Stand alone electronic x-over??

[1wickd6 10+ year member]

Please excuse the "newb" question here, but I need some clarification regarding crossovers.

I was reading through a build log and saw that the owner installed a stand alone 3-way electronic crossover in addition to the built in crossover that the amplifier had. I remember back in the day I used this same type of cross over but only because my amps didnt have them build in. What is the advantage of using a separate cross over? Is it just that you get more fine tuning and control over the frequencys? And how much of a difference can one of these actually make? I guess my main question is, should I incorporate one of these into my system even though my amp has a build in crossover? Thanks!

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[SSS 18734 5,000+ posts]

It depends on the crossover you're planning to use. If your amp gives you all of the crossover features and frequencies that you want, by all means use your amp's crossover.

But most amp crossovers have a relatively narrow range of frequencies, no bandpass frequency, and invariable slope and Q settings. That's where an external crossover could come in handy. Some head units have all of these built in, too.

 

[1wickd6 10+ year member]

It depends on the crossover you're planning to use. If your amp gives you all of the crossover features and frequencies that you want, by all means use your amp's crossover.
But most amp crossovers have a relatively narrow range of frequencies, no bandpass frequency, and invariable slope and Q settings. That's where an external crossover could come in handy. Some head units have all of these built in, too.

Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it!

I currently have a Crunch P1400.4 (pics below) that is powering my (4) 6.5" co-ax speakers. I know its an inexpensive borderline junk amp, but it's getting me by until I can afford to upgrade. To be honest, I really dont know much about adjusting the freq. I basically tried to get the door speakers to cut off right where the subs begin, but dont know if that's the correct way to do it, or if I even have it done correctly (there isnt a dot or dash or anything on the little knobs that signify where you are actually setting it to, so its kind of a guessing game).

This may sound more uneducated that my entire post, but i remember back in highschool when my amps didnt have built in cross-overs and I used a stand alone unit my speakers sounded SO much better, I particularly remember a song off of the Metallica ....and Justice for all album and the 6x9's I had in my rear deck would "clap" when the snare was hit. It sounded really good and distinct (to me anyway). I'd like to get that sort of sound back, but didnt know if it was the different brand of speakers (i had the cheapest Pioneer Premier 6x9's, and now have 6.5 Polk co-ax) or the fact that I had the external cross over. Also, i was powering the Pioneers back in the day with an old Sony that probably put out 30-40 watts per channel at the most.

 

[tez4life Premium Member]

It depends on the crossover you're planning to use. If your amp gives you all of the crossover features and frequencies that you want, by all means use your amp's crossover.
But most amp crossovers have a relatively narrow range of frequencies, no bandpass frequency, and invariable slope and Q settings. That's where an external crossover could come in handy. Some head units have all of these built in, too.

x2

Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it!
I currently have a Crunch P1400.4 (pics below) that is powering my (4) 6.5" co-ax speakers. I know its an inexpensive borderline junk amp, but it's getting me by until I can afford to upgrade. To be honest, I really dont know much about adjusting the freq. I basically tried to get the door speakers to cut off right where the subs begin, but dont know if that's the correct way to do it, or if I even have it done correctly (there isnt a dot or dash or anything on the little knobs that signify where you are actually setting it to, so its kind of a guessing game).

This may sound more uneducated that my entire post, but i remember back in highschool when my amps didnt have built in cross-overs and I used a stand alone unit my speakers sounded SO much better, I particularly remember a song off of the Metallica ....and Justice for all album and the 6x9's I had in my rear deck would "clap" when the snare was hit. It sounded really good and distinct (to me anyway). I'd like to get that sort of sound back, but didnt know if it was the different brand of speakers (i had the cheapest Pioneer Premier 6x9's, and now have 6.5 Polk co-ax) or the fact that I had the external cross over. Also, i was powering the Pioneers back in the day with an old Sony that probably put out 30-40 watts per channel at the most.

I completely understand where your coming from, I remember havin to do that years ago as well. I currently have a couple of older Orion amps from the late 90s that both only have built in lowpass crossovers, (but they are defeatable) so I would either have to use my HUs internal crossovers, or buy an external unit. But the previous post pretty much sum up the reason for them now.