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Active crossovers

There's an abundance of info and opinions on just about every topic under the sun in audio, down to the smallest minutiae.

I have problem finding opinions on active crossovers and which sound good, or not. Or which offer good bang for the bucks. Or whether tubed crossovers are better than SS.

So what's the skinny on this?

Oh, and I'd like to ad a Stupid Crossover Question of my own:
The XO will match the levels of the low/high amps, but each amp will have a different sensitivity. Would you have to match the amp levels each time you change the volume?

KP
killerpiglet

Showing 3 responses by drrdiamond

drrdiamond
671 posts
 
If you can buy the Krell KBX for $1500 ... BUY IT!
The Krell lists for about $4K. It works either balanced or SE. It costs only $200 for Krell to make you a custom board for your speakers. If you change speakers Krell can make you a new board, making it immune from being obsolete.
E-mail Krell and ask for specs. (SLeckrone@Krellonline.com)
Tell Steve Leckrone that I suggested you contact him. He has been a great help for me.
Actively biamping my system is the single biggest improvement that I ever made.
Also, I was just at the Krell factory and they do still make the KBX, but since it is a low volume unit, they are not advertising any more. Getting boards should never be a problem.
Richard Diamond
drrdiamond
671 posts
 
If you decide to use and active crossover (as I did) and can afford it, go for the Krell KBX.
Krell makes the active crossover for such speakers as the $40,000 four way B&W Nautilus, and has made crossovers for other companies as Martin Logan.

Have fun!
Richard
drrdiamond
671 posts
 
If you use the Krell KBX, it has gain adjustment for each Highs and Lows, making the need for adjustable volume on the amp totally unnecessary. In fact, the less in the signal path the better, so unless I could bypass the amps volume control, I would prefer one without it.

Richard
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