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Passive radiators, ext crossovers & subwoofers

Do crossovers work equally well with speakers which include passive radiators?

This may be a silly question, but I asked it anyway. I don't know much about passive radiators. I have a pair of Polk Audio Monitor 7 speakers and I'm considering adding a subwoofer to help out in the lower frequencies by applying a crossover. If I set the crossover at 60, will the speakers continue to create sound at frequencies below 60? Or does the passive radiator create the sound only at the frequency delivered to the speaker?
pgawan2b
apachef1
164 posts
 
Keep in mind the higher the frequency you roll off the low end the less effective the passive radiator becomes. The passive radiator will be out of phase with any sub you use so from my own experience you are better to blend a sub with the polks using the above mentioned velodyne or other bass management system and run the polks full range
martykl
3,578 posts
 
To clarify,

The passive radiator (if properly designed) is designed to produce output mirroring the electrical input at the speaker's terminal - exactly like an active driver. If you attenuate any frequency at the input, a properly designed speaker - passive or active - will attenuate the output accordingly.

Good Luck.

Marty
pgawan2b OP
122 posts
 
Thanks everyone for your responses. This has been helpful.
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