Sublime Audio K231 analogue crossover ordered!

newlash09

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There's an all analogue DBX as well iirc.
yes, I've been eyeing the 223xs - I only want/need an ~80Hz crossover for monitors/sub - wondering if it might be a good option over the Behringer. There's a fairly +ve review on ASR (https://www.******************.com/forum/index.php?threads/dbx-223xs-crossover-review.35902/) showing about 101dB SNR, which is some way from the Sublime box. Two points of concern are "high" baseline noise and distortion rising with frequency above 2kHz. There are several pages of fairly positive follow-up experience. Almost enough to encourage the experiment, but really needs some comparative work.
 
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and here'a another rabbit hole: http://www.zinamp.co.uk/modules/crossovers.html. I found these searching for crossovers on e-bay and tracked to a company based in Coulsden. The crossovers seem to be intended for use in their own bi/tri amp products, but it also seems likely they could be boxed up on their own. No figures on noise or distortion. Not an OTS solution but might be interesting to find out if the company is open to the idea of a separate crossover box. The PCB for a stereo 2-way appears to work out at ~£100 and £130 for 3-way, if I've understood the pricing and device functions correctly.
 

MartinC

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yes, I've been eyeing the 223xs - I only want/need an ~80Hz crossover for monitors/sub - wondering if it might be a good option over the Behringer. There's a fairly +ve review on ASR (https://www.******************.com/forum/index.php?threads/dbx-223xs-crossover-review.35902/) showing about 101dB SNR, which is some way from the Sublime box. Two points of concern are "high" baseline noise and distortion rising with frequency above 2kHz. There are several pages of fairly positive follow-up experience. Almost enough to encourage the experiment, but really needs some comparative work.
Are you specifically after an analogue unit? Just asking as there are miniDSP options with better SNR if that's something you're specifically looking at.
 
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Are you specifically after an analogue unit? Just asking as there are miniDSP options with better SNR if that's something you're specifically looking at.
I quite like the idea of the analogue solution in the spirit of the OP, but I'm not wedded to it. The main reason for mentioning SNR in my post is that the OP had drawn attention to that as a factor that they felt contributed to the superior performance of the Sublime over the Behringer. The analogue solutions under discussion are also quite "cost-effective" (aka cheap), but the price to pay seems to be SNR and distortion. There are much less cost-effective analogue solutions (iCon, Spl) which go way the other side of minidsp on cost, plus any number of obscure devices (I found a 20+ year old Wilson fixed frequency crossover (50Hz) on eBay recently - the seller had no idea about the spec so I had to go back to the company who dug out a photocopy of some documentation - and Accuphase frequency dividers, also with plug-in fixed frequency cards!).

I was waiting on the Behringer verdict to help decide whether to look further that way or whether it pushed me in the minidsp direction, which I've been looking at for some time. If I'd been ready, I might have gone for the SHD that was on offer at few days back. I see from your sig that you run one of those and that we run not dissimilarly structured setups, so it would be good to hear your experience. My frontend is a mytek dsd 192 (next up to change) with the single-ended outputs going into a dynaudio 18s and the balanced into nuprime AMG then Amphion Argon 3S. I'd ike a dac/preamp that has one analogue input like the SHD (even better would be phono) for my ancient LP12, since use can't justify a phono preamp with a digital output. There is the NAD C658, but reliability chatter concerns me along with an absence of endorsements.
 

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In the last couple of weeks I've noticed that tell tale sheen on a few piano albums with the behringer which I initially missed when first listening to the cx3400.
Hi, is it a similar kind of sheen as the DCX, which is pretty sheeny?
 

Psilonaught

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Hi, is it a similar kind of sheen as the DCX, which is pretty sheeny?
I tracked down the issue to some settings in Audirvana.

As Tony pointed out, an analogue crossover can't have a digital sheen since it isn't doing any A/D conversion!

The DCX is nasty and very sheeny. Horrible thing.
 
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I've owned the DBX 223XS, the sublime is significantly better.
thanks, that's good to have confirmed, if not exactly unexpected. Pity about the hassle of dealing with them, especially when you have do to returns as you have. For something that appears to be that simple, it's surprising reliability should be an issue.
 
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newlash09

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I accidentally came upon a SPL crossover. Bloody expensive for a 2 way crossover 🤣🤣.

But looks well built and beautiful. I bet it sounds great too, as its built for professional studio usage.

Since you need just a 2 way crossover, I think it will be a perfect fit for your needs @Psilonaught.
 
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MartinC

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I accidentally came upon a SPL crossover. Bloody expensive for a 2 way crossover 🤣🤣.

But looks well built and beautiful. I bet it sounds great too, as its built for professional studio usage.

Since you need just a 2 way crossover, I think it will be a perfect fit for your needs @Psilonaught.
<Googles>Just under £3k I see :). Crossover frequency limited to the 50 - 120 Hz range going by the knobs too. Don't think it would work in my room but I do like the red brushed metal front as a different option.

ProFi-WebTitle_Crossover-2048x1328.jpg


https://spl.audio/en/spl-produkt/crossover/

https://www.dv247.com/en_GB/GBP/SPL-Electronics-Pro-Fi-Crossover-black/art-REC0013840-000
 

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