Audiophile Mistakes.....

[Amfibius]

Originally Posted by Sperandeo

Behringer super x pro

If the one you have is the CX2310, I can tell you I used to have one of those. It is not a very good piece of gear. Mine had a low level hum and noticably made everything sound more cloudy. It was a good experiment but you want to upgrade to a better crossover as soon as possible.

Originally Posted by MikeSp

Pardon my ignorance, but how does an external x/over differ in its ultimate effects that you described compared to using the various speaker settings and subwoofer settings in the speaker setup in my MX150 where I set the x/over frequency of each speaker and of the subs?

Your MX150 is a home theatre processor? Sorry, I don't know what level of control your MX150 offers you. You basically want the following adjustments in any active crossover:

- crossover frequency
- crossover slope
- level adjust for each channel

You should also be aware that some active crossovers are digital - meaning they digitize the signal, do the processing, then convert it back to analog. In fact, most HT processors I am aware of have the crossover function in digital. If your MX150 does this, then this is a very bad thing. You want to turn off all digital processing when listening to music - and if you do that, you would lose your crossover function. Digital processing is fine for booms and explosions but not for music.

ALSO -- what are some good brands of external crossovers?

Same thing as what a good preamp is - you want high input impedance, low output impedance, low noise, discrete circuitry with tight tolerances and a precise volume control. In addition you might want some way to change the crossover slope, or add features that you might need - e.g. Linkwitz transform, baffle step compensation, delay filters, notch filters, etc.

The only brand I am aware of that offers you all this is Marchand. There are different types of Marchand crossovers, some very cheap and all the way up to a fully discrete valve design with no op-amps and vacuum tube rectification.

Otherwise, some other well regarded brands are - Bryston, Pass Labs, and Accuphase. All of these are solid state.

[lakesailor]

For me it was likely all the years I spent before learning how to properly position my speakers. All the gear I changed without giving it a fair chance…..

[Sperandeo]

Originally Posted by Amfibius

If the one you have is the CX2310, I can tell you I used to have one of those. It is not a very good piece of gear. Mine had a low level hum and noticably made everything sound more cloudy. It was a good experiment but you want to upgrade to a better crossover as soon as possible.



Your MX150 is a home theatre processor? Sorry, I don't know what level of control your MX150 offers you. You basically want the following adjustments in any active crossover:

- crossover frequency
- crossover slope
- level adjust for each channel

You should also be aware that some active crossovers are digital - meaning they digitize the signal, do the processing, then convert it back to analog. In fact, most HT processors I am aware of have the crossover function in digital. If your MX150 does this, then this is a very bad thing. You want to turn off all digital processing when listening to music - and if you do that, you would lose your crossover function. Digital processing is fine for booms and explosions but not for music.



Same thing as what a good preamp is - you want high input impedance, low output impedance, low noise, discrete circuitry with tight tolerances and a precise volume control. In addition you might want some way to change the crossover slope, or add features that you might need - e.g. Linkwitz transform, baffle step compensation, delay filters, notch filters, etc.

The only brand I am aware of that offers you all this is Marchand. There are different types of Marchand crossovers, some very cheap and all the way up to a fully discrete valve design with no op-amps and vacuum tube rectification.

Otherwise, some other well regarded brands are - Bryston, Pass Labs, and Accuphase. All of these are solid state.

Yes it is the CX2310. I'm so glad you told me it was crap, I was ready to order a bunch of XLR cables to hook it up.

To be honest at this point i'm very happy with my system without a cross over, so I'll sell the CX2310 and take the loss...live and learn.

[Amfibius]

Well, nothing stopping you from buying a bunch of cheap XLR cables to hook it up! I lived for a few months with the CX2310 in my system and XLR's that cost me $10 a pair. This is an experiment, it is not a long term solution.

[Sperandeo]

Originally Posted by Amfibius

Well, nothing stopping you from buying a bunch of cheap XLR cables to hook it up! I lived for a few months with the CX2310 in my system and XLR's that cost me $10 a pair.

I really don't feel like hooking it up if it's going to add noise etc...to my system. I'm getting a new set of speakers in about a week and I'll see how I feel about them with my sub.

[jdandy]

Sperandeo.......Looking at your signature, I can tell your equipment is far above the quality level of the Behringer crossover. The unit you are speaking of is under $90.00 at most of the musician audio stores, and is primarily an entry level component for small bands with small budgets. This component is not designed for high-end two channel audio systems.

Years ago I made a similar mistake, purchasing a Tapco electronic crossover at a music store to bi-amp a pair of large two way JBL speakers with 15" woofers and horns with compression drivers. Tapco gear was the cheap side of Electrovoice at the time. It was noisy, the controls were difficult to repeat adjustments and not accurate between the channels. I did not keep it.

More recently I owned a Bryston 10B Sub active crossover, purchased new from Ivan (Masterlu). I used it with a pair of Sonus faber Guarneri Memento speakers and a pair of McIntosh XLS112 powered subwoofers. The Bryston 10B Sub is absolutely at the quality level of McIntosh gear, and performed flawlessly in that system. Unfortunately though, the Bryston 10B Sub can't be bought for $90.00.

[aarsoe]

Am I the only one that have had the cartridge needle bent by my sleeve? Lost a brand new Ortofon MC 30 Super II that way.. hate it..

[jrsystems]

Long, long ago, I had a Denon automatic turntable. I had dropped my copy of Led Zeppelin 4 and about an inch deep chunk came out of the record. One night I put the record on without realizing the chunk of record was missing (I may have been drinking that night, I forget!) and the automatic arm laid my cartridge right into the broken record, ripping off the stylus. Oops!

[mistral427tp]

Any comments good/bad on Dahlquist DQ-LP1 active cross-over connected to
a pair of Dahlquist subwoofers.
Cheers

[metaphacts]

Originally Posted by mistral427tp

Any comments good/bad on Dahlquist DQ-LP1 active cross-over connected to
a pair of Dahlquist subwoofers.
Cheers

mistral427tp, you should start a thread in the subwoofer forum. Off topic here.