Crossoverless Speakers - Ultimate Solution ?


I have a pair of speakers which have NO crossover, except for a rather large Mundorf capacitor on the ribbon tweeter. The speaker up until last week contained a resister, but even that was removed by the manufacturer. Now the sound on this two-way horn loaded speaker with a custom made 8" woofer it really great. The speaker has a tremendous amount of detail, with NO hint of harshness what so ever.

The efficiency is around 96 dB with a minimum impedance of around 8 ohms (average is around 10 to 12 ohms).

In light of my current findings, is it possible for a conventional loudspeaker with crossovers, regardless of cost to have as much detail and air as what I'm finding.

I must say I've yet to hear a speaker retrieve as much detail without glare or the dreaded forward or treble emphasized tweeter tricking you into thinking there is more detail.

The down side to all this is obviously the lack of a good bottom end to help balance the speaker. A matching active sub-woofer would no doubt help in this regard.

Any thoughts ?
clipsal

Showing 1 response by jtinn

Clipsal: I would say that in theory the best crossover is no crossover, but as you are discovering a design like you are using is highly limited, due mostly to driver technology.

Detail is a function of many things. The drivers, cabinet construction and material, internal wiring, etc. The answer to your question is yes, it is possible for a conventional loudspeaker with crossovers to have as much detail and air as you are finding. The type of crossover and the parts used will certainly influence the transparency and sense of space or air. In our loudspeaker, The Evolution Acoustics, for the most part we are using high purity wire straight from the binding posts to the drivers. It is a true purist crossover. With this being said, there are many different ways to implement a crossover and most designers have their own preference. Of course although I am talking from personal listening experiences, I probably have not heard your speakers.

Integrating a sub-woofer will almost certainly kill the purity and cohesiveness you are hearing. I would call the designer of your speakers and asked if he has had any luck combining a sub with your speakers.

Good Luck!

Jonathan Tinn
Evolution Acoustics