Active Crossover Basics
Basic Notes / Information:
- Unlike Passive Crossovers, Active Crossovers must be powered to operate.
- You can get maximum loudspeaker performance due to having more control over calibration during sound system set-up. This allows for cleaner, clearer, high fidelity sound quality.
- Active crossovers are more expensive and require an experienced Audio Technician to set-up the crossover accurately. If a crossover is not set-up correctly, the system can experience quality issues.
- Actual settings depend on what the speaker components “crossover points” are rated at.
In the example above, the Active Crossover is set up with the “crossover points” at 500Hz and 3kHz. The mixer outputs a signal to the crossover, and the crossover outputs specified signals (frequencies) to the amplifiers – which are 500Hz and lower to the Woofer, 500Hz up to 3kHz to the Midrange Transducer, and frequencies 3kHz and above to the Highs Compression Driver. The crossover set points rely on the specifications provided by the speaker manufacturers. Slight adjustments can be made by a “Trained Ear” as well. Manufacturers are adding DSPs (Digital Sound Processing) to their “Active” Speaker Cabinets to allow for fine-tuning of the crossover set points. As a reminder regarding passive speaker cabinets, crossover set-points rely on the “components” of the crossover and cannot be adjusted. Below are some typical crossover settings.
Active Crossovers vs Passive Crossovers
Other than the fact that most “Passive” crossovers used in speaker cabinets cannot be adjusted and fine-tuned like “Active” Crossovers. The main advantage of Active over Passive crossovers is the quality of sound. Passive Crossovers can significantly “degrade” the sound quality of signals that pass through them and can create higher levels of distortion in the signal. Active Crossovers provide very low levels of distortion.
