I've
heard the question asked many times before,
'Do I really need a crossover?' Without
wasting any time I quickly answer, 'Yes
you do'. Whether it's a passive crossover
or an active crossover, your car audio system
will never sound good without a crossover.
I want to make myself very clear here, so
before you get confused let's talk about
what a car audio crossover is and why you
need one.
A crossover is a filtering device which
limits the frequencies that reach a speaker.
It splits a music signal into separate
frequency ranges and sends them to speakers
that are designed to best reproduce each
frequency range. For instance, only high
frequencies would be sent to your tweeters,
midrange to your mid range speakers, and
lows to your subwoofer.
The passive crossover is very common.
It's basically a capacitor or coil installed
on the speaker leads between amplifier
and speaker that stops certain frequencies
from reaching a speaker. It's relatively
inexpensive and easy to install.
But for your car stereo system to perform
better and be efficient, you need an active
crossover, also referred to as an electronic
crossover. It is installed between your
head unit or equalizer and your amplifiers.
Your electronic crossover sends the proper
frequency ranges to each amplifier. Some
people run three separate amps: one for
bass, one for mids and the other for highs.
Active crossovers are almost infinitely
adjustable. You can vary the crossover
points and adjust the level of separate
speakers to achieve the best overall sound
in your vehicle.
If you're serious about sound you must
have a car audio crossover. Otherwise
your system will sound terrible. Oh what
a mess it will be when your subwoofer
and mid-range speakers duplicate many
of the same frequencies! How about when
your mid-range speaker attempts to put
out high notes that your tweeters are
supposed to handle. Can you bear such
grief? I can't.
And this is just the beginning of your
sorrow and pain. Since low frequencies
are being sent to your tweeters there
will be distortion. As a result of this
distortion your tweeters will be destroyed.
Loud bass will eventually destroy your
mid-range speakers as well. Now you've
got to start from scratch and buy a new
set of speakers, all because you started
on the wrong footing.
About the Author
Mantius Cazaubon is a successful author
and publisher of Car
Stereos Guide.com. A resource for
information and tips on buying car stereo
and audio products online.
