The function and principle analysis of frequency divider

The frequency divider refers to distinguish the sound signals of different frequency bands, respectively amplify them, and then send them to speakers in the corresponding frequency bands for replay. When reproducing high-quality sound, electronic frequency division processing is required.

The frequency divider is a circuit device in the speaker, used to separate the input analog audio signal into different parts such as treble, midrange and bass, and then sent to the corresponding high, middle and woofer units for playback. The reason for this is that no single speaker can perfectly reproduce the sound in all frequency bands.

The crossover is the "brain" in the speaker, which is crucial to the sound quality. The music signal output by the power amplifier must be processed by the filter element in the frequency divider to let the signal of a specific frequency of each unit pass. It is necessary to design the frequency divider of the speaker scientifically, reasonably and rigorously to effectively modify the different characteristics of the speaker unit and optimize the combination so that each unit can develop its strengths and avoid its shortcomings. Only smooth, accurate image phase can make the high, middle, and low-pitched music layer have clear, coherent, bright, comfortable, wide, and natural sound quality effects.

In a speaker system, people call the cabinet, crossover circuit, and speaker unit as the three major parts of the speaker system, and the crossover is the "brain" in the speaker. Can the crossover circuit restore the speaker system with high quality? Electroacoustic signals play an extremely important role. Especially in the middle and high frequency parts, the role played by the frequency dividing circuit is more obvious.

The function and principle analysis of frequency divider

The role of the divider
The function and principle analysis of frequency divider

Crossover

No matter what type of frequency divider the main function and task is of course frequency division. Because there are many types of speakers now, what function should be used in the system, and the frequency divider of a few frequency division still needs to be flexibly configured. The frequency dividers that are usually used today are divided by frequency division 2, frequency division 3, frequency division 4, etc. A frequency over 4 is too complicated and meaningless. The frequency divider can reasonably distribute the power of each unit, so that each unit has an appropriate phase relationship to reduce the acoustic interference distortion of each unit during operation.

Protect speakers

The working frequency of different speakers is different. Generally speaking, the larger the caliber, the better the low-frequency characteristics and the lower the frequency dive. The frequency divider can provide the best working frequency required by different speakers, make up for the sound defects of the unit in a certain frequency band, and make all kinds of speakers work more rationally and safely. Therefore, in addition to the crossover task, the crossover has more important functions for normal use: protection of speaker equipment.

Increase sound layering

If there are many different types of speakers in an audio system, and no crossover is used, then there will be many overlapping and repeated parts between the different speakers, the sound interference will also become very serious, and the sound will become Blurred. If a frequency divider is used in the sound system for reasonable frequency division, the different speakers are in the best working state, so that the frequency range of the sound emitted by different speakers will hardly repeat, and the phenomenon of sound waves interfering with each other is reduced. The sound will become particularly clear, and the sound will be better and more layered.

Principle of frequency divider
The function and principle analysis of frequency divider

From the circuit structure point of view, the crossover is essentially an LC filter network composed of capacitors and inductors. The treble channel is a high-pass filter, which only passes high-frequency signals and blocks low-frequency signals; the opposite is true for the bass channel. The bass passes to block high-frequency signals; the mid-range channel is a band-pass filter. Except for the frequency between the low and high two crossover points, both high-frequency and low-frequency components will be blocked. In the actual frequency divider, in order to balance the sensitivity difference between the high and low units, attenuation resistors are also added; in addition, some frequency dividers also include an impedance compensation network composed of resistors and capacitors, the purpose of which is to Make the impedance curve of the speaker psychologically flat, so that the amplifier can be driven.

Since the current speakers almost all adopt the design method of multi-unit sub-band playback, there must be a device that can divide the full-band music signal sent by the power amplifier into treble, bass output or treble, midrange, and bass output as needed. In order to connect with the corresponding speaker unit, the crossover is such a device. If the full-band signal is directly sent to the high, middle and bass units without distribution, the part of the "excess signal" outside the frequency response range of the unit will adversely affect the signal restoration in the normal frequency band, and may even cause The treble and midrange units are damaged.

Power divider: It is located behind the power amplifier and is set in the speaker box. The power audio signal output by the power amplifier is divided into bass, midrange and treble through the LC filter network, and sent to the respective speakers. The connection is simple and easy to use, but it consumes power, the audio valley appears, and cross-distortion occurs. Its parameters have a direct relationship with the impedance of the speaker, and the impedance of the speaker is a function of frequency, which deviates greatly from the nominal value, so the error It is also larger, which is not conducive to adjustment.

The function and principle analysis of frequency divider
Power divider

Electronic crossover: A device that divides the frequency of weak audio signals. It is located in front of the power amplifier. After frequency division, it uses an independent power amplifier to amplify each audio frequency band signal and sends it to the corresponding speaker unit. Because the current is small, it can be achieved with a lower power electronic active filter. It is easier to adjust, reduce power loss, and interference between speaker units. The signal loss is small and the sound quality is good. However, in this way, an independent power amplifier is used for each channel, which has high cost and complicated circuit structure, and is used in professional sound reinforcement systems.

The function and principle analysis of frequency divider
Electronic crossover

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