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Re: Crossover upgrade - maximum/ideal driver frequency ranges?

The upper frequency limit of the bass panel is determined by its width. The Maggie panel is supposed to approximate a line-source, meaning that the width is small and height is large compared to the wavelength of the sound produced. When asked to produce a frequency that's too high (i.e. the panel's width becomes a significant fraction of a wavelength), the result is lobing (uneven dispersion). The frequency at which this occurs is easily computed from the knowledge that a 1 KHz tone has a wavelength of ~1 foot. The same consideration applies to the midrange panel and tweeter.

The lower frequency limit of the tweeter is set by its natural resonance frequency and power-handling ability. When asked to produce a frequency that's too low but above the resonance frequency, the tweeter will run out of excursion. There's also the danger of burning out the tweeter if the crossover frequency is set too low because more power is being directed to the tweeter. Below the resonance frequency, the output drops off rapidly. I'm not sure which limit (resonance, excursion, or power-handling) the true ribbon will hit first, but my limited experience with the QR tweeter suggests that resonance is less of a limiter than the other two.

Thus, there's a complex set of tradeoffs, of which frequency response is only one consideration! Personally, I favor flatter frequency response over higher power-handling because I never listen at loud volumes.
Ed



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  • Re: Crossover upgrade - maximum/ideal driver frequency ranges? - EdG 04/15/0207:57:06 04/15/02 (0)


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