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Active Crossover Recommendations


MEH Synergy

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Decided to go a different direction and ended up with some ridiculous deals on new gear.  To make things simple, I am looking for a high quality 2 Way active crossover between speakers and subs.  Strongly prefer balanced ins and outs.  Variable xover frequency and or slope would be nice.  Sound quality is the most important quality to me.   Price wise, I am open, but looking for bang for the buck. I have had a bryston 10b in the past that I liked, but want to see what others recommend.  Benchmark DAC3 balanced out will be going into the crossover.   Crossover will dump into RCF HD32A speakers and jbl srx728s subs.  The speakers sound incredible and I don't want to ruin that with the  wrong crossover.   Thanks for your input. 

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7 minutes ago, Tarheel TJ said:

MiniDSP 2x4HD.  Analog active crossovers are obsolete in 2020, IMHO.

Chris A's recommendation too unless you want to go much more expensive with Xilica's. I will be buying one soon to try based on what he has been saying.

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As often as you change things around I would sure test this idea out with the lowest price yet good quality common denominator. The Mini DSP HD gets good reviews everywhere and you can't beat the price. The Mini can follow you forward and be useful with any two way.

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41 minutes ago, Westcoastdrums said:

Got it. Is this the total consensus then?   Still listening. I know this is how many feel. I had the dspeaker antimode 2.0 and I thought it sounded AWFUL.  HORRIBLE in fact 


Interesting in what way was it Horrible..?

 

I have had very good results with mine but I haven’t used the crossover function itself.

 

Was yours an early production unit or later version that had higher output drive capability. I originally had the early version about 2 weeks and was having issues with driving some of my amplifiers so I swapped it for the later production unit have been very happy with it.

 

miketn

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5 minutes ago, mikebse2a3 said:

Interesting in what way was it Horrible..?

The sound coming out of the highs sounded like a bad overly compressed MP3. Very tinny highs and overall hollow sound, weak bass.  Not sure if early version or later.   I purchased it maybe 3 years ago or so new.   The auto eq function worked well however.   I was using using it as an all in one box, DAC, crossover, preamp.   The degredation to the sound I couldn't deal with.   Was really hoping it woild be a great solution based on the exceptional reviews.  

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If you are doing this as an experiment then buying a new Xilica is really going in head first. There is a used Xilica on eBay (3 in & 6out) for about $700 -800, I think. Another option is to buy a new Behringer DCX 2496 for less than $300 (and sell it if you don't like it). Nothing wrong with going in head first. I don't know of anyone who regretted a DSP solution.

 

If you go the "Behringer as an experiment route", then there are 3 caveats.

1. Don't buy it used because at this price point reliability is not their strong point.

2. Get the "regular" on not the "lite" version. It will have the provision for digital input (either S/PDIF or AES/EBU)

3. Do not feed it an analog input (use digital). The analog sections are part of their weakness.

 

So it would be an experiment to see if you like the DSP concept and may want to upgrade later to something fancy. But you can play with crossover steepness, EQ, and time alignment. It also has a good number of filters available. There is sufficient filtering that you could toss in some room EQ also (a big benefit IMHO). Warning, if you start messing with 3rd party drivers etc (and room EQ), then definitely get a measurement mic (available software is essentially free eg, Holm or REW).

 

I think even with an inexpensive Behringer, the benefits far out weigh any negatives.

 

Good Luck,

-Tom 

 

 

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2 minutes ago, PrestonTom said:

If you are doing this as an experiment then buying a new Xilica is really going in head first

I had a xilica and sold it to Dave A.   Main reason I was interested in analog crossover us I don't feel Like playing endlessly with the digital stuff. Often complex with a steep learning curve.  Can I get better results?  Sure, probably.  The equipment I have now is in a completely different direction than I have been in a long time as well... I won't be buying another Xilica.   Mini DSP, I am concerned about SQ issues like I had with my previous digital unit.  It's cheap enough.   Behringer, I'll pass on that.   I know the benefits and have played with the xilica a good amount while I had it.   I MAY end up going the digital route, I was curious if anyone had anything other than digital only, analog is dead in 2020.  Seems to be the overall opinion though, I get it.   

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17 minutes ago, mark1101 said:

JWC always swore by the Ashly analog crossovers.  I heard those several times at his places and those systems were excellent.

Thats what I have used in the past.   Ashly xr1001 is one I used and liked for the price after playing with many (borrowed from friends).  I just bought this linked below after having a 20 minute or so chat with the owner.   He is in the same state and is very knowledgeable and offers 45 day in home trial with full refund if not satisfied.   Can't go wrong.  Joe posted in his for sale thread something else from the company that caught my attention.  Thanks @joessportster

 

https://sublimeacoustic.com/products/k231-stereo-3-way-active-crossover

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The model you linked to certainly does not offer much.

 

There is no time alignment (a must in my opinion). It offers very  limited crossover slopes (some like shallow slopes augmented with some PEQs while others like steeper slopes). There are no shelving filter and there are no PEQs either for speaker EQ or Room Correction. At the price offered, I would go for a Behringer or a used dBX or used Ashly

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1 minute ago, PrestonTom said:

The model you linked to certainly does not offer much.

I am aware.   I did state sound quality is the most important aspect to me.  It is simply a trial.  I don't want to buy a digital unit, spend the coin and not be satisfied with it.  This is no risk.  I respect your opinions, but based on my previous experience, I wasnt super impressed.  I'm comparing xilica to benchmark DAC3 HGC straight to amp with Xilica in between. There was a SLIGHTLY unfavorable difference in the highs to my EARS...  Enough for me to notice and for it to bug me a little.   If I wasnt tickled to death with that in spite of all additional features that are offered over this "basic" unit, makes me nervous to jump to something else.   And as I previously stated, a did like the bryston 10b a lot and I found the Ashly xr1001 satisfactory for the price.   I just wanted to see what other people prefer.   I figured all except one or two would say xilica or mini DSP.  

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