Four Factors to Consider When Building a Crossover
Buy or Build?
Whether you buy a “pre-made” crossover for your speaker or custom build your own depends on your objectives, experience, and your budget. In many applications, pre-made crossovers can provide essential filtering functions: distributing the correct frequencies to the appropriate speaker components. If selected properly, these convenient crossover networks deliver the proper protection and satisfying sound quality. Parts Express carries many pre-assembled crossovers in a variety of configurations, crossovers, and use applications.
Audio enthusiasts in search of higher fidelity reproduction can choose to invest in the time and labor to design, assemble, and test their own high-performance crossover networks. Advanced design/test/measurement tools are now available to hobbyists; there are inexpensive solutions that just a few years ago were the exclusive domain of professional designers and engineers. Whether your goal is to enhance your speaker hobby, or you simply wish to restore the functionality of an old pair of walnut-veneered 3-ways from the 70s, Parts Express is your resource for the knowledge and components to achieve these goals. If you need help finding crossover components, we have a Crossover Guide that helps make your search for the perfect components easier.
Shop all assembled crossovers ›If you decide to build your own, here are four great factors that you should consider:
How Should I Choose a Crossover Frequency?
There are many rules of thumb for deciding where your crossover should well… cross over. A designer’s discretion is very important. Below are points to consider when making the decision.
Tweeter Resonant Frequency:
The greatest source of tweeter distortion occurs at and around the tweeter’s resonant frequency (Fs). For this reason, the crossover point should be chosen to keep the tweeter from producing significant output at its Fs. Classically, a good starting point is to keep the crossover “double the Fs", at least when using common 12 dB/octave slopes. An example of this: for a tweeter with a resonant frequency of 1,000Hz, the suggested crossover point should probably not be below 2,000 Hz. Depending on your needs, Parts Express stocks an assortment of tweeters for any type of speaker build.
Shop all tweeters ›Woofer Peaking and Breakup:
Many woofers will exhibit severe peaking towards the top end of their useable output, resulting in harsh, inaccurate sound. This is often caused by resonances within the cone material itself or in the dust cap. The low-pass crossover point should be chosen to minimize the output at and around these breakup modes.
Woofer Off-Axis Response:
Any large diameter driver will experience a characteristic called “beaming,” which means the off-axis response begins to diminish with rising frequency. Smaller drivers are useable at higher frequencies. The crossover point should be chosen to maximize off-axis performance—this improves overall in-room response and stereo imaging.
Driver Excursion Capabilities:
Drivers’ moving parts travel through longer excursions in order to produce the same output at low frequencies. Along with increased excursion, distortion also rises significantly. In many cases, a crossover is used to keep excursion and distortion to a minimum by limiting the low frequency information sent to a driver. In the worst-case scenario, too much excursion can damage the driver. Parts Express offers drivers of all excursion capabilities from drivers designed to provide maximum excursion such as the Reference HE Series and Tang Band Subwoofers as well as drivers such as the Dayton Audio Epique Extended Range Subwoofers that are capable of providing an incredibly wide bandwidth.
Shop all woofers ›Parts Express is a leading supplier in raw drivers, speaker components, and resources for speaker builders. Whether you are a seasoned vet or someone looking to find a new hobby, Parts Express has the gear and resources you need to complete your next project. The large community of speaker builders on our Tech Talk forum allow you to learn from some of the best in the business. For more inspiration, check out the Project Gallery which showcases a variety of designs from the speaker building community.
