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If you connect your arduino to a motor you use this schematic:
However, when it comes to buzzers, which also have a coil, no one protects the circuit:
What the hell is going on? Are these just buzzers "coiless"? How can I find the type of buzzer I have?
That kind of "buzzer" doesn't have a coil. It is a "Piezo Transducer" and uses a crystal to produce the sound.
When you're using a real speaker and producing sound you are doing it very differently to switching a motor or a relay on and off. You're generating a much smoother waveform and you don't have the sharp "ON-OFF" that causes a collapse of the magnetic field. You're actually gradually reducing the power and then reversing it to remove the magnetic field then apply a new one in the opposite direction (if you have wired it right of course).
Also the currents involved in driving a speaker like that are minuscule compared to switching a relay, especially when driven direct from the Arduino. For louder volumes you will use an amplifier, and that deals with the whole protection within itself since it is designed to drive a speaker.
