I just assembled my first open baffle speaker this week, and I have a question about crossovers. (I hope to post a picture or two soon) The baffle is 22" by 36". The drivers for each speaker are a pair of dayton 5/8" tweeters back to back (out of phase), a Pioneer BOFU 8" full range without a low pass filter, and a Selenium WPU 1509 woofer. (I know the woofers are not optimal. I "borrowed" them from another project to test the concept.) I have a Marchand crossover currently set at 180 hertz/ 24 db per octave between the woofers and the BOFUs. (I am using 2 amplifiers) The Marchand does not permit different slopes or frequencies for the two drivers. Here is my question: since the BOFUs are going to roll off on their own at 18db/octave by themselves at some frequency because they are mounted on an open baffle, would their actual roll off with the active crossover be 24 + 18 = 42 db/octave? (or thereabouts) Should I add a second crossover to the woofers, maybe 18 db/octave passive between the amp and speakers to add up to 42 db/oct? Or don't use the active crossover to the BOFUs, and instead add a passive 6 db/octave cap between the BOFUs amp and the BOFUs to add up to 24 db/oct? Or something else I haven't thought of yet? All suggestions, comments, rants and musings are welcome!
