Outboard crossover? Why not?

Well, those significant others could try and accept their fate and enjoy extra Cartier piece presented in an elegant manner.
But it can be tough, I know.

Hello inna,

The loudspeakers I use, Dali MegaLine III, must employ an active electronic crossover. 

Regards,
Sam

Inna,

I’m assuming you are discussing having a passive crossover, that is outside of the speaker cabinet, right?

There are no disadvantages at all, but several possible advantages. I should point out there’s a hybrid approach. In this, there is a separate enclosure just for the crossover components but the enclosure itself appears part of the speaker. I personally like this solution the best.

Advantages include:

• Reduced effects of microphonic interactions with the speaker or the amp
  
• More physical space is available for the crossover, allowing for the use of massive coils and caps which may not have fit otherwise
• Less space is needed for the speaker cabinet
  
• Better crossover cooling, which keeps the crossover’s behavior stable
  
• Since the heat generated by the crossover stays outside the cabinet, the temperature inside the cabinet are reduced which keeps the drivers cooler and are therefore less prone to thermal compression
  

If you were talking about active vs. passive, it’s more complicated. :)

Best,


Erik

Erik, that's quite a detailed post. I guess, I was talking about passive crossover. Pardon my ignorance, what are passive and active crossovers? In simple terms, please, I mean in English.
So, maybe we should lobby speaker designers and ask them to stop fooling around with designs that by definition cannot yield best results.

I didnt say all inner crossovers were bad, but that ther could be benefits of externals.  an active crossover is before the amplifier.  its called active because it needs a power supply.  the subwoofer output of a dvd player is a type of active crossover.

Erik