The Cloud CX2300 3 Way Stereo Active Crossover has been designed without
compromise to operate with very low levels of noise and distortion as part of a high
quality professional sound system. A high degree of security is provided by using fixed
frequency plug-in filter cards together with a tamper proof cover for the front panel. Once
the unit has been correctly installed, no unauthorised adjustments can be made thus
maintaining system integrity and reliability.
Balanced audio connections are used throughout via Neutrik 3 pin XLR type connectors
with gold plated pins. We suggest that balanced interface connections are used wherever
possible, even for very short interconnections to take advantage of the common mode
rejection and freedom from earth loops when wired correctly.
The control layout is very simple and logical with each frequency band having its own
stereo controls for gain, phase invert and mute. In addition, a 20Hz high pass filter can be
switched in or out of the signal path. All these controls and switches, including the power
switch are protected by the security cover supplied with every unit.
Plug-in fixed frequency filter cards determine the frequency characteristics of the CX2300
and these can be specified from the list detailed in section 6.01. To change the frequency
of any filter card, refer to the component list in section 6.01 which gives details of
resistors which should be fitted to the filter card to achieve a particular frequency.
Experienced installers who are fully conversant with the Active filters and
Crossovers skip to section 3 for installation details.
2Active Filters and Crossovers
2.01Why use an Active Filter/Crossover ?
Virtually all high quality speaker systems whether domestic or professional use two or
three drivers to cover the whole of the audio spectrum with each driver specially designed
to reproduce a finite frequency range. In most low to medium power speaker systems, a
single full range power amplifier would be used to feed a passive crossover to filter the
signals to the two or three speakers within the full range enclosure. There are several
disadvantages when using full range amplification and passive filters; any differences in
driver efficiency have to be corrected by adding power resistors which is both wasteful
and reduces driver damping; High order passive filters with good attenuation levels are
expensive and inefficient; Any distortion present in the power amplifier is heard across the
whole audio spectrum.
A well designed fully active system will overcome all of the above problems, the sound
quality will be improved and the system will be much easier to set up. In a typical active
sound system, the bass, middle and treble regions would each have their own speaker
drive units which would be wired directly to separate power amplifiers. The bass amplifier
would be the most powerful, the amplifier used for the mid range would be around half the
power of the bass amplifier and the treble amplifier would be around half to two thirds the
power of that of the mid range amplifier.
The active filter/crossover would be used to separate the two or three frequency bands at
line level immediately before the signal connects to the power amplifiers.
Some active filters have adjustable crossover frequency controls which can be useful
when testing the system to determine the most satisfactory frequency but care must be
taken to ensure that any final setting is within the speaker manufacturers specifications.
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NSTALLATION AND OPERATION MANUAL
Once the crossover frequencies have been determined, an active filter with fixed
frequencies determined by plug-in cards may be preferable for a fixed installation.
2.02What are the optimum crossover frequencies?
A professional sound system should have a useful response from below 30Hz to above
20kHz but this overall response is a function of the design of the enclosures and the
placement within the building and is beyond the scope of this manual. Wherever possible
refer to the manufacturers specification for details of the crossover frequencies. Where no
specific details are available, there are practical guidelines which can be used to
determine the most suitable crossover frequencies for a particular system.
It is common to find multiples of 38cm and 45cm drivers used in low frequency
enclosures where the upper frequency limit of around 800Hz is dictated by a narrowing of
the dispersion and a loss of definition. The optimum upper limit is around 250Hz.
Where cone drivers are used for mid range purposes, the lower frequency limit should be
no lower than double the resonance of the drive unit and should be compatible with the
upper frequency limit of the bass drivers. The upper limit is again dictated by a narrowing
of the dispersion and loss of definition. For 30cm drive units the upper limit is 1.5kHz and
2kHz for 25cm units.
3
The high frequency section would normally use horn loaded compression drivers and
manufacturers data would have to be used to determine the most suitable crossover
frequency. A higher frequency than that specified by the manufacturer is often chosen to
improve the reliability of the compression driver's diaphragm. A system compressor/limiter
is also often used to prevent clipping of the power amplifiers output waveform which can
cause premature destruction of the diaphragm(s).
If compression drivers with horns are used to handle the high frequencies, it is common
practice to improve the ultra high frequencies by adding horn loaded tweeters to the same
circuit by using passive filters usually at frequencies above 5kHz.
2.03Why 3 pole filters ?
When designing the CX2300, we were mindful of the requirement that the unit should
sound good. It is generally accepted that odd order filters sound more musical than their
even order counterparts and our own tests confirm this. The use of third order Butterworth
filters gives a high 18dB/octave roll off which relates to a power reduction of 85% per
octave.
3Installation
3.01Installation notes for the experienced installation engineer
The Cloud CX2300 is a stereo three way active crossover designed primarily for use as
part of a professional sound system. The use of plug-in fixed frequency filter cards and
the supplied anti-tamper cover provides a high level of security and helps to preserve the
control settings and system reliability. The unit can be used in the two way mode if
required by using one filter card and positioning the PC mounted switch in the two way
mode (see section 4.01).
The CX2300 would normally have been supplied as a fully tested unit with the filter cards
fitted at the factory. For details of the crossover frequencies, see the documentation that
was supplied with the unit or alternatively, details are given on the plug-in cards.
For optimum performance and low noise operation, we strongly advise the use of
balanced interconnections with high quality XLR type connectors and two core screened
cables. If you experience low frequency 'hum loops' we suggest that you connect the
cable screen at the input end (amplifier) only and any common mode signal should be
rejected.
The CX2300 should be rack mounted close to the system power amplifiers but care
should be taken to avoid mounting the unit in close proximity to any power amplifier which
may radiate a high magnetic field from the core of its power transformer. It is good
practice to distance the line level wiring from the speaker wiring.
The CX2300 should be connected into the audio chain between the full range signal
processing equipment (such as mixers, equalisers and compressors etc) and the power
amplifiers.
When setting up the sound system, we suggest that the CX2300 level controls are set
before any other equalisation adjustments are made. The 20Hz high pass filter is
provided to protect speakers from excessive cone excursion in reflex enclosures but may
not be required if similar filters are present in other equipment (Cloud CXF & CXM mixers
have fixed 20Hz high pass filters).
3.02Mounting
The CX2300 is designed for standard 19" rack mounting and occupies 1U of rack space.
Avoid mounting the unit directly above or below power amplifiers or power supplies that
radiate significant amounts of heat and strong magnetic fields. Fibre or plastic washers
may be used to prevent the front panel becoming marked by the mounting screws.
3.03Audio Connections
Always use balanced interconnections wherever possible using high quality 2 core
screened cable. The wiring convention is: pin 2 hot (+ phase), pin 3 cold (- phase) and pin
1 signal ground. The shell of the XLR type connector is connected to the chassis (see
section 5.04 'Signal connections and EMC').
The CX2300 is designed as a stereo active crossover and the front panel controls and
internal circuitry operate as a two channel stereo device. If the audio system is configured
for mono operation, only one channel should be used.
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NSTALLATION AND OPERATION MANUAL
3.04Schematic Diagram
5
3.05Power connections
The unit will have left the factory configured to operate from a power input of 230V ?10%
at 40 to 60Hz. If the unit is required to operate from a 115V ?10% follow the following
instructions:
1Disconnect the power lead from the power input connector.
2Using a number 2 pozidrive screwdriver, remove the six self tapping screws
retaining the top panel of the unit.
3Using a number 1 pozidrive screwdriver, remove the 5 M3 machine screws that
retain the PCB to the bottom panel. These can be located:
Adjacent to IC10.
Next to R33.
Near C16.
Two screws near the power transformer.
4From the under side of the unit, remove the 6 self tapping screws retaining the
bottom panel, using the number 2 pozidrive.
5If the unit is currently configured for 230V operation, one zero ohm link should be
fitted into the 230V position adjacent to the power transformer. Remove this link
and fit two links into the positions marked '115V'.
6Change the power fuse to a T100mA type.
7Mark the rear panel of the unit to indicate the revised input voltage and fuse
rating.
8Re-fit the two covers and secure the PCB in reverse order.
3.06Plug-in Filter Cards
Access to the filter card
1Disconnect the power cable from the CX2300.
2Using a number 2 pozidrive screwdriver, remove the six screws which retain the
top panel in place.
3Locate the two plug-in cards mounted on the mother board. The low frequency
card is nearest the power transformer.
4Remove the two M3 machine screws which hold the plug-in card in place, then
withdraw the card vertically.
5Replace the card with care, ensuring that the mounting holes align perfectly with
the threaded mounting posts.
6Replace the top panel.
4Operation and Controls
4.01Two Way Operation
Whilst the CX2300 will be used predominantly in the three way mode, the unit can be
used on two way systems. In this mode of operation, just one filter card, the low
frequency card, is used and the mode switch (mounted on the PCB) should be in the 'two
way' mode. LED's on the front panel indicate the mode of operation. When operating in
the two way mode, the high frequency output is used and the middle frequency output is
muted. The two bands are controlled on the front panel by the low frequency and middle
frequency sections with the high frequency section inoperative.
4.02Do I use the 20Hz high pass filter ?
The ported reflex bass enclosure is used extensively in professional sound systems and a
characteristic of this design is that the cone of the LF driver is not loaded below the tuned
frequency of the enclosure and some form of excursion protection must be provided to
prevent the driver from possible physical destruction. The 20Hz high pass filter in the
CX2300 can be used to provide this protection at the rate of 18dB/octave. An additional
advantage of the filter is to help reduce acoustic feedback derived from turntable pickups
but only if the feedback occurs below 20Hz. Care must be taken to make sure that the
signal has not been processed by other filters in the signal chain (the Cloud CXM & CXF
mixers both have fixed 20Hz high pass 3 pole filters) unless double protection is desired.
4.03The Invert Switch
It is often not practical to align the diaphragms and voice coils of the many drivers such
that they are all coincident and in addition, both equalisation and filter circuits can cause
small amounts of phase shift. The phase reverse switch will introduce a phase shift of 180
degrees and the most suitable position of the switch is best found by subjective tests
when the system is set up.
4.04The Mute Switch
This facility would normally be used during initial testing/setting up or perhaps when fault
finding. Operating the mute switch will totally silence the respective frequency band on
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NSTALLATION AND OPERATION MANUAL
both left and right channel. Operating each band in isolation can be very revealing if you
wish to focus your attention on a particular driver(s).
4.05The Gain Controls
All three bands have their own stereo gain control with a range of gain from a centre unity
position (0dB) to -12dB of attenuation in the anti-clockwise position and up to 6dB of gain
in the clockwise position. When setting up the sound system, all equalisation controls
should be in the flat position, including any Graphic Equalisers.
Using a pink noise source, the system should be set up using a spectrum analyser and
the level controls should be adjusted by leaving the LF gain in the centre (0dB) position
and adjusting the mid and HF gain controls to give a response as close as possible to a
falling response of around 3dB/octave as the frequency increases. Fine adjustments
should then be made via the system equaliser.
5Circuit Description
5.01Schematic diagram
7
5.02The Audio Path
Both left and right input circuits feature an electronically balanced input stage with a gain
of -6dB which feed a bandpass filter with a switchable 20Hz highpass section and a fixed
50kHz lowpass filter. The filter output is routed to the 'in-phase' side of the phase invert
switches and the same signal is inverted and fed to the other side of the phase invert
switches. The output of these switches is connected to the three variable gain stages
including the mute switches. The low frequency section then routes the signal through the
low pass section of the low frequency card to the balanced output stage which has a gain
of 6dB. The mid frequency section feeds the signal through the high pass section of the
LF Card and then through the low pass section of the HF Card before reaching the
balanced output stage. The high frequency section uses the high pass section of the HF
Card and its balanced output stage.
5.03The Power Supply
The CX2300 has a standard bi-polar 15-0-15 volt power supply derived from the two
adjustable regulators. This enables a smooth power-on as the circuitry has a slow rise
characteristic thus reducing power supply derived thumps and other extraneous signals
which often find their way on to the audio signal.
5.04Signal Connections and EMC
The CX2300 is fully compatible with the Electromagnetic Compatibility standards and if
you propose to use the unit where it may be exposed to high levels of disturbance such
as may be found close to a TV or radio transmitter we suggest that the screen of the
signal cables should be connected to the chassis connection on the XLR type connector.
To avoid any ground loops, the signal earth (pin 1) should only be connected at the
receiving end of the cable when the common mode rejection should reduce any
unwanted signals to a negligible level.
5.05The benefits of balanced interconnections.
Most professional audio equipment utilise balanced inputs and outputs using the familiar
3 pin XLR type connector or perhaps a 3 pole 6.3mm phone jack. A balanced output
stage will normally have a very low output impedance and will happily drive a line with a
load as low as 600Ω. The interconnecting cable should have two twisted cores with an
overall screen and any interference that may penetrate the screen would be picked up by
the two inner cores and appear as a common mode signal. The balanced input stage is
sensitive to differential signals only and features a high rejection of the common mode
signal (Common Mode Rejection or CMR) which may be interference or ground loop
hums. We therefore strongly suggest that balanced interconnections are used by default.
5.06Using the CX2300 with unbalanced equipment.
The CX2300 can be used with any equipment with unbalanced signal ports. Where the
signal source is unbalanced, connect the signal ground to pins 1 & 3 and use pin 2 as the
hot signal input. This will result in no signal loss and will operate normally but without the
benefits of noise and interference cancellation.
If the output of the CX2300 is driving an unbalanced load, connect the screen to pin 1 and
the hot signal output to pin 2. Do not make any connection to pin 3 whatsoever. The
system will operate with a gain loss of 6dB which can be recovered by rotating the front
panel gain controls clockwise.
5.0740Hz - the minimum frequency.
The circuitry of the CX2300 is arranged so that the mother board is fitted with two low
pass filters and two high pass filters which operate at the low frequency of 40Hz with no
plug-in card fitted. The filter cards are fitted with resistors which connect in parallel to the
resistors on the mother board and increase the operating frequency of the filters. The
minimum crossover frequency is therefore determined by the fixed 40Hz with no card
fitted and the practical upper limit is 8kHz.
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NSTALLATION AND OPERATION MANUAL
6How to change the frequency of the filter card.
The frequency of the filter cards supplied with the unit will probably have been specified
at the time of ordering. If the frequency requires to be changed, please refer to the table
of resistor values in section 6.01. The filter card has a total of 24 resistors fitted but for
some frequencies not all 24 are required to be fitted.
It is important to make a note of the frequency on the card for future reference.
Power requirements230V ± 10% / 115V ±10% 40-60Hz AC
Fuse ratings230V – T50mA 115V - T100mA
DimensionsWidth 482.6mm (19" rack mtg)
Height 44.0mm (1U) Depth 175.0mm
Weight3Kgs
This product conforms to the following European Standards
EN 50081-1: 1992
EN 50082-1: 1992
EN 60065 : 1994
SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS
CAUTION - MAINS FUSE
TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE REPLACE THE MAINS FUSE ONLY WITH THE SAME
TYPE, WHICH MUST BE A CLASS 3, 240 VOLT, TIME DELAY TYPE, RATED AT 50mA
WHERE THE MAINS INPUT VOLTAGE IS SET TO 230 Volts ± 5% AC. FOR A MAINS
VOLTAGE OF 115 Volts ± 5% AC. THE FUSE SHOULD BE RATED AT 100mA
THE FUSE BODY SIZE IS 20mm x 5mm.
CAUTION - SERVICING
THIS UNIT CONTAINS NO USER SERVICEABLE PARTS. REFER ALL SERVICING TO
QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL. DO NOT PERFORM ANY SERVICING UNLESS YOU
ARE QUALIFIED TO DO SO.
WARNING
TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT EXPOSE THIS
EQUIPMENT TO RAIN OR MOISTURE.
22/12/00
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