Crossover?

When you send a full range signal into a cross-over, it splits the signal by frequency and sends that signal to an amp.

Full range signal
into
cross-over
<100hz 101-2khz >2khz
low amp mids amp high amp
 
is it essential in a PA setup or is it an elective add-on? When would it be essential to have one?

Thanks in advance!
 
Flamin- that mostly depends on the size of the PA and the speakers used. If you only have one set of full-range speakers, they will already have what's called a passive crossover installed in the speaker itself. You can send a full-frequency signal to such a speaker without a problem. However, once you start getting into systems that have separate speakers for different frequencies (i.e., a full-range speaker complemented by a subwoofer), you will need to have a crossover to send the appropriate frequencies to the right speakers. In a situation like this, it is essential to protect the speakers from damage. High-frequency energy can cause a subwoofer to short out, and low-frequency energy can cause some full-range speakers to distort or overheat.

There ya go! :)
 
If you are going to run separate subwoofers, a crossover and an amp for the subs are the way to go.
This is called bi-amping, using a separate amp to power each of two frequency bands, high and low.
Running a full-range signal into both the tops and subs would make for a lot of problems in the range where the boxes frequency response overlaps. So, in comes the crossover.
Some full-range boxes, like your average 15" with a horn small PA box, can be bi-amped as well, but mostly it isn't worth the effort.
 
Yeah, basically it only makes sense for larger system. Your typical small club or rehersal room PA doesn't really need it.
 
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