I've used a few xover calculators, and they cheat. They don't use amplifier power or speaker power handling anywhere in the criteria. For me, that's been the difficult part. I really can't quite determine the voltage ratings of the capacitors, power specs for resistors, and current specs for coils. And, nowhere can I find the subject discussed .
It could be that it's just so simple, like taking a shower or getting dressed, that no on bothers writing an explanation. Or it is more likely quite a difficult subject most people avoid discussing/explaining. So, given a wpc minimum RMS amp rating, what should my xover component capacities be, i.e. voltage, power and current capacities? How are those calculated? I'm sure I'd figure it out eventually, but I want to make 2 xovers right now.
Thanks for all the help.
It could be that it's just so simple, like taking a shower or getting dressed, that no on bothers writing an explanation. Or it is more likely quite a difficult subject most people avoid discussing/explaining. So, given a wpc minimum RMS amp rating, what should my xover component capacities be, i.e. voltage, power and current capacities? How are those calculated? I'm sure I'd figure it out eventually, but I want to make 2 xovers right now.
Thanks for all the help.
What should happen is that the designer specifies an appropriate amplifier power and specifies parts that will survive use by that component.
Xsim is able to plot component voltage, current and power
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/xsim-free-crossover-designer.259865/
You need the impedance data of the drivers used or this won't be accurate. You can't 'just use one of those calculators' because it's more complicated than that.
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/xsim-free-crossover-designer.259865/
You need the impedance data of the drivers used or this won't be accurate. You can't 'just use one of those calculators' because it's more complicated than that.
A lot of times the speaker sets the power capabilities, so you choose the comps based on the speakers capability. If you look at the specs for the xover components they usually say what the power capabilities are. For a coil you have air or iron core. For an air core, the wire gauge determines its power rating. Larger wire diameter or lower gauge has lower dcr. For the highest power in large inductors they usually are iron core since the wire diameter can be reduced because you need less length to have a lower dcr thus less loss and higher power. I2R loss
For a cap, it’s the voltage rating that sets its power handling capability. High frequency losses are not really considered at audio frequencies. Usually a min. 200V is used. I would not use a 100v cap unless it’s for a low power rating speaker
For a cap, it’s the voltage rating that sets its power handling capability. High frequency losses are not really considered at audio frequencies. Usually a min. 200V is used. I would not use a 100v cap unless it’s for a low power rating speaker
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