Why HiFi manufacturers don't make active crossovers anymore?

The two most important considerations for a stereo are your speakers and the room that they are in. Passive set ups don’t allow you to dial in the speaker room interaction like active crossovers do. That’s the real advantage in my opinion. I use REW with a high end microphone to analyze the room. I’m able to add 12 biquad filters to each channel with my mini DSP. The distortion tamed by this process is unbelievable and the sound improvements truly amazing. Most consumers don’t want to mess with the process but it only requires probably a day of messing around and then it’s set which people argue is a Sisyphean task and never ending. You need to add multiple amps as people have noted and have multiple subs to really make an active set up effective as most distortion and negative room interactions happen at lower octaves. 

@mahlman

I use the 2x8 mini DSP. All filters are run at 24x96 and I have everything connected via balanced connections. The computer interface is simple and intuitive. Basic slopes are easy to create and load. On the 2x8 I added a selector knob which offers multiple options for source and many configurations for each source based on what you are listening to. For example I have a 5db increase on the subs for movies. Having the extra oomph is fun, makes friends jump out of their seats :) I also got the add on for SPDIF inputs which is lossless and seamless from my Mac Mini. 

I bought the board and case separately that they offer. It’s a very high quality piece of equipment. The flexibility is impressive.

The 2x4 only offers RCA connections and runs at 24x48. Depending on your application and size limitations I would spend a little more and go with the 2x8 option.

I disagree that analog crossovers inherently sound better. You can make more complicated slopes that address issues with the room that no analog crossover can touch. You can time align the speakers from the listening position which alone is a huge benefit to imaging. When the filters operate at 24/96 or higher there is no loss of fidelity. While some users make fun of people being intimidated, it’s like anything, that once you know how to do it of course it’s easy. Leveraging the power of Room EQ Wizard and Multi Sub Optimizer to build filters that make the best sound in a room has an initial steep learning curve but the payoff is amazing. I’m happy to talk anyone through it as it took me a great deal of reading and trial and error to get everything to work. 

Hi Everyone,

    Happened to be looking through my threads I’ve participated in and thought you’d all be interested in my recent experience with a new crossover being made by Danville Signal Processing, the dspNexus. I met the CEO at AXPONA and volunteered to be in the early adopter program. It processes at 192K and has the highest quality DACs in each of its 8 channels. You can see all the specs on my profile in the system details. I will say my stereo has never sounded better. The room correction is so flat I’ve never seen anything like it in all my life, you can build your system virtually in Audio Weaver and the team at Danville spent many one on one hours offering assistance. If you’ve been waiting for the one, this is it. I couldn’t recommend it more, my music has never sounded better. It is eerie how real it is. 
 

Thanks,

Steve