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Speakers with external parts, gimmicks or serious?

So I’ve seen, very rarely, speakers that allowed users to change the crossovers by swapping parts. Some by having external hookups to a resistor or capacitor. This isn't just having an external crossover, but having the crossover specifically designed to swap parts in and out. Kind of like some of the high end phono preamps that require jumpers or parts to be swapped.

In theory this would give a lot of flexibility in treble balance but also sound quality. What do you think, would this be a real game changer, or is it better to have this control elsewhere.

Best,


Erik
erik_squires
czarivey
4,494 posts
 
Well, there are speakers with adjustable crossovers and pots in rear pannel such as Vandersteen, Sansui. 
erik_squires OP
5,268 posts
 
@timlub

Overall, most manufactures try to obtain a flat response....

I think that's a little generous from what I've seen. Many "high end" speakers are juiced one way or another. From rough treble to dips around 2.4kHz to enhance an artificial sense of imaging to boosts in the bass, or low impedance mid-bass to make speakers seem more "discerning." Product differentiation is very important to many manufacturers and that's hard to do when they all share the same frequency response.

There are of course exceptional products that try for exceptional neutrality, but I think saying "most" try for flat is a little generous. Over time speaker "voicing" of a particular manufacturer also may change as do the fads and what a magazine may promote as "best."

There's also the matter of listening habit and style. Flat in a test room isn't flat in your room, and you may not like it. If you listen at low volumes, boosts at the ends may be ideal.

Best,


Erik

timlub
1,649 posts
 
@erik_squires 
I'm a generous kinda guy
audiokinesis
1,872 posts
 

Most of my home audio speakers include an external "resistor in a cup" that is wired in parallel with a resistor on the crossover board (which is inside the speaker).  This external resistor functions as a "tilt" control for the tweeter; that is, changing this resistor has more effect at 10 kHz than down at 2 kHz (my tweeters are typically crossed over between 1 kHz and 2 kHz).  This allows some tailoring for room acoustics, associated equipment, and personal preference and is imo more transparent than using an off-the-shelf adjustable L-pad. 

enliten
38 posts
 
Erik,

We are working to bring this control to audiophiles by bringing the crossover into the electronics. Although active crossovers may be daunting to many folks, some really appreciate the idea of taking control of the 'tilt's etc. These things are part of the 'personal taste' factor in audio, and giving control of this allows audiophiles a chance to like a speaker they normally would not like with a passive fixed crossover.

But you got to be willing to be a 'geek'...
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