Do I really need a crossover?

[jdeare]

I'm probably showing my noobness with this post...

I have 4 of these Parts Express buyout 12-ohm 6.5" woofers. They don't list the frequency response so I was thinking that I would put 2 in a box, wired in parallel for 6 ohms, and then if they seem to be lacking in highs add a couple tweeters in separate boxes. But do I need to do anything other than block the low frequencies from the tweeters to avoid damage? Assuming this is all I need to do, is there a simple way to do it?

These were originally going to be MTMs but I got mired down in crossover design, and now they've been sitting for months. Also, I'm not all that good at soldering. So you could see why going without a xover would be attractive for me.

What do you guys think?

[Cal Weldon]

If you are crossing the tweeter above 5K then the woofers impedance is pretty high by then so it isn't likely that it will cause a problem. Can't say it's the right way, but it will work.

Cal

[jdeare]

Not the right way because these are not full range drivers and therefore require a xover? Or something else that I'm missing?

I saw in the picture thread Ropie (I think) had some buschhorns that he added a tweeter to, with a pretty simple (I guess, I know nothing about these things) crossover, a capacitor and resistor in line with the + terminal (although I have no idea what this would do). That's kind of what I was thinking of. Except with simpler enclosures.

Am I better off going at this with a single full range driver?

(sorry for all the questions, I just can't seem to figure out some of this stuff)

[Josephjcole]

Originally posted by jdeare
Not the right way because these are not full range drivers and therefore require a xover? Or something else that I'm missing?

I saw in the picture thread Ropie (I think) had some buschhorns that he added a tweeter to, with a pretty simple (I guess, I know nothing about these things) crossover, a capacitor and resistor in line with the + terminal (although I have no idea what this would do). That's kind of what I was thinking of. Except with simpler enclosures.

Am I better off going at this with a single full range driver?

(sorry for all the questions, I just can't seem to figure out some of this stuff)

http://sound.westhost.com/lr-passive.htm
here is a good article if you wish to educate yourself. If you don't want to delve into the world of crossovers then you are probably better off with a fullrange driver. Most "non-fullrange" driver do better with a crossover on them as they can start sounding bad in higher frequencies due to cone break up. It will still work, just not sound all that great. All depends on the driver and it's response. If it is a paper or polypropolene cone you might be alright with out, all depends on the driver.
Joe

[Cal Weldon]

Not the right way because you are sending a signal to a driver it can't properly produce. Once you reach the XO point you want the other driver to take over. With running it straight, you are allowing some of the high end to run through the woofer and get lost along it's way due to the inductance/impedance of the driver. Putting a coil in line with the woofer adds extra impedance to the circuit at higher frequencies allowing less of those to the woofer, which will translate to less resistence of those frequencies to the tweeter, allowing it to do it's job.

Another advantage is that there is less overlap between the drivers. Less overlap is desireable (to a point) as the two drivers are never going to sound the same at any given frequency. By dividing them, you have less chance of hearing the same (slightly different sounding) note from each. This overlap can be very confusing to the ear.

This is a very simplistic answer and contains some flaws. Please don't take this as the end all, but it should help with the understanding.

Cal