Active Crossover advice needed.

[Patton04]

Anyone have advice on an active Crossover for a 2 channel system. Running an oppo205, streamer, into McIntosh c52 driven by McIntosh mc611's. Have 2 JL audio e112's hooked up to stereo outputs from c52. Speakers are focal kanta 2's.
Tried the martin Logan setup, sub crossover at speaker low freq rolloff. Ok, but not great. Speakers really rolloff at around 50-55. Prob, speakers still outputting full freq band, so subs and speakers covering 20-50hz.
Tried the processors, marantz, anthem, etc. Anthem came closest to real sound with correction below 500hz. Don't like the muted sound of room correction.
So, thinking an active Crossover. Speakers won't do anything below 100hz, subs do rest.
Looking at the JL audio cr1.
Also, computer illiterate, so mini-dsp is sort of out for me.
Anyone work with the cr1, any advice would be appreciated!

 

[Kal Rubinson]

The CR-1 is an excellent, if expensive, device.

JL Audio Fathom f212v2 powered subwoofer & CR-1 crossover

It was all so familiar. In "Music in the Round" in the January 2016 issue, Kal Rubinson praised JL Audio's latest subwoofer, the Fathom f113v2. He raved about its amplifier's higher power over the original f113, its beefier 13" woofer, its improved, 18-band Digital Automatic Room Optimization...

www.stereophile.com

JL Audio Fathom f110v2 powered subwoofer Page 2

www.stereophile.com

 

[Patton04]

Thanks Kal, I don't put much stock in their (Stereophiles) sponsored content. Looking for other members experience, good-bad, or other options.

 

[anotherhobby]

I'd look at the new miniDSP Flex. You can get it with balanced in/out to work with your nice McIntosh gear. Maybe even the cheaper regular miniDSP 2x4 would work for you (not balanced though). I wouldn't be so afraid of the tech side - they are pretty easy.

The K231 is another option.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

Thanks Kal, I don't put much stock in their (Stereophiles) sponsored content. Looking for other members experience, good-bad, or other options.

Then, please, don't thank me.

 

[Doodski]

That's funny, right there.

It's classy unlike @Patton04's present showing.

 

[DHT 845]

electronic crossover, PLLXO, passive crossover, active crossover, analog crossover

 

[Jim Matthews]

It's classy unlike @Patton04's present showing.

Give him a chance. He honestly didn't know.

 

[Jim Matthews]

Then, please, don't thank me.

I think this must be similar to how Mick Jagger feels when he's unrecognized at a dive bar while his tunes are playing on the jukebox.

 

[ROOSKIE]

Anyone have advice on an active Crossover for a 2 channel system....

Tried the processors, marantz, anthem, etc. Anthem came closest to real sound with correction below 500hz. Don't like the muted sound of room correction....

Also, computer illiterate, so mini-dsp is sort of out for me.

Room correction doesn't have to have a muted sound. That is not inherrant in RC.
It can sound a wide (unlimited) variety of ways depending on how you set it up.


I use Minidsp and really think learning how to use it would be the best choice. Although if computers really stump you it will be difficult at 1st.
2nd best choice would be hiring someone to set the gear up for you.

In any case learn (even if very challenging for you in the begining) to take some basic measurements in REW and adjust your system to taste.
Blending the subs in is much easier with DSP.
I generally overlap subs and mains about 1/2-1 octave as this seems to help fill in nulls, time align and knock down peaks to taste. My room curve for the bass region is a bit boosted from 150-20hrz.

 

[Patton04]

Didn't see that you had written the article. Apologies. Appreciate the info. That's my opinion of most audio magazines, acknowledge they have to earn, rarely see negative articles, why I come to this site, educated and unbiased opinion on audio electronics.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

It's classy unlike @Patton04's present showing.

Not cool. Kal is a member of this board in good standing.

 

[Doodski]

Not cool. Kal is a member of this board in good standing.

I agree. That's why I made the comment.

 

[Vladimir Filevski]

Thanks Kal, I don't put much stock in their (Stereophiles) sponsored content. Looking for other members experience, good-bad, or other options.

???
Measurements, even (?!) from Stereophile, don't lie:
https://www.stereophile.com/content/jl-audio-fathom-f110v2-powered-subwoofer-measurements
I would suggest to you to read carefully every single review from Mr. Rubinson, you can thank me later.

 

[Siwel]

Thanks Kal, I don't put much stock in their (Stereophiles) sponsored content. Looking for other members experience, good-bad, or other options.

I like mine a great deal. The CR1 is extremely focused on its job which makes it particularly good at it. If you know what you're doing, it will give you pretty much the precise set of filters you need for integrating a sub and honestly, there's no truly proper way to do that without having the feature set it offers. Which isn't to say there aren't other devices (now mostly digital) that can do so but few crossovers provide the complete path to sub integration that the CR1 does in such a well laid out, high quality package.

The only downside is the price but if that's not a constraint you do get what you paid for. Of course, you have to know or learn how to use it because it has absolutely no way of creating the filters you need. It's up to the user having the smarts to be able to define the parameters and then implement them accurately. If you have experience using active crossovers though, this one is easy to recommend on the basis of its performance and durability.