Active Crossovers

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Is there a better way to implement a crossover?

Active Crossovers

Active crossovers are not seen often in home audio (except for home theater system with subwoofer outputs). Active crossovers are mounted upstream of the amplifier and require a separate amplifier for each driver in the speaker. A speaker with a woofer, midrange, and tweeter would require three separate amplifiers if using an active crossover. The advantage is that the separation of sound frequencies is happening at a low voltage and each amplifier is called on to do less, so the amplifiers can be smaller.

Active crossovers have the advantage of being almost infinitely adjustable. If you are the designer, you can change crossover frequency, and channel output with the turn of a dial. Of course, without a full set of instruments, proper setting for accurate performance is almost impossible.

   

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