Where can I buy active crossovers and cheap power supplies?

[spkerguy]

I am planning to make a dipole speaker similar to the one on the linkwitz website, but I would like to make mine for a lot less money. My current idea is to have a 4 or 5 foot by 2 foot baffle with 5 speakers.

1 stryke audio SA071 driver with a tweeter (to be determined), passivly crossed over between the two, driven with one amp. The stryke drivers can be purchased for $10 in quanities of 10 or more. http://www.aespeakers.com/store.php

1 stryke audio driver with a active low pass cross over at around 200 to 250 Hz with its own amp. This is to compensate for the 6dB roll off of the open baffle down to 125Hz or so.

2 Baja Profile Subs with one amp, low pass crossed over at 125Hz or so with its own amp. Again to compensate the 6db roll off of the baffle down to 60Hz or so. My brother got these drivers for free with some other speakers and gave them to me. Apparently, he is not the only one who didn't want them, because there are tons on ebay for dirt cheap. http://www.profileusa.com/manuals/BX12.pdf

I was planning to use the national LM4780 for each of my amplifiers which I can build. However, I would like to buy my active crossovers and power supplies.

The only active crossovers that I have found for home audio are on http://www.bmm-electronics.com/ but they are not adjustable and I think they are across the atlantic, so shipping probably won't be worth it. There are also tons of car audio active crossovers, but the adjustable ones tend to have way more features than I need, so I would think there is something cheaper. I just need some active adjustable low pass crossovers. Anybody know where I can find cheap premade adjustable active crossovers? Anybody got experience with car audio crossovers in a home setup? Maybe they are the cheapest thing I can get without degrading sound quality.

As for power supplies. I would like to get a switch mode power supply with +-30V (or +-40V or something) output and plenty of current output for at least 3 of those chip amps. I don't really care about the ripple on the power supply for 2 reasons. 1. The lm4780 has good power supply rejection, and 2. If the supply is switch mode, it should have a switching frequecy higher than 35kHz, so I won't hear it anyway. (If I get a dog, it could be ****ed). I haven't been able to find any cheap power supplies that can do all this. (under $100). I would think I can get this because a 500W +-30V power supply shouldn't be too technically different than a 500W ATX power supply which are not that hard to find for $100 even with power factor correction. Does anybody know where I can get one cheap?

Thanks for any info.

[sam9]

Look at www.marchandelec.com

sound.au.com (ESP Project 09)

and at www.behringer.com

I don't have any direct experience with either but living for a couple of years with a Behringer EQ unit I have a pretty good opinion especiailly if I wanted something right out of the box - no DIY.

On the other hand Marchand units are available complete, as DIY kits or even just PCBs and potentially could cost less.


ESP is even more DIY and my experience with them is also very good.

[spkerguy]

Thanks for the info.

The marchandelec boards may work, but the premade ones are pretty expensive compaired to a car version of the same thing. It seems like 8 times as much. The behringer stuff is also more expensive than a car version of the same thing. It seems like the home versions are just always marked up more. Some of the ESP boards could also work for a cross over.

Any power supply places you know of?

Thanks

[sam9]

Any power supply places you know of?

Sory, I'm really familar only with DIY PS's. Unregulated or simplr regulated. Switching supplies are something I have little familiarity with.

[pinkmouse]

spkerguy

Swtching PSUs of the kind you want are not easy to get, and not cheap when you do find them. They have a tiny market in comparison with computer components, and are usually built as custom items for specific products, and therefore have no economies of scale. You are much better off going with a standard type tranformer/capacitor psu.

As for the Behringer, I doubt you understand what it actually does. i very much doubt that there is a in-car unit that does as much as a third of what the Behringer is capable of.

[spkerguy]

pinkmouse,
As far as the psu, you're probably right. I don't know of any psu's out there with the economy of scale that the atx power supply has, but that is what I was looking for. I hope somebody knows of something I don't. I design power factor correction ic's, but I don't design the applications, and I don't do the marketing. (Please buy some http://www.onsemi.com/site/products/...CP1601,00.html). I am still hoping someone knows of a product out there with the economy of scale of the atx supplies (or close) with +-30V rails or something similar. I know we sell the lots and lots of the power IC's, but the applications normally are not for my home speakers. I do know switch mode power supplies require smaller transformers and smaller caps than similar standard psu's and that can potentially give considerable cost savings.

As for not knowing what the behringer eqs do, as I said, I just need a low pass filter, active, and adjustable, not the extras. As an electrical engineer with a behringer eurorack mx602a sitting beside my computer I am a little offended that you don't think I know what behringer anything can do. 2/3 extra does nothing for me.

I am just looking for some adjustable low pass filters, for the cheapest price I can find them.

Also, I am looking for some power supplies that get the job done for as cheap as possible.

Does anybody know of some cheap active low pass filters and some cheap power supplies?

P.S. Thanks again sam9 for your post. I had never seen those websites, and I may use one or two of their boards as those are the only linkwitz/reilly crossovers I have seen for purchase in the US.

PPS. Sorry for my poorer than poor spelling.

[pinkmouse]

Originally posted by spkerguy
The behringer stuff is also more expensive than a car version of the same thing

Originally posted by spkerguy
...I am a little offended that you don't think I know what behringer anything can do. ..

Sorry if I offended you, but if you read the quote above it does suggest that you don't know that much about the functions of the Behringer if you compare it's functioning to an in-car unit.

From re-reading your post, it sounds like a sub plate amp might be the best thing for you. They have usually have adjustable frequency, and some even have a tunable eq. Then you can concentrate on putting your best into the other amps that need it the most, as the sub just needs lots of power, not finesse.

Good luck

[keyser]

hi!
i intend to bi-amp my speakers. my eye fell on a Behringer 2310.
it can be used as a plain 2-way 24db-crossover. there's not much more about it! maybe this is what you need?
(its cheap too! especially on e-bay)

[Bill Fitzpatrick]

[i]
1 stryke audio SA071 driver with a tweeter (to be determined), passivly crossed over between the two, driven with one amp. The stryke drivers can be purchased for $10 in quanities of 10 or more. http://www.aespeakers.com/store.php

[/B]

You know, that aespeakers web site is a real fright. I have Opera, Netscape and Explorer and it doesn't work right with any of them. I can't even email them to tell them so. Has anyone had better luck than I?

[spkerguy]

Originally posted by keyser
my eye fell on a Behringer 2310.
(its cheap too! especially on e-bay)

I looked on ebay, and there was 1 Behringer 2310 about $85. There are lots of car crossovers on ebay for less than $30. Some even have adjustable slopes in addition to variable frequencies. For some reason in a car they call them electronic crossovers instead of active crossovers.

Originally posted by Bill Fitzpatrick


You know, that aespeakers web site is a real fright. I have Opera, Netscape and Explorer and it doesn't work right with any of them. I can't even email them to tell them so. Has anyone had better luck than I?

It is pretty bad, but if you click somewhere in the store frame (white background), and hold down your mouse button while moving the mouse up and down you can get to what you need.