1200 hz electronic Crossover

[stratsrus]

My P.A. system has Altec 1221A Stage Monitors. I have given thought to buying an Altec 1641A Crossover and using it to bi-amp them. The crossover comes with 800hz and 500hz plug-in modules. I believe the 32b horns crossover at 1200hz. Can anyone confirm this? I have seen Altec literature stating they are 800hz and 1200hz. Secondly, does anyone know how to construct or modify a plug in module to make it cross at 1200hz?

[Old Guy]

If I remember right, initially the 1221 used an 800 crossover. It was changed to 1200, as a year or so later the MI version of the VOT also was, for durability purposes.

Frankly, considering the response of that 12" you could go as high as 1600 I think without a problem. HF durabilty would go up of course.

As far as info on that crossover, I can't help. At the risk of stepping in (expletive deleted), that was a rebadged EV unit and I never cared for it. It wasn't as popular as many Altec items.

And crossover technology has improved dramatically since then. There are $100 Chinese units that will outperform it in every area except perhaps durability. Might be a possibilty. If you are going to run mono (most small PA's do) you could use one side of a stereo crossover for fronts and the other side for monitors. If you are gonna run stereo, consider the Behringer DCX 2496. That company makes cheap stuff- but you can't find a better unit for less than close to triple the price. It's 3 in 6 out, up to 48 db octave crossovers, limiters, parametric EQ. delay to align drivers, low and high pass,all very adjustable. Where I am I know of probably 50 bands running those in pubs and at the small to medium system level.

I use BSS in my system ( at triple the price- wahhh!) for rider reasons. I wish I could have used the Behringers and pocketed the extra cash.

I sent a bulk email to 4 or 5 friends who may have the info you need. If anything pops up, or if I can get a manual, I'll post it. Maybe someone here has one.

One last thought- consider selling the 808's Symbiotik diapragms on Ebay and replacing them with Pascalites. Smoother mids and vastly improved highs. Note the Pascalites HAVE to be crossed at 1200 or higher- Altec people I spoke to way back were emphatic about not using them at 800 in live apps. They can go lower in home apps.

Will do what I can to get you the info you need.