@charles1dad Hi Charles, you are correct and we don’t see much discussion either. The truth is, I really don’t believe most designers have delve deeply into series crossover networks.... I’ve done a fair amount of work and have come up with Truth’s of the differences.
So, why use one or the other? Normally a designer uses series or parallel because they are more familiar with one over the other, but in reality depending on the drivers used, a series or parallel could be better than the other. So why? In theory there really is no difference, say using a speaker that has perfectly benign load, say a ribbon could get there, but in reality:
Resistance and inductance...... Think of an impedance compensation circuit in a crossover....In a parallel crossover, we series a combination of cap, resistor and/or coil to flatten out a speakers impedance bump. Now on the crossover itself in a low pass on a woofer depending on first, second or third order, we would already add a combination of these parts in series. In parallel vs series, the part would be somewhat reversed. So, in one case or the other, the crossover part would work differently toward the natural inductance and resistance of the woofer itself.
So depending on the woofers natural resistance and inductance, the odds are that with one or the other design, we could cut down on the parts by needing less compensation or a better impedance or phase with this driver vs the other type crossover.
In my experience, its the drivers own impedance, inductance and capacitance that dictate which type crossover to use, just as frequency response dictates which order we would use.
So one would not necessarily sound better than the other, but could depending on the drivers in a speaker in their entirety.
I hope this is written in a way that makes sense for all, Tim
