Hi all, I would like to understand why some studio monitors and some non professional speakers are built without crossovers. I have opened two different powered studio monitors and they don't have crossovers. They only have a 2.2 mf capacitor connected to the tweeter + terminal. The woofer has nothing. I have also opened some Yamaha bookshelfs coming from factory in the same way. What is the point of not using crossovers even when some of these are called studio monitors ? Thanks
The 2.2 µF cap is the crossover. The woofers are designed such as they naturally roll-off nicely at the top.
dave
dave
Sorry, but I won't call a High Pass Filter a crossover. There isn't crossover point here since the low frequency driver isn't limited by any kind of filter. I really don't know how a woofer can be designed in a way it can rolled of gradually at one point without causing unwanted consequences.
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Sure its an XO. A very simple one. Every woofer has a 2nd order roll-off at the top of its passband. That has historically been used as an XO for the midbass.
You alway shave to consider total acoustic sloped not electrical.
dave
You alway shave to consider total acoustic sloped not electrical.
dave
If they are amplified speakers they may have an electronic crossover on the amplifier circuit board that you are not noticing, and the cap on the tweeter simply for protection.
It is true that some woofers have a natural rolloff at a midrange frequency. Many popular speakers have been made with no crossover on the woofer and a first order crossover on the tweeter. Look at the response curve of this woofer https://www.parts-express.com/pedocs/specs/295-528--dayton-audio-DSA175-8-specifications.pdf Off axis response drops off approximately first order above 5 kHz. You could easily cross many tweeters at 5 kHz first order. Then you have a budget mid fi two way.
Woofers much worse than this example have been used this way in many popular speakers. You may not like it but sometimes it works great. What's important in the real world is that the woofers don't have big midrange peaks. Woofers like that will have very audible midrange peaks if not crossed over.
Of course you could make a much better two way with a better crossover but if you're marketing speakers for under $200/pair, this is what you do. It's not what we do.
Woofers much worse than this example have been used this way in many popular speakers. You may not like it but sometimes it works great. What's important in the real world is that the woofers don't have big midrange peaks. Woofers like that will have very audible midrange peaks if not crossed over.
Of course you could make a much better two way with a better crossover but if you're marketing speakers for under $200/pair, this is what you do. It's not what we do.
All multi-way active speakers have a crossover. You just can't recognize it as such. 🙂
As others mentioned, sometimes a belt+suspenders approach is used by putting a single cap in series with the tweeter it reduces the chance of a failure due to a power transient from the amp.
In purely passive speakers, there's a couple of speakers designed like this, as Planet 10 has suggested. The A26 kit, but also at least one semi-famous studio 2-way monitor comes to mind.
As others mentioned, sometimes a belt+suspenders approach is used by putting a single cap in series with the tweeter it reduces the chance of a failure due to a power transient from the amp.
In purely passive speakers, there's a couple of speakers designed like this, as Planet 10 has suggested. The A26 kit, but also at least one semi-famous studio 2-way monitor comes to mind.
It doesn't make any sense for me to include the crossover in the amp board but possible. The Yamaha I opened is a passive speaker and don't bring crossovers. Thanks for the answers.
Well then there are thousands of active speakers you won't understand. 🙂
Here is an example of a plate amplifier with all of this built in:
Hypex Electronics webshop
Similar products that include DSP as well as built-in crossovers from miniDSP, Madisound and Parts Express.
Best,
Erik
Most professional studio monitors have active (low signal level) crossovers and a separate power amp for each driver. They'll likely be built on the same board. There are a few 'powered' speakers, where the single power amp comes before the crossover, all built into the cabinet. These are generally not pro studio monitors.
Chip amps etc have become so inexpensive that even low price studio monitors can be fully active, e.g. Yamahas and less expensive JBLs.
Chip amps etc have become so inexpensive that even low price studio monitors can be fully active, e.g. Yamahas and less expensive JBLs.
It would be helpful to get the models of the powered monitors you disassembled so we can look them up.
dave
dave
Audix PH-5 BS and KRK Rokit 5 (both active) and Yamaha NS-A 635 commercial bookshelf.
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The Audix apperars to be what in the UK would be called a powered speaker ie one on board amp followed by a passive crossover which may or may not as simple as a single capacitor in series with the tweeter.
The KRKs are what I would call active ie linelevel xover and one amp per driver.
In this case the xover most likely consists of an opamp and some associated caps and resistors unless the thing is digital (I doubt it).
The pictures of the Yamahas I found googling included pictures of the crossover which appears to be a simple 12dB (2nd order) job.
The KRKs are what I would call active ie linelevel xover and one amp per driver.
In this case the xover most likely consists of an opamp and some associated caps and resistors unless the thing is digital (I doubt it).
The pictures of the Yamahas I found googling included pictures of the crossover which appears to be a simple 12dB (2nd order) job.
Both Audix PH-5 BS and Yamaha NS-A 635 are commercial crap (not studio monitors!), so it is supposed to have only capacitors for high-pass filters (Yamaha has two capacitors because it is 3-way).
KRK Rokit 5 is biamplified studio monitor, having active electronic crossover, so there is no passive crossover.
KRK Rokit 5 is biamplified studio monitor, having active electronic crossover, so there is no passive crossover.
That is Yamaha NS 635, two-way speaker with proper crossover. Yamaha NS-A 635 is a 3-way crap with two capacitors for "crossover".
If you read me, I didnt say the Yamaha is an studio monitor. The Audix is sold as an studio monitor. I know they are crap. The KRK isnt in that category. I was not expeting speakers from Yamaha with only caps. There is name behind it.
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Yamaha builds as cheap as possible all the way up to state of the art and everything in-between.
dave
dave
No, it isn't. From the Audix site Audix PH5-VS :
Applications:
Portable music playback
Home recording
Permanent installation
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