Would this be terrible?

[BLD 25 10+ year member]

Hey, i am looking for crossovers, and i know the brand *****, but people at PE said that it shouldn't color the sound, as it is just a crossover. it has a good S/n, and THD, so it seems like it should work for the money. So, brand prejudice aside, should this be decent for $16?

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=265-128&scqty=1

Click to read more...

 

[envengineer 10+ year member]

For 16 bucks I'd say buy it and find out for yourself.

 

[BLD 25 10+ year member]

I just wanted to get some opinions first.

 

[jdawg 5,000+ posts]

Honestly you could probably use that, then switch to an Audio Control and not notice the difference. I have used their crossovers in the past

 

[MiniVanMan 10+ year member]

What are you exactly trying to achieve with the crossover? If you're looking to do an active setup, then that crossover will not work. Just wondering.

 

[BLD 25 10+ year member]

thank you jdawg.

Minivan man why would this not work?

 

[jmanpc 5,000+ posts]

Probably can't beat it for $16. I say give it a shot.

 

[DejaWiz 5,000+ posts]

What are you exactly trying to achieve with the crossover? If you're looking to do an active setup, then that crossover will not work. Just wondering.

Why not? Seems like it'll work great for an active setup that's none too extravagant...

Pyramid CR79G :

6 Channel Electronic Crossover

Network High Pass Settings: 2k, 4k, 6k Hz

High Pass Slope Selector: 8 or 12 dB

Bandpass Settings: High: 60, 120, 180 Hz

Flat Low: 2k, 4k, 6k

Low Pass Settings: 60, 120, 180 Hz

Subwoofer Slope Selector: 18 or 12 dB

Subwoofer Phase Shift

Gold Plated RCA Input and Output Jacks

LED Power Indicators

Remote Power On/Off

S/N Ratio: >98dB

THD: 0.005% @ 1kHz

Dimensions: 4.75" W x 7" L x 1.5" H

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

My problems with it;

1) Reliability. But hey...it's cheap enough that even if it only worked for a month you got your money's worth.

2) Inflexibility. Notice how it doesn't use potentiometers to set the frequency, but rather has switches where you must choose from pre-selected frequencies. It would "work", but not the greatest. It also has pretty shallow slopes.

3) Due to it's quality of design/construction, there is a good chance that it's actual performance is highly varied from what's printed on the chassis. Actual Xover points could be very different from what the screenprint says, slopes could be very different. Etc.

IMO, you would be better off spending "double the money" and getting a xover with more flexibility and that has proven to be a good unit for the money;

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-COUSTIC-XM6-3WAY-6CHANNEL-ELECTRONIC-CROSSOVER-XM-6_W0QQitemZ220095984395QQcategoryZ79840QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Adjustable pots for better frequency selection, steeper slopes which for active are IMO a benefit, and it's a much better quality unit than the Pyramid. If you're looking for an affordable active xover, the XM6 is hard to beat.

 

[DejaWiz 5,000+ posts]

^ and it looks better, too! (if that's a factor)

 

[BLD 25 10+ year member]

That coustic does look nice. I have to set some price limit, though. The pyramid does have it's limitations, i agree. If i cross the highs low pass at 4000 with a 6db, and then the lows at 2k with a 6db, i should still have a decent amount of sound in that range, but just not as loud, correct?

 

[Darren5531 10+ year member]

Would any other models of the coustic work just as good? Maybe the xm-1e? Or should I just look at the m6?

 

[DejaWiz 5,000+ posts]

There's a few positive reviews for the Profile PX30R floating around the net. Anyone use one?

Might be a little hard to locate one for sale though, as production is EOL.

 

[GordonW 10+ year member]

I just don't find fixed-frequency crossovers that useful, in real-world terms.

Being able to "dial in" the frequency of the lowpass and highpass seperately, is a BIG deal in getting a system JUST RIGHT. Many times, you can even eliminate the need for an EQ, just by setting the crossover in "creative' fashion (ie, either overlapping or underlapping/gapping frequency ranges)...

Another thing that making gaps or overlaps can do- the phase shift and time delay in the crossover region are usable as tuning tools, too. Sometimes, I've actually set a crossover with a DELIBERATE undelap, to increase the phase shift to compensate for path-length differences, and dialed in an EQ to bring the frequencies in-between the gap settings back to flat. It's something you don't want to do in great quantities... but again, it can make the difference between a GOOD system and a GREAT SOUNDING one...

Can't really do that with switches, though...

Regards,

Gordon.

 

[jdawg 5,000+ posts]

That coustic does look nice. I have to set some price limit, though. The pyramid does have it's limitations, i agree. If i cross the highs low pass at 4000 with a 6db, and then the lows at 2k with a 6db, i should still have a decent amount of sound in that range, but just not as loud, correct?

it really depends on what speakers you have, frequency range, etc..