The simplistic beauty of passive crossovers...

Power · 06-17-2001, 02:22 AM

The crossover. One of the most misunderstood and misused piece of audio equipment there is. Manufacturer's would love to have you believe the only option is to purchase that lovely crossover thingamajig and have it installed by someone that doesn't want to explain it to you. I know because I used to do it. Here is crossovers made easy;

A crossover in audio terms is nothing more than something which alters the sound signal and filters a certain frequency out. The beauty of this is that for a few dollars at your local Radio Shack, you can add crossovers to your system. These are called passive crossovers and are much more reliable if done correctly.

A passive crossover is nothing more than components put in between the sound signal source and the sound signal destination. I prefer to install them as close to the speaker as possible to dis-allow any noise or signal integrity fade to occur.

All passive crossovers can cause damage to a system if not done right. That is why the stigma is attached to them. And every passive crossover is different for each frequency.

Things you need to know to begin are (1) What cutoff frequency you want,(2) What your ohm rating is for your speaker,(3) And where your closest electronics parts store is.

There is a table that is way to big to post here that will tell you what components you need. It can be found around the internet or usually purchased at some audio shops.

Take what parts you need and then put them in the wire. example, to cut off frequencies higher then you want to the speaker you need to put the appropriate sized coil inline with the speaker wire. To filter out frequencies lower then the desired frequencies you need to put a capacitor inline with the speaker wire. My personal favorite way was to simply cut the wire and then solder it inline and then cover with shrink tubing.

This is a quick and painful way of telling you about passive crossovers. A picture and demonstration is worth a thousand of these posts, but hopefully you get the idea. I have owned numerous systems, all except one had passive crossovers and the only problem I ever had was a battery explosion in the trunk. Totally unrelated to the crossovers.

These crossovers of course get more complex and intriguing. But those are the two basic ones to help you out with simpler systems. If you have any questions just post em or email me.......i check the board often.

Dark_5.0 · 06-20-2001, 12:22 PM

Thats all fine and good power but to me outboard crossovers suck. I used to use them but now with all of the new technology they are not needed for example my kenwood excelon cd player has built in adjustable crossovers for every speaker in the car. Front ,rear and a sub-woofer crossover.

I do agree that passive crossovers are great though. No good system would be complete without some sort of crossover.

jonnyk · 06-23-2001, 07:14 PM

OK...so is there somewhere I can read about building such a thing? I am interested in higpassing my rear speakers (deck power) at about 100Hz...steep slope would be nice. Any suggestions? Books? Website?

------------------
1991 LX Hatch 5.0L

Power · 06-24-2001, 02:13 AM

I actually go and get a lot of my facts from here. Very informative site that has good correct data.

If you have any questions let me know. I'd be more than happy to help.

[This message has been edited by Power (edited 06-24-2001).]

06-17-2001, 02:22 AM	#1
Power Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Oregon Posts: 420	The simplistic beauty of passive crossovers... The crossover. One of the most misunderstood and misused piece of audio equipment there is. Manufacturer's would love to have you believe the only option is to purchase that lovely crossover thingamajig and have it installed by someone that doesn't want to explain it to you. I know because I used to do it. Here is crossovers made easy; A crossover in audio terms is nothing more than something which alters the sound signal and filters a certain frequency out. The beauty of this is that for a few dollars at your local Radio Shack, you can add crossovers to your system. These are called passive crossovers and are much more reliable if done correctly. A passive crossover is nothing more than components put in between the sound signal source and the sound signal destination. I prefer to install them as close to the speaker as possible to dis-allow any noise or signal integrity fade to occur. All passive crossovers can cause damage to a system if not done right. That is why the stigma is attached to them. And every passive crossover is different for each frequency. Things you need to know to begin are (1) What cutoff frequency you want,(2) What your ohm rating is for your speaker,(3) And where your closest electronics parts store is. There is a table that is way to big to post here that will tell you what components you need. It can be found around the internet or usually purchased at some audio shops. Take what parts you need and then put them in the wire. example, to cut off frequencies higher then you want to the speaker you need to put the appropriate sized coil inline with the speaker wire. To filter out frequencies lower then the desired frequencies you need to put a capacitor inline with the speaker wire. My personal favorite way was to simply cut the wire and then solder it inline and then cover with shrink tubing. This is a quick and painful way of telling you about passive crossovers. A picture and demonstration is worth a thousand of these posts, but hopefully you get the idea. I have owned numerous systems, all except one had passive crossovers and the only problem I ever had was a battery explosion in the trunk. Totally unrelated to the crossovers. These crossovers of course get more complex and intriguing. But those are the two basic ones to help you out with simpler systems. If you have any questions just post em or email me.......i check the board often.

06-20-2001, 12:22 PM	#2
Dark_5.0 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Staging lane Posts: 4,337	Thats all fine and good power but to me outboard crossovers suck. I used to use them but now with all of the new technology they are not needed for example my kenwood excelon cd player has built in adjustable crossovers for every speaker in the car. Front ,rear and a sub-woofer crossover. I do agree that passive crossovers are great though. No good system would be complete without some sort of crossover.

06-23-2001, 07:14 PM	#3
jonnyk Being stroked is great Join Date: Oct 1998 Location: Alberta, Canada Posts: 772	OK...so is there somewhere I can read about building such a thing? I am interested in higpassing my rear speakers (deck power) at about 100Hz...steep slope would be nice. Any suggestions? Books? Website? ------------------ 1991 LX Hatch 5.0L

06-24-2001, 02:13 AM	#4
Power Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Oregon Posts: 420	I actually go and get a lot of my facts from here. Very informative site that has good correct data. If you have any questions let me know. I'd be more than happy to help. [This message has been edited by Power (edited 06-24-2001).]