Crossover for sub

Forum for all aspects of speakers and speaker design.

Moderator: Aaronw

Jan Holm
Posts: 22
Joined: Fri May 09, 2003 7:53 am
Location: Denmark

Crossover for sub

Post by Jan Holm »

Hi All

I just build a sub for my project studio. A good friend of mine did
all the maths on the project, he must have done something right
cause this one is rocking, in all kinda ways :D

For initial testing I have been using the filters in my 01V. Did a
low pass on an aux for the sub amp and high pass on the master
for the sattelites. Since the aux out don't respond to the monitor
volume this is not usable for real monitoring.

So I'm in the market for a crossover. All I seem to find is really
made for big PA's, and not that usable for my setup. The only one
I found meeting my needs is Behringer Super-X pro CX2310.
The model name makes me laugh and the brand make me cry.
Anyone have experience with this crossover or others that would do a 2
way cross at 60-100hz. Sub only has to be mono.
"does it work"
barefoot
Moderator
Posts: 554
Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2003 4:49 am
Location: Portland Oregon
Contact:

Post by barefoot »

Hi Jan,

Sorry to say, but I don't think off the shelf crossovers are a good idea regardless of their quality. Even with steep 4th order slopes, you need almost 3 octaves of flat response overlap between the speakers and sub to achieve proper response and phase alignment. Narrower overlaps will result in a deep response dip and poor group delay. And these cannot be easily compensated for with a simple phase adjustment knob.

Most people with subs don't realize this problem because of significant problems with their rooms. Many with good rooms don't like subs because they hear the problem, but are unaware of the cause. You can indeed get excellent results without such drastic response overlap, but it requires a crossover specifically designed for the sub and speakers. Those who get truly good (measured) results without a custom crossover are very lucky.

Thomas
Thomas Barefoot
Barefoot Sound
Jan Holm
Posts: 22
Joined: Fri May 09, 2003 7:53 am
Location: Denmark

Post by Jan Holm »

Hi Thomas

This is for my own "extended bedroom studio" As in no one
but me will be doing critical listening here. With the filters in
the mixer I can do pretty amasing sound in here. When I'm doing
the tuning I do it with my ears. Using cd's I know sound
perfect everywhere and making those sound the best possible
on my system for my taste. Then it'll be a long period of
getting to know my monitor setup. Just like any new piece of
equipment takes time to learn.
"does it work"
Post Reply