active or passive ?

[Rafael]

Hi All,

It would be interesting to know what kind of x-overs are used by the members of this forum. Do you think it is always a good way to use an active x-over or a digital device like the bss minidrives or the dbx driveracks ? Some guys think: the less complex a system, the better the sound and so the simple amp/ passive network combination sounds more coherent. Since the digital x-overs are affordable now, I wonder if I should prefer them over an analog active network or the passive crossovers. What are your experiences, did you really improve your system by multi-amping or adds it just as many problems as it solves ?

Regards,

Rafael

[Mr. Widget]

I don't mean to cut you short, but if you do a couple of searches under the heading of "Driverack" and "active crossover" you will find a ton of posts on this subject.

Widget

[Robh3606]

Hello Rafael

I run a 4 way active set-up with analog crossovers and a biamp set-up again with active analog crossovers. Personally I shy away from the digital for now as I am happy with what I am getting with the analogs I have now. With my 2 biamp set-up, XPL-200 clones, I am using a full passive stock JBL network up top for the upper 3 drivers. So once you set the levels you are done. The passive network takes care of any driver issues. For my 4 way set-up it's a bit different. With full active any issues with the drivers or horn compensation is up to you to correct. So that said I have to run a passive compensation because of the horn used 2344. I also have EQ's in line that I use to notch out an 800Hz - 1K hump in my 2123's. It's not big or high in amplitude but it's clearly audible. So yes it's another group of issues but I think the clarity, dynamics and headroom is worth the "hassle". If anything it gives you another group of challenges to play with. Voiceing a full active set-up is not as easy as it sounds. At least not for me. I took a while between EQ, driver swaps, and individual driver levels to get what I thought sounded really right. Also makes driver substitution a lot easier. E-Bay is a great resource but I need to go to "Ebay Anonymous". That's where all my amps and crossovers came from. Doing all new at dealers cost would be well beyond what I could afford.

Rob

[Guido]

Hi Rafael!

I use a good ole JBL 5235. The sound is very good and the crossover frequencys are easy to change by manipulating the xover cards.
Everything is explained in the manual.

I use them together with my 4343 but I do still experiment with passive xover modification and active xover.
As soon as I reveive my 2121H (thanks to Giskard) I will finish all tests and write a report.

You can get good 5235 for 70 to 100 Euro on Ebay.