Can we get rid of crossovers in amps?

[Smitty]

Anybody here with amp manufacturing knowledge? I'm curious if removing crossovers from amplifiers would drop the cost much.

When I first got into this, an outboard crossover was a must. With DSP's becoming more affordable and more popular, would dropping the crossover and going back to a simple amplifier be something we might see?

[Hillbilly SQ]

Sadly I think we're just a small fraction of a percent of the car audio group. The only way I can see this happening is in flagship amps like what Zapco did with the AP line. Then those are out of most people's budget. Personally I don't think I've used the onboard crossover in an amp in my own vehicle in probably 15 years at least. And onboard crossovers that can't be switched to "full" automatically knock otherwise good amp candidates off the list.

[Euphonic]

It wouldn't lower the price of the amplifiers by much, if any.

[JCsAudio]

I'm with you guys on this one although I wonder just how much if any it actually affects the sound. I will often max out the HP for an amplifier running tweeters as sort of a safety for the tweeter in case the DSP decides to not do its job. For example I have the HP on my DLS amp maxed at 500 hz running the tweeters.

[jtrosky]

Sadly I think we're just a small fraction of a percent of the car audio group. The only way I can see this happening is in flagship amps like what Zapco did with the AP line. Then those are out of most people's budget. Personally I don't think I've used the onboard crossover in an amp in my own vehicle in probably 15 years at least. And onboard crossovers that can't be switched to "full" automatically knock otherwise good amp candidates off the list.

It's funny you mention that. When considering amps for my install, I had it down to either the JL Audio XD600/6v2 or the AudioControl LC-6.1200. I could actually get the AudioControl for less $$ (and it's basically twice the power), but the fact that all of it's crossovers weren't "defeatable" was one of the main reasons why I went with the JL Audio. Why in the world would then make it so you can't defeat the crossovers?? I just didn't understand that on an amp that was otherwise uber-configurable...

[Hillbilly SQ]

It's funny you mention that. When considering amps for my install, I had it down to either the JL Audio XD600/6v2 or the AudioControl LC-6.1200. I could actually get the AudioControl for less $$ (and it's basically twice the power), but the fact that all of it's crossovers weren't "defeatable" was one of the main reasons why I went with the JL Audio. Why in the world would then make it so you can't defeat the crossovers?? I just didn't understand that on an amp that was otherwise uber-configurable...

That's the main reason I sold my JL RD900/5 because of the undefeatable crossovers and it was running midbass so it got extra tricky. I really like the sound of the JL XD. Great control of the speakers.

[jrwalte]

Even more ironic. If you want amps with no crossovers, then you pay a premium for audiophile amp like Zapco AP