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Crossover Coil Gauge


BillyRyan

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Does anyone have any input on 8 to 10 ga coils in crossovers? I've noticed the heavy coils available from Northcreek and was wondering if any design changes would be necessary for a given value due to the lower DC resistance that the larger coil would have? I've noticed that Al K. places much importance on the coils. Al, any thoughts?

Thanks!

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2 channel:

1989 Klipschorns

AES AE-3 DJH tube preamp

AES SE-1 SIG SET tube amp

Denon CDP

Pair North Creek 18" subs

Mackie 1400i power amp

HTS:

Vidikron Kronos CRT

Faroudja 2200 Scaler

Denon 5800 receiver

Denon DVD

RCA DTC100 HD receiver

Sonance in wall

Velodyne HGS10 sub

This message has been edited by BillyRyan on 09-19-2002 at 11:28 AM

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An ideal inductor would have 0 resistance. Unfortunately, real world inductors have resistance. The larger gauge wire they are wound from, the lower resistance. So, in general, an inductor of a given value wound from larger gauge wire is better than a inductor of the same value wound from smaller gauge wire. The factor of merit for inductors is the Q factor. It is inversely proportional to resistance.

The higher the resistance, the lower the Q.

However, crossover designers generally take the resistance of the inductor they choose into consideration in the design of the circuit. And sometimes resistance is a necessary part of the circuit. Simply changing the resistance of an inductor is going to change the sound of the speaker system. Whether it is a good change or not depends on what it does in the circuit. It may or may not be enough to be noticeable.

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Al recommends 12 gauge solid wire for the larger inductor, eg. 2.4 mHy for the woofer. That is, if you can afford it, if not 14 awg can be used. He uses Litz wire inductors for the smaller values as they improve the sound.

I guess you can always overbuild the network.

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Thanks, Gentlemen. I appreciate the feedback. Bill.

------------------

2 channel:

1989 Klipschorns

AES AE-3 DJH tube preamp

AES SE-1 SIG SET tube amp

Denon CDP

Pair North Creek 18" subs

Mackie 1400i power amp

HTS:

Vidikron Kronos CRT

Faroudja 2200 Scaler

Denon 5800 receiver

RCA DTC100 HD receiver

Sonance in wall

Velodyne sub

This message has been edited by BillyRyan on 09-18-2002 at 08:45 AM

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