Best Active Crossovers?

Hello,

Thank you for your responses!

Peter, Digimoda seems Interesting. I never had Class D amplification in my system, only Class A amplification, so I wonder if it could be better. I usually read that Class A sounds better than Class D.

Marty, Regarding DEQX, it seems interesting. In principle I don't like very much the idea of inserting a AD and DA into the signal path, being happy with my Playback Designs + Krell Phanton path, but certainly I can only know for sure if I eventually try it.

Ngjockey, Regarding Holm, it seems quite interesting, but again I wonder if it would sound better than Playback Designs + Krell Phanton +Active analog crossover. I guess I would need to try to know for sure.

I guess these are all very interesting and radical alternatives. I wonder if I will be able to compare them against the simpler option of just upgrading the crossover components of my SC-VIs crossovers, something that I am already doing or inserting an audiophile quality active analog crossover.

Would anyone know about an analog competitor to the KBX crossover? A better, and possibly more modern, audiophile level active analog crossover?

Thank you!

Thank you!

I am reading the Loudspeaker Design cookbook.

For all I have read, considering the 4-way crossover of the Dunlavy SC-VI has 34 components doing a lot of equalization, it believe I will go with the path of just upgrading the components of the crossover for now and listen to the effect of each component upgrade, starting with the most critical ones.

Sometime in the future I may try the active crossover path, but in a way that I can compare with the upgraded passive crossover. Perhaps with the Holm or DEQX.

Given that the crossover of the SC-VI does have a lot of driver compensation, perhaps best is just to:

1) upgrade the critical components of the 4 way passive crossover.

2) bi-amp using one amp for the tweeter and 5"mid, and one amp for the 8" and 15" woofers. I would have the added control of having two amps per speaker. Should I feed the whole signal to the amps, or put a Pass XVR-1 between the preamp and the four mono-amps? If I feed the whole signal to each amp, the four way crossovers in the speakers would be able to deal with it, as they already do now. There are to pairs of binding post, the to goes to tweeter and 5", the bottom goes to 8" and 15" portion of the crossover.

3) I could possibly use the DEQX HDP-4 in-line Digital to Digital, before the Playback Designs MPS-5 and Krell Phantom, so I would not be using the DAC and PRE stages of the DEQX. I stopped using the TACT 2.2X Digital to Digital because it decreased substantially the level of detail. How good is a DEQX HDP-4 D to D? Much more transparent than the TACT?

What do you think?

Thanks.

Correct. The new passive crossovers will be external. I will keep the original crossovers intact for comparison or if one day I decide to sell. It will be a long multi step process. The first step will use original solen caps and inductors, replacing all resistors with duelund. The second step will be to replace the most critical caps in the circuits of the tweeter and 5" mids. Then the most important components, mostly inductors, in the 8" and 15" path. Then possibly the less critical components. I am thinking about using dh labs Q-10 wire and Mundorf supreme solder. I am wondering what would be the best connectors for the 14 driver wires, since I don't think soldering and desoldering repeatedly is the best way. Any suggestions?