AVSL Citronic CX34 - Manual (Page 4)

4 170.929UK, 170.932UK User Manual
What is an Active Crossover?
A crossover is a device for separating the high frequencies from the low frequencies in a sound
reinforcement system. Passive crossovers exist in speaker cabinets to split the high and low
frequencies of an amplifier output and feed into the appropriate speaker components.
This is usually necessary in cabinets with separate low frequency and high frequency speaker
components (woofers and tweeters) but can be inefficient because it operates on the high energy
output from an amplifier and dissipates much energy as heat.
Active crossovers operate
before the amplifier(s) stage, where the signal is typically less than a Volt,
affording accurate and efficient separation of the component frequencies. Essentially, an active
crossover splits each audio signal into 2, 3 or even 4 sets of frequencies, feeding each into a
separate amplifier, which in turn powers a specific speaker component.
This allows each speaker component to handle just the type of sound it produces most efficiently,
avoiding wasting energy from the amplifier.
Configuration

The CX23 can be configured as a 2-way stereo or 3-way mono crossover

The CX34 can be configured as a 2-way stereo, 3-way stereo or 4-way mono crossover

The connection and operating mode depends upon the type of amplifier configuration (bi-amp, tri-
amp or quad-amp)