OK I am probably going to sound like the thickest man in Thickville but here goes.
If I am to connect 1 normal speaker and 1 bass bin together(same rms values) do I need anything special?
I have read about "crossovers" but have no idea what they are.
Thanks
Full Version: Connecting Speakers
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Depends on the type of bass bins you have
If you are using just one amp and your bass bin has a passive crossover fitted which will send bass frequencies only to its driver and then output mid/top freqencies for the mid/top cabinet, you should feed into the bass bin first then out of it into your mid/top cabinet.
If both cabinets are 8 ohms impedance they will present a 4 ohm load to the amp.
If you are using just one amp and your bass bin has a passive crossover fitted which will send bass frequencies only to its driver and then output mid/top freqencies for the mid/top cabinet, you should feed into the bass bin first then out of it into your mid/top cabinet.
If both cabinets are 8 ohms impedance they will present a 4 ohm load to the amp.
Not a daft question at all.
Yes, as Darren(hugmaster) says it all depends on the specs of the bass cab...some bass cabs will have an internal circuit board (passive crossover) inside, which basically takes in a full-range (Bass, midrange and top/hi) sound from your amp, but only passes-on the bass frequencies to the bass cabs driver (speaker cone).
Be aware that some bass cabs dont have an internal, passive crossover and are only expecting to "hear" bass frequencies from the amp that is driving them. I've heard of some such bass cabs being damaged by being fed too much mid & top end frequencies - after all, those are frequencies which the bass driver was never designed to handle for any period of time.
This second type of bass cab, would need a separate crossover, a separate mains operated device, usually rack-mounted designs, known as an Active Crossover. These sit inbetween your mixer and at least 2 amps (or sometimes 1 dual channel amp) and split bass frequencies off to your bass amp, and other frequencies off to your other speakers.
Yes, as Darren(hugmaster) says it all depends on the specs of the bass cab...some bass cabs will have an internal circuit board (passive crossover) inside, which basically takes in a full-range (Bass, midrange and top/hi) sound from your amp, but only passes-on the bass frequencies to the bass cabs driver (speaker cone).
Be aware that some bass cabs dont have an internal, passive crossover and are only expecting to "hear" bass frequencies from the amp that is driving them. I've heard of some such bass cabs being damaged by being fed too much mid & top end frequencies - after all, those are frequencies which the bass driver was never designed to handle for any period of time.
This second type of bass cab, would need a separate crossover, a separate mains operated device, usually rack-mounted designs, known as an Active Crossover. These sit inbetween your mixer and at least 2 amps (or sometimes 1 dual channel amp) and split bass frequencies off to your bass amp, and other frequencies off to your other speakers.
If the speakers have no crossovers built in and they are normal non powered units (needing amplifier) you will need a crossover to split the low freq and the high freq.
Different ways of using a crossover.....built in crossover in the sub.....or a seperate crossover next to the amp.....or a powered mixer that has a built in crossover
If no crossover is used, all the freq of the sound will go equally to both cabinets and therefore the bass cab will try to produce high freq (will struggle) and the top speaker(normal speaker) will try to produce low freq and will struggle.
Hope that helps matey
Different ways of using a crossover.....built in crossover in the sub.....or a seperate crossover next to the amp.....or a powered mixer that has a built in crossover
If no crossover is used, all the freq of the sound will go equally to both cabinets and therefore the bass cab will try to produce high freq (will struggle) and the top speaker(normal speaker) will try to produce low freq and will struggle.
Hope that helps matey
| QUOTE (spinner @ Aug 21 2005, 03:35 AM) |
| If both cabinets are 8 ohms impedance they will present a 4 ohm load to the amp. |
Yes, if you connect two 8 ohm speakers in parallel to an amp without a crossover, the amp will see a 4 ohm load. (Across the full frequency range the amp will see both speakers.)
But if you use a correctly designed 8 ohm passive crossover, the amp will only see an 8 ohm load. (Below the crossover frequency the amp will only see the sub, and above it will only see the top speaker.)
| QUOTE (Jeffwall @ Aug 21 2005, 01:03 PM) |
| If no crossover is used, all the freq of the sound will go equally to both cabinets and therefore the bass cab will try to produce high freq (will struggle) and the top speaker(normal speaker) will try to produce low freq and will struggle. Hope that helps matey |
It is possible to run like this, but it won't sound very good. Get a passive crossover if the subs don't already have them.
Even better, get an active crossover, and an extra amp. You will be amazed how much of an improvement is is over running a passively crossed over system.
Dont forget that most cheaper Bass Bins only have the low-pass crossover, ie they block high frequencies and use the low frequencies just for the internal drivers.
Usually only better quality Bass bins will have two-way crossovers, ie they accept full range on Neutrik pins 1+ / 1- , they keep the low frequencies for themselves and then output a high-pass signal to the mid-high cabs on Neutrik pins 2+ / 2-. Make sure you get the spec sheet for your bins to be sure.
The 2-way crossover type will preserve the impedance of the system so 4ohm bins with the correct 4ohm mid-high will present 4ohm to the amp per channel, not 2ohm as you'd expect, since the 2-way xover will 'share' the impedance and power. These type speakers also are best used as matched sets, eg a Peavey Hi-Sys top cab with only the proper Peavey Bin etc etc. They are packaged and tuned so that you can use a full four-cabinet set with one convenient amplifier and no electronic crossover.
Do not assume that just 'cos the bins have some board inside that they will effectively 'split' the amp signal.
Usually only better quality Bass bins will have two-way crossovers, ie they accept full range on Neutrik pins 1+ / 1- , they keep the low frequencies for themselves and then output a high-pass signal to the mid-high cabs on Neutrik pins 2+ / 2-. Make sure you get the spec sheet for your bins to be sure.
The 2-way crossover type will preserve the impedance of the system so 4ohm bins with the correct 4ohm mid-high will present 4ohm to the amp per channel, not 2ohm as you'd expect, since the 2-way xover will 'share' the impedance and power. These type speakers also are best used as matched sets, eg a Peavey Hi-Sys top cab with only the proper Peavey Bin etc etc. They are packaged and tuned so that you can use a full four-cabinet set with one convenient amplifier and no electronic crossover.
Do not assume that just 'cos the bins have some board inside that they will effectively 'split' the amp signal.
I have a behringer cross for sale 50 large pm if interested.
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