Outboard crossover? Why not?

back then Apogee Diva ribbon speakers used to have an external passive x-over. I agree with erik_squires re. the adv of external passive (& active) x-overs.
i also agree that not all passive internal x-overs are bad or compromised. There are several speaker manuf that take a lot of trouble to get the correct & optimum internal passive x-over into their speaker cabinet. 

@bombaywalla 
The Apogee's had no real speaker cabinet though, did they? :) I mean, it was one giant magnet frame.

I did not write anything about advantages of active vs. passive, by the way, at least not here. :) It's more complicated than one or the other being better. Depends on your values and needs.

My preference is a fully digital crossover feeding reference grade DAC's and a multi-channel preamp, but I can't afford that at all. :) After that it's passive.


Best,

Erik

I agree with the advantages mentioned and think it's worth emphasizing Erik's comment "Reduced effects of microphonic interactions with the speaker". That translates to blacker background and lower distortions. 
It's a shame that perceived visual issues have resulted in fewer external crossovers, especially since most of them sit right behind the speaker which is pulled out from the wall anyway. Usually they can't be seen from the listening area and even if they are it's less visually imposing than making the cabinet twice as deep for the extra room some require to include the electronics.
The cost of another pair of extra chassis especially with upscale veneers adds significantly to to production cost. So do multiple strands of high quality jumpers like the silver ones that Nola uses. Cheers,
Spencer

erik_squires504 posts08-25-2016 11:14am@bombaywalla 
The Apogee's had no real speaker cabinet though, did they? :) I mean, it was one giant magnet frame.

yes, essentially correct. The cabinet was very wide & about 3 inches thick. And it was very easy to hide the xternal x-over behind that wide frame @  essentially no visual cost. A standard metal box which kept out RFI & EMI did the trick for holding the passive x-over components.

My preference is a fully digital crossover feeding reference grade DAC's and a multi-channel preamp, but I can't afford that at all. :) After that it's passive.

you know I doubt that you will need a preamp as you can find several DACs in the market that have built in digital volume control  that dont compromise sound quality (one such example is DEQX) OR several that have an analog volume control so that you can go straight into an amplifier.