Tweet
What is a good ratio for Crossover cost vs. Driver cost?
-
-
umm...2:1? We are doing the Lineup Maxx's and the drivers are about 550 the crossover parts about 360. -
Formula? None that I'm aware of.....
From my experience with high-end systems it's certainly not unusual for the XO parts cost to equal that of the drivers.
Last week I ordered the parts just to make the tweeter Zobel for the Isiris, those alone were $60/side..... 8O
IB subwoofer FAQ page
"Complicated equipment and light reflectors and various other items of hardware are enough, to my mind, to prevent the birdie from coming out." ...... Henri Cartier-BressonComment
-
How much to spend on crossovers? As much as necessary to do the job. No more...no less.
If you stay away from exotic components you will be able to do it fairly affordable. In general... cheaper drivers require more expensive crossovers. Why? Because they tend to need more protection, have more issues to be addressed and just require a better crossover than better drivers.
This is a generalization though. There are some high-end drivers that suck. They require a lot of work in the crossover and cost a lot too. Thats high end audio for you. ;-)Comment
-
The crossovers for my Khanspires were roughly the same cost as the driver. I think that is pretty normal for the projects here. Other designers use less expensive crossovers, it is just a matter of priorities and goals.
Most of the projects in the Mission Accomplished section have detailed bill of materials which you can look at and compare the driver costs to crossovers.Comment
-
I agree on ratio.Originally posted by Dougie085
However, you've got crossover parts and drivers mixed up.
Seriously, there is NO way to say. 2-way or 3-way? That alone makes a huge difference.
CdiVine Sound - my DIY speaker designs at diVine AudioComment
-
I agree with CJD and others. The drivers might be a good value- for example the Vifa D26 which is excellent. Why skimp on parts quality because the tweeter was less than $30? I certainly wouldn't. A good rule of thumb is to use polys everywhere and air core inductors. If on a budget, next decide where the least sonically influencial parts are and skimp on them.
JedComment
-
The more complex the speaker design IE 3way the more expensive the crossover is going to be. And then you get into drivers that are great performers but have funky breakup nodes or what not and need specially designed crossovers that adds complexity and cost.Comment
-
Buy what you can afford. For most projects it's 1/3 of the total components. But I've also had projects where the x-over is the most expensive part (Duelund, Jon's cauer filters).
Try to get at least air core inductors (with low resistance) and MKP caps.Comment
Comment