Behringer Crossover for Maggies vs Bryston
Don't forget Marchand Electronic's active/passive crossovers. They have several 2,3, and 4-way crossovers and will also custom build ones to your exact needs/specs. You can get the same performance and quality as the others(excluding the digital xo's) mentioned at 1/3 to 1/2 the cost. |
The Dahlquist DQ-LP1 has a passive, 6db/oct HI-pass section that is transparent to your system(use a good polystyrene or polypropylene cap there), and an active 18db/oct LO-pass circuit that enables you to dial in your freq(up to 400Hz), level and low freq EQ(boost the bottom a bit). I used one from 1981(always bi-amping planars), 'til 2004, when I went with my TacT RCS 2.2X. They generally sell for around $300(what they sold for in '80) ie: (http://cgi.ebay.com/DAHLQUIST-DQ-LP1-Variable-Low-Pass-Filter-USA-Made_W0QQitemZ260440261155QQcmdZViewItemQQptZVintage_Electronics_R2?hash=item3ca3730223&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12%7C66%3A2%7C39%3A1%7C72%3A1234%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50) The crossover's designer(Carl Marchisotto) also designed the Alon Exotica Grand Reference system, which still uses the DQ-LP1 as it's HI/LO filter. Allegro Sound may still have one also: ( http://www.allegrosound.com/Dahlquist_DQ-LP1.html ) |
Just put the Behringer in last night. Have 3.6's. Cannot believe the technology that is built into the Behringer for the cost. Just ordered matching Balanced IC's to use instead of my spares that may be affecting my sound. It seems transparent to a degree - settings could cloud your judgement if they are not correct. I am not using any gain , or eq from the Behringer or phase correction to keep the signal less processed. I would ultimately like to try the pass labs x-over. FOR THE MONEY THE BEHRINGER IS A GREAT TOOL TO TRY BI-AMPING OR ADDING A SUB TO THE MAGGIES. It's worth the money to try it for yourself. Remember, that's just my initial impression. Happy listening! Greg. |
Cool. What is funny is that a couple of people have contacted me directly on this, and I may wait a year and then get a floor model XVR-1 - the opposite of where I was heading with this thread. Some say that once you go active, the active crossover itself matters more than the quality of the amps, sort of sounds backwards, but my making the amps around 4X more powerful, can make more sense. But the XVR-1 is a 'sciene project', I may just pay somoene to try and do it over a weekend. Depending on what month it is, I like science projects, but right now I have so many things going on in life I just want this part to work without much time input. One criticism of active crossovers, even the good ones, is that they become 'infinite science projects', which I'm not looking for. But don't properly (or even just within 5-10%) I do believe they totally change what Maggies are capable of. |
