Question about 3 way Xovers

[Austin Stradling]

I was thinking of starting a 3 way cabinet build, but I am still a novice when it comes to audio. I am looking at the PXB3:5K0 crossovers made by eminence. The specs say 400W rms. Does that mean that the drivers I choose should add up to about 400 watts? (I apologize in advance if this is a dumb question)

 

[MrBoat]

I too am a novice. Still, the best place to start is researching DIY builds and some of the kit offerings. Many of these kits come with documentation of the R&D involved on some rather lengthy endeavors along with final results and reviews to that effect. Researching these gives a better understanding how crossovers work and how they are implemented with regard to design goals.

I recall a safe approach to untested watt ratings was taking the lowest value driver and multiplying it by the amount of drivers in the cabinet, or something like that.

 

[Swerd]

I was thinking of starting a 3 way cabinet build, but I am still a novice when it comes to audio. I am looking at the PXB3:5K0 crossovers made by eminence.

If you're thinking you can design a 3-way speaker by selecting a woofer, mid range, and tweeter from the many choices available, and using a pre-built generic crossover because you don't know how to design a crossover, read this thread:

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/prebuilt-crossover.106141/

This approach will not give you a good sounding speaker. You'd be much more successful if you got a speaker kit where the drivers are selected, the crossover is already designed, but you have to build or assemble the cabinet and install all the parts. Parts Express, Madisound, or Meniscus Audio offer many good designs in various price ranges.

I am looking at the PXB3:5K0 crossovers made by eminence. The specs say 400W rms. Does that mean that the drivers I choose should add up to about 400 watts? (I apologize in advance if this is a dumb question)

It means the parts in the crossover board can survive exposure to 400W without failing. It doesn't say how long it would survive 400W, so it's safe to assume it's brief not long.

 

[lovinthehd]

To add to what Swerd said above, the individual drivers' wattage ratings aren't additive either, it's a matter of the entire system of the drivers and crossover together.