Understanding Car Audio Crossovers

Car audio crossovers are essential units of car audio systems that are often ignored. Crossovers split frequencies so that each speaker receives a certain range of frequencies. This is for the following reasons:

To avoid speaker damage - Speakers are designed to play a certain range of frequencies. A speaker will produce distortion if other frequencies are played. These other frequencies may destroy it.

Total balance - If a sound system with subwoofers and full-range speakers doesn't have a crossover, then it leads to a non-balanced sound. Sub woofers play low frequencies well because that’s what they are designed to do. Tweeters handle the high frequencies excellently. A crossover ensures only the right frequency range goes to a particular speaker.

Crossovers vary in their flexibility. Whereas some only have a few frequencies to choose from, others have a whole range of frequencies to choose from.

Types of Crossovers

There are two types of crossovers – Active and Passive.

Active crossovers need external power to operate and work at low-signal voltage levels. Signal from the head unit is split into low frequencies, mid frequencies and high frequencies. These go to different amplifiers.

Since everything is done at low voltages, signal is not affected as with passive crossovers. There is much more flexibility, since all that is needed to adjust crossover frequencies is to turn a knob.

However, more amplifier channels are needed to connect speakers.

Passive crossovers receive high signal levels and work after the amplifiers. All the frequency splitting is done after the amplifiers so more speakers can run off an amplifier channel.

However, passive crossovers can get more complex as more capacitors and inductors are added. These capacitors and inductors also dissipate power thereby wasting energy that speakers could be using.