Why do you need a speaker crossover - discuss

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Originally Posted by Macca

What about a loudspeaker with a full range driver covering the presence band, a self protecting tweeter and a seperate bass enclosure with a dedicted bass driver and built in amplifier that only delivers power through the 10 hz to say 80 hz range? - that gives you a wideband 3-way speaker with no crossover components.

We have also not addressed the crossover point - sticking the crosover at 2.5khz or 3khz slap in the middle of the performance range is where the crossover will have the most deletorious effect.

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Lateral and interesting thoughts at last. :)

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Originally Posted by Dr Bunsen Honeydew

Dave please read the thread, the first post explains it.

Driver selection addresses the sensitivity issue, and a simple blocking cap protects the tweeter, that is not a crossover, it is protection. For me the definition of a crossover is the desire to tailor the response of the drivers electrically via passive components configured as filters. I am saying that tailoring *can* be done mechanically and to my ears having compared a version with crossover with a version doped, it has made one hell of a difference.

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I have read the first post and all those that followed. Thank you.

'Driver selection' with a two or more way speaker, limits your choice to drivers having similar sensitivity. Anything else and you will need a crossover. Surely ?

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Originally Posted by hifi_dave

I have read the first post and all those that followed. Thank you.

'Driver selection' with a two or more way speaker, limits your choice to drivers having similar sensitivity. Anything else and you will need a crossover. Surely ?

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Nope, and even if they don't match it is a simple series resistor with the tweeter. So a blocking protection cap and a matching resistor is still not a crossover.

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Originally Posted by hifi_dave

'Driver selection' with a two or more way speaker, limits your choice to drivers having similar sensitivity. Anything else and you will need a crossover. Surely ?

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Well, no actually. You could use several of the less sensitive unit. You could add a high quality series resistor to the more sensitive unit.

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Originally Posted by Dr Bunsen Honeydew

Nope, and even if they don't match it is a simple series resistor with the tweeter. So a blocking protection cap and a matching resistor is still not a crossover.

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So when does a crossover become a crossover then :scratch:

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Originally Posted by Macca

So when does a crossover become a crossover then :scratch:

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When you are splitting frequencies.

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Originally Posted by Macca

So when does a crossover become a crossover then :scratch:

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When it tailors the frequency responses of the drive units so as to blend them into a flat(ish) overall response.

It could be argued that even the tweeter capacitor is in fact doing this and does represent a crossover. It certainly distorts phase relationships and therefore still has to be used with due care and attention to its effect.

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Originally Posted by technobear

When it tailors the frequency responses of the drive units so as to blend them into a flat(ish) overall response.

It could be argued that even the tweeter capacitor is in fact doing this and does represent a crossover. It certainly distorts phase relationships and therefore still has to be used with due care and attention to its effect.

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That would be my definiton too, but if Richard considers a cap and a resistor on the tweeter not to be a crossover then his definiton is different, is it not?

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Originally Posted by Macca

So when does a crossover become a crossover then :scratch:

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Ah the $64k question. I can only give my opinion. A crossover is the seperation of two drivers, protection and sensitivty matching is not, it is just (normally) on the tweeter. So if there are no components associated with the other driver(s) it is not a crossover.

Even if it is just a coil (inductor) on the bass / mid then it becomes a simple crossover (as use by Royd for example) more elements to create steeper filter slopes and elements to tailor the response in band turns it complicated and complex and problematic.

okay so if we now understand what we are all meaning with 'crossover' we can proceed:)

Further to my wideband 3 way xoverless system - This could be lashed up with a decent 6.5 inch full ranger on an open baffle, baffle size to determine the roll off point of the full range driver down to where the bass drivers kick in - bass drivers could be lashed up with an old REL sub on each channel. Add a parasitic super-tweeter on each side and Bob's your mother's brother.:)

I'm actually quite tempted to have a go at that...