How to Set Up Active Crossovers By Kevin Krause, eHow Contributor Crossovers are an integral part of any high-end audio

system. They filter the au dio signal by frequency and direct it to the best amp and speaker in the system for maximum audio clarity. While passive crossovers are installed between the sp eaker and amp, and may lead to volume loss and be hard to adjust, active crossov ers filter the line signal from the stereo, allowing for a better-quality sound and ease of adjustment. A typical application for a three-way active crossover i s in a car audio system, but they can also be found in professional public annou ncement rigs and home theater systems. Other People Are Reading How to Adjust My Crossover for Best Sound How to Install Crossovers for Tweeters

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Things You'll Need Three-way active crossover Tri-amped audio system

Instructions 1 Mount the active crossover in a location between your stereo head unit and your system's amplifiers. If you do not plan to adjust it much after initial install, keeping the crossover behind the dash panels is a good option. If you wish to h ave easier access to the crossover's controls, install the unit near your amplif iers under a seat or in your trunk. 2 Connect the audio signal from the stereo unit to the audio inputs of the active crossover. Connect the outputs for each crossover band to the appropriate amplif ier, i.e. route the low signal to the subwoofer amps, the high signal to the twe eters, etc.

Make all necessary electrical connections. The crossover runs on 12-volt DC powe r and will need a power connection to the car's battery. You also must run a gro und line-to the car's chassis. You will also want to run a connection to an igni tion switched electrical signal so that the crossover does not drain the battery when the car is off. Consult the literature included with your crossover for co mplete wiring instructions. 4 Set the crossover's lowpass filter at 80 Hz. This will allow only frequencies be low 80 Hz, such as bass and kick drum, to pass through. This filter setting is u sed for the output routed to your subwoofer amps. 5 Set the highpass filter's crossover point at 3,000 Hz. This will let high-freque ncy sounds such as cymbals and acoustic harmonics pass to your tweeters. 6 Set the bandpass filter for your system's midrange speakers and amplifiers to cu t off frequencies below 80 Hz and above 3,000 Hz. 7 Play music typical to what you would listen to through your system and adjust th e crossover filters to taste to match your speakers and amplifiers. As you move the filter range of one filter, you will need to adjust the others to compensate . If you were to change your lowpass to 90 Hz, the bandpass will need to be chan ged to have a low cutoff point of 90 Hz rather than 80--though some overlap is O K and may even be beneficial depending on your system.

Tips & Warnings Install your active crossover in an easily accessible location to allow for easy adjustments in the future. Do not set the crossover signals to a frequency that could damage your speakers. For instance, do not set the highpass filter to a bass frequency, as the tweete rs are not designed to handle high bass levels and could be damaged. How to Set Up Active Crossovers By Kevin Krause, eHow Contributor --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------