Knowledgeable in Def Tech crossovers?

[Jack N]

I need to hear from someone who is very familiar with BP20s, BP30s, and BP2000s.

I'm in the process of building a dedicated home theater and will need to put these speakers inside of columns. Obviously one set drivers won't be of any use being right up against the wall. So what I need to know is. . .If I disconnect the front firing drivers, will all of the amps' power go to the rear set of drivers? Or will the unused power be absorbed by the crossover network and be dissipated? With the time delay integrated into the crossover, I'm not sure how the circuitry works.

 

[fmw]

No. You will simply negate the speaker designer's work. You will ruin the speakers performance. You will need to vent the rear firing speakers at the back of the columns or choose speakers that are not bipolar. Your plan sounds like it won't lend itself to adjusting speaker placement for maximum performance. Be sure you know what you are doing and why.

 

[Jack N]

Don't take this the wrong way - Yes, I understand they're not going to sound the same or how the designer intended them to work. I don't need to vent the rear firing drivers because they won't be functioning, and I won't need to move the speakers around for optimum performance for the same reason. I'm aware of what I'm doing, and the reason for it is to save thousands of dollars buying new speakers when these will work just fine. I just need to know how the crossover is going to react when I disconnect the drivers. That will tell me if I need to install different crossovers.

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

I’m no speaker-internals expert, but I do know that at least some of the relevant components, such as capacitors, their “properties” (sorry, probably not the best word) change with the nominal impedance of the drivers in use. For instance, a cap might filter at 4000 Hz at 4 ohms, and 2000 Hz at 8 ohms.

So – it seems to me like totally removing the load from the crossover (i.e. the driver) is doing nothing good for whatever drivers are left connected. If the crossover frequency is shifted too low, you could end up blowing out tweeters. At the very least it can alter the way the speaker sounds, as often crossovers have components added to tailor response.

Like fmw noted, just let the back drivers fire inside the column. I won’t hurt anything. If you’re worried about them being heard out front, just cover them over with some thick dampening material.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Jack N]

Interesting. Thanks. I guess I won't be disconnecting the drivers.

 

[KenM10759]

Why not just consider some true in-wall speakers, such as KEF Ci series? Available in a LOT of different configurations to suit your build.

 

[Jack N]

Thanks for the idea, but then I'm adding more cost to the build when I don't have to.

 

[KenM10759]

Well, it's your decision of course. Me, I'd rather spend a few dollars for quality, current technology that is virtually guaranteed to perform well, do a "clean install" and not experiment.