Active Crossover Benefits

Status
This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.
Hmm, now I've got to read up on how the active crossovers work. Now I'm wondering about the crossover in my Crown XLS 1002. I'm not using it but I assumed it was converting A to D then back D to A once it split the frequencies.

So is an active crossover without a DSP phase neutral, or phase coherent, or whatever the correct term is for not causing additional phase shift?

Thanks for putting up with so many questions from me.

-Chris

A filter will always produce the same phase shift regardless if it is realized passively, with opamps or in DSP.
However my opamp based BSS allows for phase adjustment through 360deg in the xover region so phase shift can be minimized but I doubt it can be fully eliminated and in DSP you could use minimum phase FIR filters at the cost of pre-ringing.
 
Member
Joined 2009
Paid Member
Thanks for putting up with so many questions from me.

As long as its nicely asked no reason anybody will answer you. :)

Hmm, now I've got to read up on how the active crossovers work. Now I'm wondering about the crossover in my Crown XLS 1002. I'm not using it but I assumed it was converting A to D then back D to A once it split the frequencies.

So is an active crossover without a DSP phase neutral, or phase coherent, or whatever the correct term is for not causing additional phase shift?

Active analog filters schematics are a whole subject by themself, but you should find easily info about them. A nice start is to find info about N.Pass Firstwatt's B5. In the Passlab you should find info about them. The main difference with other analog active filter is in the choice of using transistor for the active parts (versus more commonly seen op amp) but everything else remain on same principle.

http://www.linkwitzlab.com/filters.htm

For your Crown you re right. Analogue input then adc> sofware treatments>dac> amplifier section.

For a filter to be FIR (the 'linear phase' filter you are talking about) it needs to be digital and performed by dsp (or processor in case of pc). This is not something usually encountered except on particular applications because: 1) it induce latency of treatment (you need to perform a lot of calculation to perform them) and the more latency the lower the fc, 2) usually they re not needed in a home installation (typically the unit taking advantage of them are in PA because of very high slope filter* giving possibility to dump very large amount of power into driver safely and to approach limits of driver without to much compromise on quality (aproaching breakup freq of drivers)).

*In my unit up to 180db/oct filter availlable once 1khz up freq for fc.

That said, you could choose to use them with global approach of speaker design for home use a la Ulrich Horbach and D.B. (Don) Keele, Jr. and that's great because it is a spot on original topic design example :p :

http://www.xlrtechs.com/dbkeele.com...ear Phase Digital Crossover Flters Part 1.pdf

http://www.xlrtechs.com/dbkeele.com...ear Phase Digital Crossover Flters Part 2.pdf

For this you'll need 'acourate' software which is the only one i know implementing this particular crossover curves.

Used as regular filters results are great, but probably not worth the price to be paid except if you want 'the best' (you could probably have 90% the same at 1/10 the price to be more precise).
 
Last edited:
A filter will always produce the same phase shift regardless if it is realized passively, with opamps or in DSP.
However my opamp based BSS allows for phase adjustment through 360deg in the xover region so phase shift can be minimized but I doubt it can be fully eliminated and in DSP you could use minimum phase FIR filters at the cost of pre-ringing.


Oh. Apparently I misunderstood some article I read and came away thinking that DSP based crossovers don't shift phase. I had the idea that they just cause different time delays depending on the implementation but the delay was the same across the frequency range.

More reading to do...
 
Last edited:
Charles: Nice toys! I like AS, they sound great. I'm running Frankenstein, protoboard for the modules i use (filters, env,strange treatments,... ;) ) Sequencer is Doepfer Regelwerk and XoxBox. I have a hardware Klee to built too... So much stuff to build! :)

I use an AS Oberkorn and a bunch of modules they don't make anymore as sequencers.
But in the end it's the filter that makes the synth sound and by far my favourites are the AS SY02 (MS20 style) which rings/self-oscillates easily and then screams like a banshee and Doepfers Wasp filter which does not but it gets close and then makes wonderful gurgly, watery sounds.
 
Just another Moderator
Joined 2003
Paid Member
At some point I may attempt an (analogue) active crossover for them, but it would be difficult.

May i ask why? If you managed to do it passively i don't see why it couldn't be done active at line level.
I suppose it's because of notch or eq related? It's relatively easy do do some clones of the 'original' parametrics eq and you could have it done without capacitors in signal path (up to five parraleled bands with high and low band switchable from shelf/parametric) if that's something which concern you.
And the unit i'm thinking of is one of the better sounding things ever done. :) (beside the fact it's opamp based, the first ones units produced being even 'old' opamp based ;) )

Perhaps I should have qualified ;) it would be difficult for me using the philosophy I used of no opamps in the "direct" signal path. I used RLC notches in series with the drivers and I'd have to simulate floating inductors (without a shunt cap) to do that, and that is quite a bit more complex, than the gyrators and FDNR's that I have used for the "simple" circuit. Doable but more complex than I'm ready for I think. I did make my MTM's fully active ready from the outset. However I wanted to do passive as a first try with active a possibility down the track.

Pic shows that they are active ready ;)

Tony.
 

Attachments

  • DSC_9466.jpg
    DSC_9466.jpg
    67.8 KB · Views: 123
Member
Joined 2009
Paid Member
But in the end it's the filter that makes the synth sound and by far my favourites are the AS SY02 (MS20 style) which rings/self-oscillates easily and then screams like a banshee

I start to become suspicious about you Charles! Do you know me, have we meet before? How is it possible? Here's schematic of one of the most used module in my frankenmodular:

http://www.schmitzbits.de/rs20.png

?! :p
 
Never ending! The more you learn, the more you know you need to learn... never ending!
:)

True but it is also important not to miss the wood for the trees.

The process of completely or nearly completely eliminating tends to create problems elsewhere.
Like with the crossovers here: You can eliminate phase shift by using FIR filters but at the price of preringing and increased latency.

Latency is not really a problem for home HiFi because all that happens is that the sound appears a few milliseconds later but in live and studio situations it can make everybody's life a misery because it really matters if you hear your band mates late when you try playing in time with them.
 
Member
Joined 2009
Paid Member
Charles: do you know Serge modular? If not listen to the track 'Blue Serge' on Skinny Puppy's "the process' and 'Consumed' from Plastikman. On CGS.net there is some clone schematics (approved by Serge!) of some modules. Worth the effort to built a sidecar for your main Eurorack.
Same for Buchla's... They have some vactrol filters which are NASTY! here's a variation on them:
Mutant Filter
 
Member
Joined 2009
Paid Member
Latency is not really a problem for home HiFi because all that happens is that the sound appears a few milliseconds later but in live and studio situations it can make everybody's life a misery because it really matters if you hear your band mates late when you try playing in time with them.

Right. Got 2 preset for my monitors: one when i'm working 'live'(IIR) a second for 'high quality listening' (FIR). Anyway with the Lake once you use them past 500hz latency is not so high (i'll have to check but it's below 5ms and lessen the more you go up).

It's really problematic lower in fc and i don't feel the gain to be worth the latency in lower range. Better stay IIR using different strategy (JMLC filter topology work great in my case).
 
Charles: do you know Serge modular? If not listen to the track 'Blue Serge' on Skinny Puppy's "the process' and 'Consumed' from Plastikman. On CGS.net there is some clone schematics (approved by Serge!) of some modules. Worth the effort to built a sidecar for your main Eurorack.
Same for Buchla's... They have some vactrol filters which are NASTY! here's a variation on them:
Mutant Filter

I know of them but never used one. Surely I must have heard one unknowingly.

I'm itching to try some Metasonix modules though.
They've had me when they called their VCO 'the worst, most evil, the most insane VCO ever offered in Euro format'.
Home
 
As long as its nicely asked no reason anybody will answer you. :)



Active analog filters schematics are a whole subject by themself, but you should find easily info about them. A nice start is to find info about N.Pass Firstwatt's B5. In the Passlab you should find info about them. The main difference with other analog active filter is in the choice of using transistor for the active parts (versus more commonly seen op amp) but everything else remain on same principle.

Active Filters

For your Crown you re right. Analogue input then adc> sofware treatments>dac> amplifier section.

For a filter to be FIR (the 'linear phase' filter you are talking about) it needs to be digital and performed by dsp (or processor in case of pc). This is not something usually encountered except on particular applications because: 1) it induce latency of treatment (you need to perform a lot of calculation to perform them) and the more latency the lower the fc, 2) usually they re not needed in a home installation (typically the unit taking advantage of them are in PA because of very high slope filter* giving possibility to dump very large amount of power into driver safely and to approach limits of driver without to much compromise on quality (aproaching breakup freq of drivers)).

*In my unit up to 180db/oct filter availlable once 1khz up freq for fc.

That said, you could choose to use them with global approach of speaker design for home use a la Ulrich Horbach and D.B. (Don) Keele, Jr. and that's great because it is a spot on original topic design example :p :

http://www.xlrtechs.com/dbkeele.com...ear Phase Digital Crossover Flters Part 1.pdf

http://www.xlrtechs.com/dbkeele.com...ear Phase Digital Crossover Flters Part 2.pdf

For this you'll need 'acourate' software which is the only one i know implementing this particular crossover curves.

Used as regular filters results are great, but probably not worth the price to be paid except if you want 'the best' (you could probably have 90% the same at 1/10 the price to be more precise).

Thank you again. I suspect what I read over a year ago was specifically about FIR and I just associated that with all DSP filters. I need to find the manual for the Rockford Fosgate 3SIXTY.3 DSP I run in my car and see what it uses.

-Chris
 
True but it is also important not to miss the wood for the trees.

The process of completely or nearly completely eliminating tends to create problems elsewhere.
Like with the crossovers here: You can eliminate phase shift by using FIR filters but at the price of preringing and increased latency.

Latency is not really a problem for home HiFi because all that happens is that the sound appears a few milliseconds later but in live and studio situations it can make everybody's life a misery because it really matters if you hear your band mates late when you try playing in time with them.

Thanks. I was wondering about the latency thing and if it really matters in my case where all channels are going through the same DSP.

I'll search and read up on preringing.

-Chris
 
Member
Joined 2009
Paid Member
I'm itching to try some Metasonix modules though.

How is it possible tu put a chainsaw on a cute little yellow box?! Like them! Ts21... Hell on earth!
Their small modular S-1000 is unreal!This is synthesis!

Check this and the vaccum tube section especially:

CGS - Ken Stone's Modular Synthesizer

...nice article from Eric Barbour, owner and designer of metasonix... including schematics! :)
 
Just another Moderator
Joined 2003
Paid Member
Thanks. I was wondering about the latency thing and if it really matters in my case where all channels are going through the same DSP.

I'll search and read up on preringing.

-Chris

If you are listening to music I don't see a problem with a bit of latency. If you are watching movies however, it may be a bit more of an issue. I find even 10 ms of latency quite annoying (lip sync).

Tony.
 
Status
This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.