XSim free crossover designer

[bwaslo]

I'm announcing the public release of XSim, a "free-form" Windows-based passive crossover design and simulation program intended to be as intuitive and non-restrictive as possible. . The program is ***free*** for personal or commercial use. Any speaker builder with at least a basic understanding of what resistors, capacitors, and inductors do, and with decent response measurements (FRD and ZMA) of their drivers in their boxes, should be able to get useful results right away.

download from:
http://libinst.com/Xsim/XSimSetup.exe

Experimenting with "ideal" driver data (the default for each driver) can also be fun and helpful in understanding the effects of various circuit types. Some built-in multi-part "Circuit Blocks" also provide for basic pre-configured circuits to be tuned per their overall parameters (Q, corner frequency, attenuation, etc). There are "Example" files inlcuded in the XSim download (currently less than 1.5MB) as well.

XSim allows you to see simultaneous multiple graphs of your choice, including impedances, voltages, power consumptions, group delay, and frequency, impulse, step, and square wave responses. You can watch the performance and/or stress on any part vary as you tune structure or component values in real-time. The circuit network is re-solved automatically with every change you make.

The "free-form" aspect of XSim is that crossover designs are unrestricted, no particular circuit structure need be used. Essentially any R-L-C passive network you can think of can be easily entered using graphical schematic entry, with results calculated as you design. A common "ground" node is provided, but its use isn't required.



Circuit designs (incuding all in included driver data sets) can be shared by email or forum post in XSim's ".dxo" format.* Graphic files can also be saved in standard picture file formats.

Stuff yet to come: [edit: the following aren't actually going to happen now, as it is too much work to herd vendors into getting this info together and hosting it on their sites!]
The release version of XSim featiures automatic downloading of part and driver information based on vendor and part number, making it easy to find and order what you need to turn your design into working hardware. However, no vendors are as yet signed up to provide XSim access to part or driver information. XSim will be able to download these lists itself, when available. XSim can also update its own program (with owner permission) so people who use it online can always be up-to-date. ...And so I can add or fix features without asking you to deal with downloading and installing each time.

XSim does not yet include geometric features (such as varying mic position, baffle or boundary-bounce effects) as in Jeff Bagby's very successful "PCD" and other programs derived from it. But that is in the works, with some assistance from Jeff. There are also as yet no box-design features, but this is also planned so that full designs can be worked with using the infinite baffle data provided by vendors. [these might still happen, when/if I get back into programming and study mode ]

edit: * as it turns out, this forum doesn't let you attach the .dxo files (or other files it doesn't know about). So you'll have to first zip the file and then post the ".zip" file containing the ".dxo" file. On downloads, do the opposite: unzip and then open the .dxo file into XSim. Maybe someday we can get diyaudio.com to let these files be attached? They are only text, no way for a virus to sneak onboard one of them!

Added Nov 2017: There is a procedure summary for collecting and adjusting driver FRD data for correct relative delays (which you need to accurately simulate crossovers) here -- XSim free crossover designer

[ra7]

Will try it out, thanks!

[Scottmoose]

Magic, I'll give it a shot. Many thanks.

[JMB]

Hi Bill,

Thanks so much. This looks great.

What you plan to have in the future looks wonderful, as well. Just wondering if you have any plans to introduce an optimizer? That would bring this program, along with your future plans, in line with much commercial software out there.

Again, thanks, and I am not trying to look a gift horse in the mouth. Just providing what you are is very magnanimous of you.

Jay

[bwaslo]

Hi JMB,

Thanks.

An optimizer might happen sometime in the future. I think first, it's more important to get the geometric (baffle effects, reflections) simulation aspects in.

I've done some optimizers before in some other programs (an auto-EQ in OmniMic, a curve-fitter in Praxis), but haven't always gotten good results from them. Usually a human user can tweak and guide how things are going better, because of all the different goals and tradeoffs to be made -- impedance, power handling, suppression of breakups, directivity matching, avoiding too-expensive parts like 100mH inductors. In the time it takes to set up the optimum weightings for the various targets to feed to an optimizer, you could probably already have the values optimized yourself.

[PeteMcK]

Thanks Bill, had quick play, I think this will be a useful tool
cheers,

[JMB]

Thanks, Bill. Certainly, I don't disagree with your prioritization of the geometric functions. I have found the optimizer to be very helpful in Soundeasy though there are times when parameters must be strictly limited to assure a reasonable outcome.

Jay

[wintermute]

Looks nice. I've downloaded for a play

Tony.

[planet10]

Bill,

Thanx. Does it do series XOs?

dave

[wintermute]

Originally Posted by bwaslo

The "free-form" aspect of XSim is that crossover designs are unrestricted, no particular circuit structure need be used. Essentially any R-L-C passive network you can think of can be easily entered using graphical schematic entry, with results calculated as you design. A common "ground" node is provided, but its use isn't required.

Dave, I think the answer is yes!

Tony.