What is the circuit of the crossover and how it works?

Crossovers are generally used in units with treble and bass, or speakers with midrange units. Without a crossover, a speaker with multiple units cannot play back sounds in different frequency bands. And the difference in the type and quality of the crossover also affects whether the speaker can play back better sound performance.

Speaker crossover circuit

The speaker crossover is able to separate the frequency of the sound signal, distinguish the sound signal of different frequency bands, and then amplify it and send it to the speakers of the corresponding high and low frequency bands to achieve the effect of high and low sound quality.

The role of the speaker crossover circuit

1.    When playing music, it is difficult to cover all frequency bands with only one speaker due to the limitation of the speaker unit's own capability and structure. And if the full-band signal is directly sent to the high, medium and low frequency units without distribution, the local "excess signal" outside the frequency response range of the unit will have an adverse effect on the recovery of the signal in the normal frequency band, and may even Damage the tweeter and midrange unit. For this reason, designers must divide the audio frequency band into segments, and use different speakers for different frequency bands. This is the origin and function of the crossover.

2.    The crossover is the "brain" in the speaker, which is very important to the quality of sound quality. The music signal output by the power amplifier must be processed by each filter element in the crossover, so that the signal of the specific frequency of each unit passes through. It is necessary to design the crossover of the speaker scientifically, rationally and rigorously, in order to effectively modify the different characteristics of the speaker units and optimize the combination, so that each unit can maximize its strengths and avoid weaknesses, and fully exert its own potential. The frequency response of each frequency band is smooth and the phase of the sound image is accurate, so that the music played by the high, medium and low frequencies can be clearly and in tune, and the sound quality is clear, warm, broad and natural.

3.    In the actual crossover, sometimes in order to balance the flexibility difference between the high and low frequency units, an attenuation resistor is also added. In addition, some crossover also add an impedance compensation network composed of resistors and capacitors, the purpose of which is to flatten the impedance curve of the speaker, so as to facilitate the drive of the power amplifier.

How a speaker crossover works？

From the working principle, the frequency divider is a filter network composed of capacitors and inductors. The treble channel only allows high-frequency signals to pass through and blocks low-frequency signals; the bass channel is just the opposite, only allowing the bass to pass through and blocking high-frequency signals; The intermediate frequencies can pass through, and both high-frequency components and low-frequency components will be blocked.