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This is incredible!--An audio epiphany!!

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RADIOLEE

Member
Joined 2002
So here's my system-

All signals(turntable, CD, mini-disc, DVD) are feeding into a McIntosh MX-110 tuner preamp.

The output is now fed into a passive line level crossover I just put together for about three bucks after finding this website-
http://139.142.118.15/sites/diy/tech/filters/passiveHLxo.html

I used four 10k ohm resistors and four .050 picofarad capacitors I had laying around.

I figure it's crossing over about 750.

I fed the lows into a - get this- Silvertone single ended 6BQ5 amplifier out of a console I bought at a junk store for 25 bucks.

I fed the high end into two Electronics Tonalities S.E.X single ended monoblocks I bought on eBay.

The lows feed the 421A Altec woofers and the highs to the 808-8A Altec horns in the A-7's.


I'm not going to gush, BUT , I've been listening to Audio for a long time and this is a whole new ball game.


Lee
 
R

RADIOLEE

Member
Joined 2002
Guess you all can tell, I'm no tech...

.000000050 farads - would that be microfararads???

Doesn't really matter to me, the sound is the same!

Am I the only one who thinks that it sounds like someone is mocking you when he cuts and pastes part of a topic when replying to it.............


Peace

Lee
 
Brett

Brett

Member
Joined 2002
phase_accurate said:
... because most horn-driver datasheets recommend 2nd oder or higher (i.e. I didn't even bother to listen to the differences though I have used quite some horn-drivers already)
Click to expand...
A Pro driver has recommended crossover settings given based on it's primary application, PA systems. Here it will be subjected to sometimes hundreds of watt's continuously, usually at a lower peak/average ratio than what comes off an LP or CD. In a domestic situation, most would be lucky to see 2W on occaision, and often only tens of milliwatts in practice.

Hors are by nature bandpass devices. Properly specified and used in the correct horn they often don't need <i>ANY</i> crossover. A 6dB is best for most applications domestically, as it provides some out of band reduction, but doesn't add to the already complex phase behaviour some horns exhibit out of band.
 
R

RADIOLEE

Member
Joined 2002
Again, not being a tech, in my reading I seem to understand just what Brett says, that a horn like this hardly needs a crossover.

Altec crossed them over with a 800 Hz unit which seems to me much lower than I've typically seen with other types of tweeters.

Every time I've reduced the amount of circuitry in my system over the years, I've seen an improvement, so this experiment definitely seemed worthwhile.

The biggest problem, as the website mentioned is the signal loss, but it still plays fairly loud and it sounds fantastic.

If I reduced the value of the resistors to say 5K, would that yield a significant increase in signal level? That would entail changing the value of the capacitor as well. Is one way likely to be better sonically than the other??

And I may be out in left field on this, but could the major benefit of reducing the circuitry be a reduction in phase shifting?

Thanks for the replies and dhaen, no offense taken.

Lee
 
P

phase_accurate

Member
Joined 2002
One issue with first order crossover and horns (= large driver = large distances between acoustic centres) might be lobing, with a first order crosover.

OTOH the improvement in transient behaviour may be one reason for Lee's improvement in sound apart from IMD, better amplifier/driver coupling, improved dynamics .....

Regards

Charles
 
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