The Loudspeaker Crossover Part II: The Brains of your System

admin · #1 09-29-2009, 11:38 PM

Ever wonder why some higher end manufacturers utilize top notch parts in their crossovers? This article explores the differences between capacitor and inductor types utilized in the crossovers of your loudspeakers and how the use of a non-linear materials can affect the sound of the music we hear. If we are looking to improve our systems, and purchasing upgrade crossovers, we need not only be informed about the specifications of the parts used in them, we also need to consider the PCB layout as well. While perhaps the simplest electrical circuits in use in audio today, crossovers can play a major role in the sound we hear coming from our speakers, and our speakers are the most important link in the audio chain in the vast majority of systems in use today.

Discuss "The Loudspeaker Crossover Part II: The Brains of your System " here. Read the article.

highfigh · #2 09-30-2009, 10:31 AM

The resistor(s) could be rotated 45 degrees so one of the long edges is on the PCB to allow better cooling if height is a big problem. Not only can the resistor fail but heat can damage the PCB or whatever material it's mounted on, like the charred floor joist in a house I worked in after another local store had installed the original system and used wire-wound ceramic resistors to decrease the level of some of the whole-house speakers. Not an L-pad, just a resistor in series, dissipating all kinds of heat and causing a 3" charred circle.

This leads to another caution- don't mount capacitors right next to these resistors, either. This can lead to their failure and possibly cause damage to the amp/speaker.

DJKen · #3 09-30-2009, 01:38 PM

Excellently worded! I'm sending links to several tech geek buddies as we speak! Thanks!

skers_54 · #4 09-30-2009, 07:31 PM

Paul, you did a great job of demonstrating inductor saturation at high drive levels. How would the effect look when the amplifier is providing power on the order of 1 watt? Is it possible to extrapolate or is there too much variance between different magnetic core inductors to generalize when they begin to saturate?