred to.

With a speaker, the material chosen will vary depending on what you (as an engineer) seek and the geometry of what you end up using. In some cases, copper will be more preferable....in others, it will be aluminum. Or, for those who prefer, you could do Copper Clad Aluminum or any one of the less popular alternatives.

Well I would be running an AQ2200d with the AQhdc318 d2. I'm not going to be doing competitions, i'm just trying to beat people out on the street and for my own personal interests.

Thanks.

Neil, so you're saying it all depends on how I will be running it, basically?

The setup you have listed should be manageable. I was mostly speaking from an engineering standpoint. For most consumers, looking at individual aspects (like voice coil material) is a pretty fruitless adventure.

Sounds good. So the final decision would be that copper would be best for my setup?

Sorry, I think I've been missing a key part of your question: does Audioque offer the HDC3 with either copper or aluminum coils? If that is the case, I would probably just get the aluminum coil since the copper coil will likely add significant mass to a driver that will already have enough low frequency extension for most. For your purposes, the aluminum coil is probably preferable.

Correct. I would either be ordering the Audioque HDC318 with either aluminum or copper coils. This would be on just one AQ2200d. This is the one subject i have NO idea about, so thanks for all the help

so are there any other opinions/facts ya'll can help me out with please?