Passive and Active Crossovers

[1D4LV]

tanong lang....

what are the differences between the two? ano ba function nila?

sensha na... newbie audio guy here.

pa-explain in layman's terms ha?

[pajerokid]

Active crossovers require DC power input and the cutoff freq are usually adjustable. More Expensive

Passive ones are like those found in seps kits and just connect directly to the HU or Amp and then directly to the speakers, requiring no power supply.

[1D4LV]

thanks PK, but will the two output different sound qualities?

[ssaloon]

A crossover network is used to select which frequency components of a signal are passed to the different speakers available. A crossover network may be:

- an active crossover network, or
- a passive crossover network.

A crossover network would typically select high frequencies to be passed to a tweeter, and low frequencies to be passed to a woofer. An important design goal for the crossover network is to ensure that the equal sound volume can be produced at all operating frequencies.

An active crossover network includes some form of amplification, as well as passive elements. An active crossover system is often located prior to power amplification, and so operates at low power. An active crossover may also incorporate the power amplifier. An active crossover network may be located within the speaker enclosure, or be housed separately.

A passive crossover network is a crossover network that consists of only passive elements, such as resistors, capacitors and inductors. A passive crossover network is commonly used inside a speaker system, since it does not require a power connection.

HTH

[pajerokid]

jeff, mas ok siyempre ang active passive kasi set in stone na yung settings so there's not much room to customize.

[1D4LV]

hmmm. is it safe to say, it will create some improvements on a stock setup if ever i will install either any of the two?

[ssaloon]

actually, some separates (if not most) come with crossovers na. and other HUs also come with a passive crossover already which lets you engage the HPF and LPF for better listening quality.

[1D4LV]

ah ok. last question (na siguro to....hehehehe). what if assuming yung HU eh may passive Xover na, tapos lagyan mo pa ng additional passive or active xover, what will be the effect? i am still talking on stock mode ha?

sensha na mga bros...

[ssaloon]

wala ata mashadong gain in performance since you will not be driving your speakers at high levels since it will only be powered by your HU.

[1D4LV]

got it fafa miks. salamas....

[luckytruck]

correct me if i am wrong, but i think most crossovers in the headunits are active because the LPF is selectable between 50 or 80 or 100 hz.

in any case, as a newbie, my advice is to stick to passive crossovers for the high pass/ separates and active for the subwoofer

andy

[1D4LV]

thanks lucky. the only reason i was asking is that because my sis sent me a set of passive x-overs (altec lansing) from the states. kala siguro nya audio buff ako. i was just thinking of using it dun sa curret stock setup (ko pa....) wala pa rin kasi akong time mag hanap nung standalone subwoofs as i posted here previously.

[luckytruck]

pare, why don't you post some pics or the specs (model number) of the crossovers and maybe we can help you find a way to integrate them into your current system

[1D4LV]

The model is ALC5 (Altec Lansing). Wala rin akong makitang reviews sa Net.

anyway, eto mga pics.

[1D4LV]

eto fa.

[1D4LV]

last.

[1D4LV]

HU ko is Pioneer 3550 (yung MP3 capable). nakalimutan ko exact model.

Speakers ko stock lancer 2000 (may midrange sa doors, may tweeters tsaka speakers, di ko nga lang alam kung ano yun, sa likod...)

[pajerokid]

HG, if youre using an active crossover with a HU with preset cutoffs, usually pwede mo naman alisin yung cutoff sa HU so that the full range is sent to the XO. sa XO mo na lang kalikutin yung frequency cutoff.

[luckytruck]

if your lancer has the same stock setup as my brother's MX, you can actually use those and it will make you stock system sound better.

let's concentrate on the front lang. your lancer should have the midrange in the doors and the tweeter in the sail panel (ito yung inside the sideview mirrors)

what you can do is to replace he existing capacitor or cheapo passive crossover with your nice one.

go to an installer and have them do the following:

from the back of the headunit you will have two sets of wires going to your front speakers. trace them to either your doors or just under the dash near the doors. this wire (one for left and right) will be the one to plug into the input side of you altec passives. then you locate the wires that lead to your tweeter (high) and your midrange (mid/low) and you plug these two in the appropriate slots in the output side of your altec passive. This will improve your filtering capabilites and probably make your speakers deliver cleaner music.

andy

[1D4LV]

thanks for the input lucky. will try that this weekend. yes. probably we have the same stock setup as your brother's MX. i have only changed my stock HU before with a MP3 capable one, dahil madami akong collection dito sa PC ko eh.

thanks again dude.