can someone explain me the differences between the different orders of crossovers

[PV Audio 5,000+ posts]

i'm still struggling with 1st-4th order and the benefits and when each should be used...as well as configurations (linkwitz, butter, cheb, bessel) //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

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[myvanpounds 10+ year member]

*grabs tylenol*

 

[AznRevlAzn 10+ year member]

*does the same* plus some motrin

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

It's not that bad...

The higher the order, the tighter the slope, correct? So there's more attenuation per octave...

This is why I don't do none of that crossover shiznit. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[PV Audio 5,000+ posts]

yeah but what i mean is how can u tell which sort of configuration u should use and when and why u should be using it //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif. however jim, i have ordered my first set of crossover parts and i'll keep u updated

 

[thylantyr 10+ year member]

yeah but what i mean is how can u tell which sort of configuration u should use and when and why u should be using it //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif. however jim, i have ordered my first set of crossover parts and i'll keep u updated

$250 and all your questions answered //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif

Get a Behringer DCX2496, two amplifier channels, a cheap tweeter and midrange

and a preamp to drive the analog inputs of the Behringer.

Play with the settings, 6dB up to 48dB, different types of filters and you

can change these settings by just turning the dial and you can get a feel

for the sound.

There is nothing 'really' wrong with 6dB slopes or 48dB slopes as long as

what you hear pleases you and you don't choose a setting that will destroy

your drivers, ie, a 6dB slope at 2khz may work nice for your tweeters but

if you push more power you can blow them up. SPL'ers like to play it safe and

use a steeper slope to protect tweeters and choose a good crossover point

suited for them.

There is alot of theory behind each filter type but you can read about it later,

if you want excellerated[tm] learning get a digital crossover and spend 1 hour

playing and you have increased your knowledge by a huge factor. Most of the

shiznit spouted by analphiles which is theorectically correct may not even be

a factor in certain designs.

I try to keep it simple. Use good sounding drivers, hook them up to the active crossover, play around using common sense and see what synergy you can

milk from the drivers then make a note of your settings. You can take these settings and convert the design to a passive crossover and you should be

close to getting similar results. Or you can just use the active setup as is.

Another example, some mid drivers sound nasty because they have mad

cone break up modes so you determined that your tweeters doesn't like

a crossover below 2khz @ 12dB {because you looked at the datasheet and do

did a listening test to confirm the sonic character}. Next, you try out the midwoofer and find that is sounds pretty nasty still at 2khz, 12dB so you scratch your head and wonder how you can make it better. You can lower the frequency to 1.5khz and realize it's better but it may not blend well with a tweeter @ 2khz.

The logical thing to do is to increase the slope to 24 or 48 @2khz to see if your

gremlins vanish. If ok at 24dB, then retest your tweeter at 2khz. What you will find is the midrange sound got thinned out, maybe imaging suffered so you lower the 2khz to 1.7khz and realized, hey this isn't too shabby. If the midwoofer

was ok at 2khz, then 1.7khz is fine by default. The last question, can my tweeter

hang with 1.7khz @ 24dB? Probably so.

The crossover will give your loudspeaker many differennt sounds and the best

way to find the sound you like is to develop with a good digital electronic crossover as all the mystery is revealed.

If you never used an active crossover then all the passive crossover designers

appear to be magicians. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif