DIY Audio Speaker Crossover Wiring Guide / FAQ See the Crossover Example Tutorial for more information. What is a crossover? People can hear sound frequencies from 20-20,000Hz. There is no one speaker capable of producing all frequencies throughout this range. Speaker Crossovers, Parts, L-Pads, Repair Accessories - We stock high quality 2 Way Crossovers, 3 Way Crossovers, L-Pads, and Protection Fuse Bulbs fo.

The crossoverdesign can make or break any multi-way loudspeaker. Having the world’s best drivers with a poorcrossover design will yield poor results. It is important to approach crossoverdesign with humility because it truly is an art that requires experience toperfect. Yes, it is possible to get decentsound by sending driver data sheets off for a generic crossover design. However, without proper analysis of thedrivers in the intended cabinet it is a game of roulette. This design overview neglects many designconsiderations a professional designer may consider such as time alignment,distortion and polar response but provides a starting point.

Before designing acrossover, the cabinet must be fully assembled including ports anddrivers. I typically run a separatespeaker wire from each driver out of the port and label each wire. For sealed loudspeakers, connect the wooferto the binding post as this is the first driver measured in the cabinet. Using SoundEasy, each driver is measured inthe cabinet to obtain frequency response and electrical impedance. These parameters are obtained following thetest methodology outlined in our LoudspeakerMeasurement Standard. Pleasenote that any measurements taken near field must factor in the effects ofbaffle diffraction. SoundEasy allowsmodeling and application of baffle diffraction estimates to any frequencyresponse data. Getting good measurementdata is one of the hardest parts of loudspeaker design. It is crucial to validate your results bytaking measurements using both near field and quasi-anechoic gated techniquesand compare the measurements before proceeding. The measurement data is subsequently used in SoundEasy’s crossoverdesign tool.

DIY Crossover Installed in Cabinet

Although CAD hascome a long way, designing a loudspeaker crossover benefits from somebackground in electronics. SoundEasy has2-way to 5-way crossover templates covering 1^st order to 4^thorder crossover topologies. Additionally, there are templates for a wide array of typical filtersand compensation circuits. The CADframework allows implementation of any circuit or filter topology imaginable solong as it uses inductors, resistors, capacitors, operational amplifiers,potentiometers or logic gates. If youhave not ever studied filter design or do not know what the previously-mentionedelements are, you may want to consider studying up to improve your chances ofpulling off a working and affordable solution.

The first step Itake when designing a crossover in SoundEasy is to determine workable crossoverfrequencies and filter orders. Thisrequires careful inspection of the driver data sheets, frequency responsemeasurement and driver impedance. It isimperative to make sure that response anomalies, such as the breakup of a metalcone driver, are sufficiently attenuated by the crossover so that they are notaudible. It is generally a good idea tokeep the crossover frequencies low enough to prevent driver beaming but highenough to prevent driver failure. Forexample, crossing over most tweeters below 1.5kHz is a bad idea if it is meantto play program material at 110dB or has a resonant frequency above 750Hz. Crossing an 8 inch bass driver at 5kHz willresult in poor dispersion and transient response at higher frequencies. As a rule of thumb, the max frequency for agiven driver diameter can be equated by taking 13560 and dividing it by thedrivers effective diameter. For an 8”driver with an effective cone diameter of 7”, this means that the maximumcrossover frequency should not exceed 1937Hz.

A 4^thorder crossover rolls off frequencies at 24dB per octave where as a 1^storder crossover rolls off frequencies at 6dB per octave. Lower order crossovers have less phase shiftbut tradeoff power handling and masking out of band response anomalies. The designer has to determine the best set oftradeoffs for an intended design goal. SoundEasy has built-in filter templates for delay networks if a designerdesires to design a time aligned loudspeaker for higher order filters. It is also important to note that the filterorder does not have to match for each driver in a system but it does simplifythe design.

Once approximatecrossover frequencies and filter orders are determined, a filter can be developedin CAD. For the purposes of this designanalysis, a 2^nd order crossover was designed which approximatelymatches a Butterworth filter target. Additional response shaping elements were added where needed to meet thedesign requirements. This circuit wasdetermined based on using a 2^nd order low-pass for the woofer,band-pass for the midrange and high-pass for the tweeter. Due to the response anomalies and differencesin sensitivity, additional elements were added. The final circuit design is shown below.

Crossover Circuit inCAD

The componentvalues for the circuit design are determined using SoundEasy’s ingeniousoptimization technique. It is as simpleas setting a target response for a single driver and selecting the componentsSoundEasy should manipulate to attempt to meet the target response. In this example, a 2^nd orderButterworth band-pass filter target was setup in the optimization dialog asshown in black in the figure below. SoundEasy will modify the selected crossover components and employ trialand error to arrive at the optimum component values required to meet thefrequency response target. Theoptimization technique will attempt thousands of combinations and may be runmultiple times to determine the best component values. While running optimization, it is important topay attention to the component values set by SoundEasy because it may setvalues that are very high inductances or capacitances and therefore expensive. This may take some playing around to getright. If you are unable to get close tothe target curve you might consider changing the filter topology. The midrange for the sample project tracksthe target curve pretty well but is not perfect at the high frequency knee dueto response problems with the driver itself. It is possible to shape the response further but more crossovercomponents equate to a more expensive crossover. It is easy to spend hundreds or eventhousands of dollars on crossover components. It is often better to solve extensive frequency response problems withbetter drivers or a more in-depth diffraction analysis.

Midrange CrossoverOptimization

The optimizationprocess is applied to the low-pass, band-pass and high-pass filters and acombined response is generated. Due toresponse issues, it may be necessary to attenuate a target or move thecrossover frequency slightly to obtain a flatter response. Ultimately, it may take several rounds ofmoving crossover frequencies and even filter orders to get to an acceptablesystem response. The combined systemresponse after optimization for this design is shown below.

3-Way CrossoverSummed Response

During the designprocess, it is important to pay close attention to system impedance graphs. It is no fun perfecting frequency when yourdesign has a minimum impedance of 1.5 Ohms. SoundEasy has an option to set the minimum acceptable impedance duringoptimization to help reduce the risk of developing a network that dips too lowfor the amplifier you are using.

As a final step,it is absolutely necessary to set the values of capacitors, resistors andinductors in the CAD editor to values you can actually purchase. This usually involves rounding up or down tovalues you can purchase. If thecrossover parts are expensive, you can attempt to reduce component values andsubsequently plot their effect on the final response. This is time consuming but can save you a tonof money. A 3-way crossover of thiscomplexity is not cheap. Using cheapelectrolytic capacitors this crossover costs close to $150 for componentsalone.

3-Way Crossover Billof Materials

Conclusion

Unfortunately, the tweeter used in this design did not measure close tothe data sheet at all and required pushing the crossover frequency up. Ultimately the dip at 4kHz is fixable but thecost required outweighs the benefit.

Personally, Iprefer loudspeakers that have a frequency response that tilts slightly downwardso I find the response of this speaker pleasing. It did not ultimately meet the design goal of+/-3dB frequency response deviation but it plays low bass with authority andsounds very good overall. Even though itis a ton of work, there is something very rewarding about designing aloudspeaker from the ground up and the owner of the speakers discussed in articleis extremely happy with his one of a kind creation.

DIY speaker Finished Product

Ultimately,designing your own loudspeaker is something you do because you like thecreative side of designing things. Ifyou are after bang for your buck sound, it is much cheaper and less time consumingto use someone else’s well-established and well-documented DIY design withpre-fabricated cabinets.

Some of mypersonal favorites include:

• http://www.linkwitzlab.com - Siegfried Linkwitz is a renowned loudspeaker designer that developsDIY loudspeaker projects for fun in his retirement. The new LX521 and older Orion loudspeakerprojects are considered by some to be among the best speakers available, evencommercially.
• http://www.troelsgravesen.dk - A Danish designer responsible for many well regarded mid to very highend DIY designs. Most require building acabinet but the designs represent very high value.
• http://zaphaudio.com - Although this site is notupdated much anymore, John Krutke has many good designs available as fullkits. He has also tested a slew ofdrivers if you need unbiased raw driver data.
• http://parts-express.com - Many full DIYkits and parts available directly from Parts Express
• http://madisound.com - Many full DIY kits andparts available directly from Madisound. They also offer a crossover design service using very good crossoverdesign software.

Bass management is a necessary process when configuring your home theater because it affects your entire sound system. Getting the perfect blend of audio depends on your subwoofer’s crossover setting. If you fail to get it right, every speaker in your sound system won’t work in harmony, and we don’t want that to happen, right?

When setting the subwoofer crossover, you want the right amount of overlap with the speakers. Subwoofers can take your system to a whole new level, but you never want to know that it’s there. Too much overlap creates a peak, too little creates discontinuity, but the right amount creates harmony.

Finding the right blend when setting a subwoofer crossover can be tricky because, in a lot of cases, you have to do it by ear. However, there are a couple of things about bass management that can help you configure your sound system. Stick around as we cover each of them in great detail to help you achieve the best possible audio experience.

The Importance of Subwoofers for Your Sound System

Regardless of your current setup, you need a subwoofer. It can bring new life to your sound systems that you can never achieve, even with the best speakers.

You can find speakers that take pride in their sophisticated bass management. However, there’s no speaker right now—even the ones that have a built-in subwoofer—that has the range close to what a dedicated sub can produce. If you want to take your movie-watching and music-listening experience to a whole new level, you need a subwoofer!

Some might argue that their speakers can produce deep bass and heart-pounding effects they want for their media room.

So, they don’t want to deal with another hassle of configuring a subwoofer. That’s true to some extent, but if you want to experience the depth of true high definition audio, then a subwoofer with the right crossover setting is a must!

Also read: Which Way Should A Subwoofer Face In Home Theater?

What Is a Subwoofer Crossover?

Before we proceed, let’s clear some terms that we’ll use in this post, which may not be familiar to you. Here are some essentials that you need to know about subwoofer crossover settings:

• LFE or Low-Frequency Effect is the part of your sound system that produces deep sounds when listening to music or heart-pounding effects when watching movies. It’s the “.1” in a 3.1, 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound setup.
• LFE + Main is a crossover mode that we find in sound systems where it sends deep sounds lower than the crossover point to both the subwoofer and speakers. It’s configurable, and you can try setting it up for your sound system, but it’s often unstable, and it would be best to leave this setting to default.

• Low-Pass Crossover is the frequency where your subwoofers will start working to reach deep notes that aren’t possible for the speakers that we have today. Typically, a low-pass crossover is anywhere from 40Hz and could go up to 60Hz to 100Hz.
• High-Pass Crossover is the frequency above the low-pass crossover where your speakers will start working and take over from a subwoofer. If you’re using a subwoofer that features a high-pass crossover, it’ll be fixed and will remain the same regardless of your set up.
• Large speakers are capable of producing full-range audio. If you have this type of speaker in your setup, you’ll be able to produce sounds as low as 20Hz. You need a dedicated sub because there’s no speaker now that is capable of reaching it.
• Small speakers are the ones that create the mix for crossover. It can produce sounds at frequencies lower than your main speakers but higher than your subwoofer. It’s mostly responsible for the transition that happens when your system gets into the crossover.

So now, what’s a subwoofer crossover?

Well, it’s the frequency where your subwoofer and speakers work together to cross a higher or lower range. When listening to music, and your system sends out a signal to produce deep sounds, your main speakers will gradually roll off to give way to your subwoofer.

When you need higher notes, your sub will slowly roll off to give way to your main speakers. This seamless transition is responsible for producing audio that acts as if it’s coming from one entity.

This process may sound too simple, but in reality, a subwoofer crossover is a vital configuration that you have to make to ensure that every speaker in your system works in harmony. That’s why it’s crucial to understand how a properly configured sound system should sound before you start setting your subwoofer crossover.

Configuring the Sound System: How Should It Sound?

When you connect your sub to an amp speaker post, you can set the subwoofer crossover below, close, or above your speaker ratings.

Many people get overwhelmed with this process because when you look at the back of large speakers, you’ll see several control knobs that you can use to configure the crossover. Unfortunately, there’s no exact formula to set your subwoofer, and you’ll have to do most of it by ear.

As a general rule, you want your large, small, and main speakers to overlap. However, you can’t just go at the back of your sub to configure because it needs to have the right amount of overlap. Your audio will create a peak in transition if you set it with too much overlap; too little creates depth or discontinuity in harmony. You don’t want both of these effects when configuring your sub to work with your sound system.

Part of the reason is that you want your subwoofer to be a part of a well-synchronized system that creates harmony. If you’re using a subwoofer, and someone tells you that you have a beautiful, distinctive subwoofer, your setup fails. A properly configured sub won’t stand out from the rest of your sound system, and it shouldn’t produce audio that makes it sound like it’s coming from a separate entity.

Deep bass sounds good, especially if you’re using a full-range subwoofer. But without the right amount of overlap, you’ll either hear a sudden drop in notes that sound like an amplifier just went awry, or a very short—but noticeable—cut in your audio. A proper crossover setting creates a smooth transition from the low-pass to high-pass crossover without any noticeable interference.

How to Set Up Your Subwoofer Crossover

Most of the systems that we use today include an equalization feature that handles the output for audio. As technology improves, so does this feature. Nowadays, the speakers that we use for our sound system can scan our set up and then automatically set the right crossover, using the specifications of the speakers that are in our system.

However, this equalization feature is still far from being perfect. You still have to make some manual adjustments to achieve the right amount of overlap that you want your sound system to have.

Look at the back of your subwoofer, then set the low-pass crossover at least 10Hz higher than your main speakers’ range. This range is the starting point when configuring your crossover. If your center speaker can produce 80Hz to 120Hz, then you want your low-pass crossover to be anywhere close to 90Hz.

This configuration means that both your center speaker and subwoofer will produce output once audio reaches 90Hz. Your center speaker will roll off when it gets lower than 80Hz, and your subwoofer will roll off when it gets higher than 90Hz. With this setup, you’re telling your system to start the crossover at 90Hz and end at 80Hz.

Finding the range of your main speakers is easy, but in case you’re not sure about it, you can use a subwoofer matching tool to configure your crossover accurately. This process may sound simple, but creating a 10Hz overlap is just a starting point when setting your sound system.

Since different speakers have different ranges, you may have to do several trial and errors to find that sweet spot—a smooth, seamless transition that works in harmony.

How to Test the Subwoofer Crossover

After setting up the starting point for the crossover, you’ll want to test your system to see if it works smoothly. Testing your subwoofer crossover can be tedious, and it’ll be even harder if you’re working on it using an unfamiliar sound. So, you must use a familiar sound that you’ll recognize with a clear picture in your mind.

If you’re noticing even the slightest peaks in frequencies, you should start reducing your overlap until it becomes smooth and unnoticeable. If there’s a noticeable discontinuity, slowly increase it to get the transition you want.

There’s a chance that during your tests, you’ll hear bass bumps while your speakers and sub are overlapping. It’s not an issue with your crossover, but rather with the output volume.

You can fix these bumps by adjusting your subwoofer volume to match your main speaker output volume. Both output volume should match because it’ll affect the smooth transition that you’re trying to create.

Remember, when setting the crossover manually, you will, almost, always have to do it by your ear. However, there’s always an exception, or in this case, a tool that you can use to check your subwoofer’s crossover.

You can use a bass frequency sweep whenever you don’t feel like getting down to the specifics of configuring sound systems, or you’re not comfortable in making the adjustments on your own.

A bass frequency sweep is a tool that uses a tone that starts at the highest frequency, then ends at the lowest possible for any setup. The best thing about this tool is that you, most likely, already have this in your possession. You’ll find tones like this embedded in any THX-certified movie!

Any movie that you have in your arsenal with a THX logo has a THX Optimizer app that you’ll find in the Extras section on the menu. This app will produce the tone that is similar to a bass frequency sweep, which will help you determine whether you’re experiencing drops, peaks, or bumps in your sound system.

When you run this app and hear a distinct sound that shouldn’t be in your system’s audio output, reconfigure it accordingly. Reduce the overlap when you have a peak, increase it if you have a drop, or adjust the volume output when you have a bump.

However, there are times when, despite several adjustments, you’re still getting inconsistencies with your output. When it happens, then maybe, the position of your subwoofer is a bit off for your sound system.

How to Position Your Subwoofer Properly

You may have heard this advice before: place your subwoofer in the corner or close to the wall to get more bass. That’s true, but it may not be the kind of bass that you expect. It could be one of the reasons you’re getting peaks or drops with your sound system, despite configuring it according to the results you’re getting.

Unfortunately, carte blanche doesn’t work when looking for a spot that you can use for your subwoofer. What you can do is to use a simple test on where you should put your subwoofer:

1. Put your subwoofers at the center of your room
2. Play a sound that uses deep bass, anything that is familiar to you.
3. Move around the room to see where you’re getting the best sounding LFE, and remember these spots.
4. Keep moving around until you have 3 to 4 spots where the bass sounds best.
5. Place your subwoofer on each of these locations, then do a bass frequency sweep.
6. Leave it where you’re getting the best result, then configure the crossover, both low-pass and high-pass, according to the test results.

This method may be unpredictable, and you might end up having your subwoofer in the least ideal locations. However, if you want to get the right amount of overlap, you’ll have to redesign, sometimes even reconstruct, your media room.

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If you don’t like the idea of reconfiguring your media room, then you may want to try the Rule of Thirds when placing a subwoofer. This rule means that if you measure your room’s size from the door to the adjacent wall, then use a third of its size as the space between your wall and subwoofer; you’ll get better bass output.

The Rule of Thirds doesn’t always produce the best bass, but it reduces the occurrence of standing waves and nulls. It also saves you from the trouble that you may have to go through when redesigning or rebuilding your media room.

You can also try the corner to see if it can help you produce better test results. No, we’re not contradicting ourselves here, it’s just that sometimes, the corner is the best location for a subwoofer.

However, you can’t just stick it in there and hope to get the best bass output. You may have to place anywhere from 6 to 8 inches out from the corner, then slightly move it after each test to find the sweet spot for your subwoofer.

Also read:Pros and Cons of 2 or More Subwoofers in Home Theaters

Two Common Mistakes When Positioning a Subwoofer

When trying to position your subwoofer, you can try every spot in your media room aside from these two: inside another cabinet and in-wall. First is a no-brainer, but the second is getting more and more popular these days. Let us explain why.

Sometimes, there’s just not enough space in your room to house a gigantic subwoofer, other than the cabinet, right?

Unfortunately, anywhere in your room is a better place for a subwoofer than leaving it crammed inside a cabinet. That’s because subwoofers are non-directional low-frequency speakers that need some breathing room. So keeping it inside a cabinet will create a hard cap with the output that they can produce.

Installing a subwoofer inside the wall is becoming popular because it’s sleek and reduces the clutter in your room. Although there are high-quality in-wall subwoofers you can buy, you’ll need a special box to keep it performing well without distortion.

Remember, subwoofers need enough breathing room to produce high-quality audio, and placing it inside the wall limits its output.

Let’s say you’ve been to a friend’s house and found out that he’s using an in-wall subwoofer. It sounds nice, perhaps, better than yours. There are only two possible reasons for it: either he specializes in installing and configuring sound systems or went through a lot of effort to set it up and spent way more for it to work!

Final Thoughts on Subwoofer Crossover Settings

Every sound system needs a full-range subwoofer. It has the power to take your music-listening experience to the next level, but you have to configure it correctly. The subwoofer crossover is a crucial part of setting your speakers to work harmoniously and avoid inconsistencies with the output.

Three things can affect the output of your sound system when testing your subwoofer crossover:

• Overlap of your large, small, and main speakers
• The volume output of your subwoofer and speakers
• Position of your subwoofer within the media room.

You must consider all of these when setting your subwoofer crossover because it can make a huge difference with the output that you produce.

Check out my recommended subwoofers.

Stereo Crossover Frequency

Sources