First let me state that I have seen improvements in the sound of many speakers through use of more powerful amplifiers. In particular, my MG 1.6 now enjoy 600 watts.
However, it is very obvious (a simple voltage measurement will do) that the power actually drawn by the speakers is nowhere near the amplifier's capability. There are other amplifier characteristric that come with high power capability that do the magic.
Crossover networks may have a lot to do with speaker performance, but they don't "eat up" power. If they did they would get very hot, which they don't, and could not be mounted inside a wool (or fiberglass) insulated box.
The first thing you learn in EE101 is that the power dissipated in a capacitor is zero.
The woofer inductor will generate a little heat because the woofer amps flow through the inductor. However, crossover inductors generally have low resistance compared with the driver, so most of the heat will end up in the driver voice coil.
A crossover without any capacitors means that the tweeter must have an inductor in parallel with it. To avoid a near dead short on the amplifier at low frequency a resistor must be put in series. This resistor, and the inductor will draw power, and will get hot. This "capacitorless" crossover is essentially a series crossover, with the woofer and its parallel capacitor replaced by a resistor.
However, it is very obvious (a simple voltage measurement will do) that the power actually drawn by the speakers is nowhere near the amplifier's capability. There are other amplifier characteristric that come with high power capability that do the magic.
Crossover networks may have a lot to do with speaker performance, but they don't "eat up" power. If they did they would get very hot, which they don't, and could not be mounted inside a wool (or fiberglass) insulated box.
The first thing you learn in EE101 is that the power dissipated in a capacitor is zero.
The woofer inductor will generate a little heat because the woofer amps flow through the inductor. However, crossover inductors generally have low resistance compared with the driver, so most of the heat will end up in the driver voice coil.
A crossover without any capacitors means that the tweeter must have an inductor in parallel with it. To avoid a near dead short on the amplifier at low frequency a resistor must be put in series. This resistor, and the inductor will draw power, and will get hot. This "capacitorless" crossover is essentially a series crossover, with the woofer and its parallel capacitor replaced by a resistor.