Author by : Chimezirim Chinecherem Odimba

Crossovers! What are they? Why do I even need them? Can’t I do without them?

If these are your questions, here are my answers . . .

Crossovers are processors that separate sound frequency bands. Now let me speak in every day English . . .

Imagine your audio signal is like traffic. There are pedestrains, bicycles, motorcycles, small cars, minivans, buses, lorries and trailers. Now if we assume that there is a lane that has been specifically designed for pedestrains, another specifically for kids riding their bikes, another for bikers and small cars, another for minivans and vans, and finally, another for big buses, lorries and trailers.

Now imagine a chaotic situation where anyone can use any lane they choose and imagine what happens when a lorry decides to use the pedestrains’ lane. Do you get the picture?

A crossover is a piece of equipment (either standalone or included in other units) that acts like a traffic warden and ensures those audio “lorries” use the lane (speakers) designed specifically for them.

So why do you need stuff like that? Pretty clear now: to restore order and get the best from your audio setup. Just as the durability of the lanes will also be enhanced by having the right traffic on it, so your speakers will last a lot longer if they handle the sound frequency range they were designed for.

Can you do without them? Yes, just as you can do with the chaotic situation in my example — Negligible if you don’t have too much diversity and traffic but terrible if you have diversity and heavy traffic. Furthermore, you really do compromise your audio experience and also put unnecessary stress on certain speakers.

And lastly, no matter how much you invest in an audio system, the quality of your speakers (which also includes everything that enhances their performance) is the greatest factor in the overall quality of your car audio (or any audio system, for that matter!)

[tags]crossovers, car audio signal processors[/tags]

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