PC+DAC+Electronic Crossover+Dual Amplifiers+Box For PA SYSTEM DIY Combos

Treble and bass amplifiers’ selection? Should treble use a tube amplifier or Class A amplifier? Should bass use a Class A amplifier?

Electronic Crossover

Electronic crossover divides audio signals by frequency and directs them to the appropriate speaker units, such as bass, midrange, and treble drivers. Compared to traditional passive crossovers, electronic crossovers can more precisely separate frequencies, reduce distortion, and improve sound quality. They are commonly used in high-end or multi-driver audio systems. However, electronic crossovers have both advantages and disadvantages.

Benefits of Electronic Crossover:

• Impedance Sensitivity: Electronic crossovers are not affected by impedance. If you're familiar with JBL systems, you'd know how tricky it can be to match 8Ohm and 16Ohm speakers with passive crossovers.
• Reduced Power Consumption: Unlike passive components that reduce power, electronic crossovers can handle drivers like horns, which may have a sensitivity of 104dB, more efficiently. Instead of reducing horn output by 10dB to match a bass driver at 94dB, you can dedicate a small amplifier to each driver.
• Stable Frequency Response: With passive crossovers, impedance changes during speaker operation can cause frequency shifts. Electronic crossovers avoid this issue.

Drawbacks of Electronic Crossover:

• Setting Crossover Points: Determining the correct crossover points requires a lot of experimentation and listening tests.
• Choosing Crossover Slopes: The number of crossover stages also needs to be tested extensively to find the right balance.
• Cost: High-end Hi-Fi brands offer expensive electronic crossovers, and many professional-grade options only offer balanced connections.
• Limited Flexibility: Once you've set up the system, swapping out amplifiers or upgrading components can become difficult and expensive.

For 2-way speakers, the use of an electronic crossover doesn't offer much advantage, as it primarily benefits multi-way, multi-driver systems. In such cases, electronic crossovers can help fine-tune the output, especially for bass drivers, where you can adjust the amount of bass output.

Digital Crossover:

I've found that digital crossovers are especially fun. They split frequencies during the digital signal stage, providing extreme precision and allowing for adjustments that produce an ideal frequency response curve based on your room. It’s also more affordable. You can check out MiniDSP for an excellent example.

Dual Amplifiers:

It's best to use the same brand of amplifiers and speaker cables for consistency in sound and tuning. Like PRORECK,YAMAHA. The main reason for using dual amplifiers is to provide enough driving power for both the high and low frequencies.

The power required to drive the high and low frequency units is different. Most amplifiers are designed to drive both high and low frequencies together, without optimizing for each frequency range. If you use separate amplifiers for high and low frequencies, it can make the crossover settings more complex, especially when working with different speakers.

In the past, some early British tube amplifiers were designed with built-in crossovers specifically for their own speaker systems, creating a fully integrated solution.

British Tube Amplifiers

So, how do we handle the different power needs for high and low units? By driving them separately, you gain better control. With improved control, the sound becomes more natural and effortless. However, if you use different amplifiers, it's a trial-and-error process. You’ll also need to consider sound synchronization issues. The high and low frequencies may reach the listening position at different times, which could create more problems than not using separate amplifiers at all.

Extreme Approach with Digital Crossovers:

In some extreme cases, people use digital crossovers before converting the signal to analog. This method eliminates crossover point errors.

In a 2-way system, you could have two DACs and two amplifiers driving two speaker units. For a 5-way system, this could mean 10 DACs and 10 amplifiers driving 10 speaker units. It sounds extreme, but such systems exist, like the Linn Exakt. The result is sound so natural it feels like the real thing. Many large, multi-way speakers use electronic crossovers for this reason.