Figure18 : FrequencyResponse Figure19 : PowerDistribution versus Frequency
MULTIWAY SPEAKERSYSTEMS AND ACTIVE
BOXES
Multiway loudspeaker systems provide the best
possible acoustic performance since each loudspeaker is specially designed and optimized to
handle a limited range of frequencies.Commonly,
these loudspeakersystems dividetheaudio spectruminto two, three or four bands.
TomaintainaflatfrequencyresponseovertheHi-Fi
audio range the bands covered by each loudspeakermust overlap slightly. Imbalancebetween
the loudspeakers produces unacceptable results
therefore it is important to ensure that each unit
generates the correct amount of acoustic energy
for its segment of the audio spectrum. In this respect it is also important to know the energy distribution of the music spectrum determine the cutoff
frequenciesofthecrossoverfilters (seeFigure19).
As an example, a 100W three-way system with
crossover frequencies of 400Hz and 3kHz would
require50W for the woofer, 35Wfor the midrange
unitand 15W for the tweeter.
Both active and passive filters can be used for
crossoversbut today activefilters costsignificantly
less than a good passivefilter using air-cored inductorsandnon-electrolyticcapacitors.Inaddition,
active filters do not suffer from the typicaldefects
of passive filters :
- powerloss
- increased impedance seen by the loudspeaker
(lowerdamping)
- difficulty of precise design due to variable loud-
speakerimpedance
Obviously,active crossovers can only be used if a
poweramplifierisprovidedfor eachdriveunit.This
makes it particularly interesting and economically
soundto use monolithic power amplifiers. In some
applications, complex filters are not really necessary and simple RC low-pass and high-pass networks(6dB/octave) can be recommended.
The results obtained are excellent because this is
the best type of audio filter and the only one free
from phase and transientdistortion.
The rather poor out of band attenuation of single
RC filters means that the loudspeakermust operate linearlywell beyondthe crossoverfrequencyto
avoid distortion.
A more effective solution, named ”Active Power
Filter” by SGS is shownin Figure20.
Figure20 : Active PowerFilter
The proposed circuit can realize combined power
amplifiers and 12dB/octave or 18dB/octave highpass or low-pass filters.
In practice, at the input pins of the amplifier two
equal and in-phase voltages are available, as requiredfor the activefilter operation.
TDA2040
10/13