I use Renkus-Heinz TRX121 speakers at the auditorium where I work . Factory literature states they have a 12" woofer and 1" high frequency driver with a built-in crossover set at 1.8khz . Power handling ratings are 250w RMS for the low end and 40w RMS for the high . The amp for the FOH speakers is capable of delivering 350 watts and sometimes probably do . My question is this , why haven't I fried the HF drivers if they can only withstand 40 watts or so ? Would the crossover have some kind of wattage limiter ? Thanks
Speaker question
- Thread starterwhaleboat
- Start date
The details are complicated, but in effect a passive crossover typically does reduce the power delivered to the HF driver. Since HF drivers, especially compression drivers on horns, typically have a much higher sensitivity than typical mid and low frequency drivers, they need less power to provide the same level. Thus one role of a crossover is to match the output of the HF driver to that of the LF driver through crossover.
An important aspect of this is to remember that the amp outputs voltage and current, not power. It delivers power into a load such a resistor or speaker, thus why amps are rated X Watts at some load and Y Watts at another. Part of a typical HF section of a crossover is a voltage divider with one leg of the divider being the impedance of the HF driver and the other part being a resistor, you can select the resistor value to provide the desired drop in voltage getting to the HF driver and thus the HF driver output.
An important aspect of this is to remember that the amp outputs voltage and current, not power. It delivers power into a load such a resistor or speaker, thus why amps are rated X Watts at some load and Y Watts at another. Part of a typical HF section of a crossover is a voltage divider with one leg of the divider being the impedance of the HF driver and the other part being a resistor, you can select the resistor value to provide the desired drop in voltage getting to the HF driver and thus the HF driver output.
