Crossover Networks

Loudspeaker systems most commonly in use today employ two or more elements to reproduce the musical spectrum. This is because of the difficulty in trying to get a single unit to reproduce the entire spectrum with acceptably low levels of distortion. When two or more elements are used, they can be chosen for a more specialized roll. For good bass response, you generally want a unit that can move massive amounts of air, necessary to provide realistic levels of low frequency information. This usually means large, heavy cones and voice coil assemblies, and a low fundamental resonance. For the high frequencies, the unit employed must have a lightweight moving mass, in order to accurately reproduce the subtle nuances found in complex musical passages. In many cases, a separate midrange driver is also used to reproduce the most critical range, the middle 3 or so octaves, where the human ear is the most sensitive. Wiring all 3 drivers to the amplifier isnt the proper way to utilize these specialized units. If the bass signals are fed to the high frequency unit, for instance, the delicate lightweight voice coil would instantly fuse, rendering the tweeter useless. The same would happen to the midrange driver, most likely, as it isnt designed to handle the power found in the bass, either. Likewise, by sending the midrange to the bass loudspeaker, while not dangerous to the unit, would cause coloration, or distortion in the midrange frequencies, as the low frequency unit doesnt have the ability to reproduce this range with the finesse required for high fidelity applications. This is where the crossover network comes in. A crossover network splits the incoming audio signal into narrower frequency bands, and sends these signals to the appropriate loudspeaker units. This is done with 2 major components: Capacitors, which allow high frequencies to pass and reject low frequencies, and coils (inductors), which allow low frequencies to pass, and reject high frequencies. By using different values for these two components, you can vary the frequencies at which they have effect. The value range typically used in loudspeaker systems is microfarads (uF) for capacitors, and millihenrys (mH) for inductors. When capacitors or inductors begin to reject frequencies beyond their pass band, they do not do it suddenly, but begin to roll the out of band frequencies at a gradual 6db per octave rate.

Inductors do not suddenly block high frequencies

Capacitors do not suddenly block low frequencies

A difference of 6 db is a power ratio of 4 to 1, so any signal 1 octave beyond the pass band will be the power it would be if passed at the full signal level. By power, we are referring to watts. If you viewed the audio signal on an oscilloscope, it would be at the voltage amplitude. When designing a loudspeaker crossover, the values of capacitors and inductors are usually selected for their 3db point, meaning the signal will be 3db lower (1/2 power in watts, 0.707 voltage amplitude) at the crossover point compared to the pass band.

Inductors reject high frequencies at a gentle 6db octave rate

Capacitors reject low frequencies at a gentle 6db octave rate

A crossover network consisting of a single capacitor to block low frequencies from the high frequency driver, and a single inductor to block high frequencies from the low frequency driver is called a 1st order network, with a rolloff of 6db per octave.

Typical 1st order network used in a 2 way system In reality, the 1st order network shown would most likely use resistors in the high frequency circuit as well, located after the capacitor, to reduce the signal level going to the high frequency driver. This is because the high frequency unit will typically have higher sensitivity than the low frequency unit, so they need the power level reduced in order to be properly balanced. See the article Attenuation Chart on the HEL downloads page.

Formulas
The formulas used to calculate capacitor and inductor values for any crossover point will now be discussed. The formula for calculating the value of a capacitor is: C = ____1____ (2pi) f R where C = unknown capacitance pi = 3.14159 f = desired crossover frequency R = driver impedance

Drivers are typically 8 ohms, but could be a different impedance. Refer to the manufacturers data sheet. This formula calculates the value required for a 1st order network (6db per octave rolloff). Lets work an example. For our example, say we had an 8 ohm high frequency driver, and we wanted to cross it over at 2500 Hz. Our formula would look like this: C =______1______ (2pi) x 2500 x 8 pi X 2 = 6.283 (rounded off), which now makes our formula look like this: C =______1______ 6.283 x 2500 x 8 So lets work this out on a simple hand held calculator, or use the one built into Windows (Start/Programs/Accessories/Calculator) Set it for scientific mode. (View/Scientific) 6.283 X 2500 = 15707.5, X 8 =125660 Look at you calculator, and you will see a button marked 1/x. With the solution displayed (125660), push the 1/x button, and you will get 0.000007958. This is the capacitor value needed, in Farads. 0.000007958 farads + | + microfarads (uF) millifarads This is the value we will need, 7.958 uF (or 8uF, a common value) Now, we need the value of inductor for our low frequency driver. The formula for calculating the value of an inductor is: L = ____R____ (2pi) f where L = unknown inductance pi = 3.14159 f = desired crossover frequency R = driver impedance

This formula also gives the value for a 1st order network (6db/octave). Again, let us work an example. Let us assume we have a woofer with an 8 ohm impedance, and we want to cross it over to the high frequency driver in our first example, so we also choose 2500Hz as our crossover point. We already know that 2 X pi = 6.283, so this makes our formula look like this:

L = _____8_____ 6.283 X 2500 Let us work the bottom line first, 6.283 X 2500 = 15707.5 Store this in your calculators memory, and then divide 8 by the stored value: 8 / 15707.5 = 0.000509311 This is our required inductor value in henrys, which, rounded off, is 0.5 millihenry (mH). 0.000509311 henrys + + millihenrys (mH) So, after rounding off the values slightly, we now know that we need an 8uF capacitor and a 0.5mH inductor to construct a 1st order 2 way crossover network crossing over at 2,500 Hz to our two 8 ohm drivers.

Higher order networks

1st order networks have very desirable characteristics, but they are not practical for most systems. That is because of the slow roll off of 6db/octave outside of the pass band. This often allows too much power to go to the high frequency unit, which may cause failure of the voice coil assembly, or cause the driver to operate too close to its resonant frequency. Also, the slow roll off may cause too much high frequency information to go to the woofer. This will not harm the woofer, but many drivers have poor performance when used beyond their intended range, and can add coloration (distortion) to the audio signal. This is where higher orders come in. A 2nd order network is where two elements are used to modify the signal. A 3rd order network is where 3 elements are used. For each element used, a 6db/octave response is achieved, so in a 2nd order network, you get a 12db/octave roll off, and with a 3rd order network, you get an 18db/octave roll off. Crossover networks can have even higher orders, but they get to be impractical for a passive network, and many feel that they have little use in true high fidelity systems. The most common passive crossovers are 2nd or 3rd order networks.

A typical 2 way, 2nd order network Here is a typical 2dn order network. As you can see, 2 elements are used in each part of the network. Calculating the values for a 2nd order network is similar to a 1st order network, with a slight additional operation. Capacitor values are multiplied by 0.707, and inductor values are multiplied by 1.414. For our example system, consisting of 8 ohm units crossed over at 2,500Hz, let us calculate the required values. We calculated the values for a 1st order network earlier. The values we calculated for our capacitor was 7.958 uF, before rounding off. Let us now calculate the value for a 2nd order network by multiplying that value by 0.707. 7.958 X 0.707 = 5.626306 For our 2nd order crossover, the values of both C1 and C2 need to be 5.626uF (or 5.6uF, a standard value). Likewise, the value of the inductor that we had calculated for a 1st order network was 0.509311mH. For our 2nd order network, we need to multiply that value by 1.414 0.509311 X 1.414 = 0.720mH Both L1 and L2 need to be 0.72mH, but 0.7 is a standard value, and will be close enough for most applications, so we will say 0.7mH for our example system. For a 3rd order network (18db/octave roll off), again, the formulas are the same as a first order network, with an additional multiplication factor. See the detail below.

Typical 3rd order network The capacitors in the high pass section are multiplied by the factors shown, 0.667 for C1 and 2.0 for C3. The inductor in the high pass section is multiplied by 0.75. The inductors in the low pass section are also multiplied by the factors shown, 1.50 for L1, and 0.50 for L3. The capacitor in the low pass section is multiplied by 1.333. Let us again work an example using the same parameters as before. For a 2,500Hz crossover, C was equal to 7.958uF, so for our 3rd order network, C1 = 7.958 X 0.667, which is 5.3uF, C2 = 7.958 X 1.333, which is 10.6uF, and C3 is 7.958 X 2, which is 15.9uF. Again, you can use the closest standard values, or, for capacitors, parallel different values to add up to the desired value (capacitors in parallel add their values together). For our inductors in the 3rd order network, they are calculated the same as for a 1st order network, multiplied by the factors shown. The value we calculated for the 1st order network was 0.509311. For L1, 0.509311 X 1.50 = 0.7639mH, for L2, 0.509311 X 0.75 = 0.3819mH, and for L3, 0.509311 X 0.50 = 0.2546mH. As with capacitors, use the closest standard values, or wire inductors in series to add values together. If you are building a 3 way crossover network, or even more, the values for the midrange are calculated the same way. The difference is that a midrange section is a bandpass section, meaning it rolls off both the low frequencies and the high frequencies. The low frequency crossover point should be chosen to compliment the woofer crossover point, and the high frequency crossover point should be chosen to compliment the tweeter crossover point. The detail below shows the midrange section of a 1st order, 2nd order and 3rd order crossover network.

The midrange band pass section consists of a high pass section (just like the tweeter section of a 2 way network) in series with a low pass section (just like the woofer section in a 2 way network). The multiplication factors are shown. The high pass section should be designed with the same crossover point you are using on the woofer (for instance, 500Hz), and the low pass section should have a crossover point that you are using on your tweeter (say, 5,000Hz). We briefly mentioned that you will usually have resistors (or an L pad) in your crossover network as well. Midrange and tweeters, especially compression drivers, will have more output (louder) for a given signal level input. Sometimes this can be 10 to 15db, or even more for the same signal level. Without a way of adjusting the signal levels (or volume) going to the drivers would make most systems un-listenable. You can add resistors, or use an L pad to adjust these levels. Since the woofer is usually the least efficient element, you dont need attenuation on the woofer, but you will incorporate it on the midrange and tweeter sections. For a detailed look at attenuation, see the article Attenuation Chart, found on the downloads page. We would like to mention component quality. For capacitors, you should only consider film type devices. Film types come in many different dielectrics, the most economical being Mylar (or polyester). These can perform very well, and most people cannot hear any difference in them compared to more expensive types. Other common film types are polycarbonate, polypropylene, polystyrene, and Teflon. The most common, and most cost effective, is probably polypropylene. They are available in a wide range of values, and are now very affordable, compared to a few years ago. You can find a wide range of polypropylene capacitors on the web at very competitive prices. You should try to avoid electrolytic capacitors. In some circuits where the required capacitor values are very large, you may feel a bi-polar electrolytic is a better choice. If so, try to

parallel a high quality capacitor with it to improve overall performance. For inductors in a woofer circuit, large values are best handled with a well designed iron core. An iron core inductor will have less series resistance than an air core of the same value, and the better iron core inductors available today are very well designed, and can be used with confidence. A 1 ohm series resistance with an 8 ohm woofer will waste 11 percent of your amplifier power. 2 ohms series resistance will waste 20 percent! For midrange or tweeter circuits, series resistance can be tolerated, since these elements usually need attenuation anyway, and the amount of power going to the midrange and tweeter circuits is much lower than the woofer circuit. These simple calculations are all that is needed to calculate values required for a textbook 1st, 2 or 3rd order passive crossover network. In reality, crossover networks can at times be very fussy, depending on drivers used. Some drivers need extra elements to get satisfactory performance. The purpose of this article is to give the builder the general information necessary to calculate crossover component values. If you are interested in a more in depth article on passive crossover networks, see the article Active vs. Passive crossovers on Rod Elliots ESP site. The article is linked on our Links page.
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We cannot conclude this article without repeating ourselves regarding our preference for active crossovers, and bi-amping loudspeaker systems. We feel this is the only recourse if you are truly in search of a state of the art loudspeaker system. After you add up the cost for high quality capacitors and inductors required for a 3rd order passive crossover, you will find that you are not much better off than buying another amplifier for bi-amping. Good luck from Audio-Kits www.audio-kits.com