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Crossover definition

Could someone please explain the difference between Bessel, Butterworth, Linkwitz-Riley(sp?). I bought an active crossover with the ability to switch between these at various slopes. I know which slopes to use but not the type.
thinkat
markphd
667 posts
 
I'm not too technically knowledgeable but I'll go out on a limb here a little bit.

I don't think that Butterworth is a crossover. Rather it's a filter used in the crossover. It prevents the frequency response from getting too wavy around the crossover point. Since almost all crossovers use Butterworth filters, they are often called Butterworth crossovers.

Perhaps someone more knowledgeable might be able to add to (or contradict) this.
gregm
3,021 posts
 
I don't think that Butterworth is a crossover. Rather it's a filter
A crossover IS a filter. As you know, the xover is there to divide frequencies between drivers through attenuation (dependng upon how strong -- the slope or order -- that attenuation is one speaks one 1st order, 2nd, etc). To expand on the original question would be outside the scope of a post IMO. Suffice to say that each "type" of xover, Bessel, Butterworth, L/R, etc has electrical characteristics other than the order. One place to visit is here. There is alot of info on the net. Cheers
cinematic_systems
282 posts
 
Sorry Markphd,

That would be completely incorrect, anyone else care to try?
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