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Is the amp2 right for me?

Christian List

January 31, 2020 11:37

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Hi there,

I am trying to "smart up" an old speaker, however this is my first project with speakers.

I thought of using a Pi zero and amp2 for that.

The speaker has a 4Ohm bass and 8Ohm Tweeter. Can I just use one of each channel per speaker? I read a lot about needed frequency splitting in wiring, is this needed or can I handle that via the amp2? Or do I need a complete different product for that?

Also I thought of powering this with 18V, 60W. Should it be more, cause of the 8Ohm?

Thanks for anything pointing me in the right direction.

  Christian

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3 comments

• 0
  
  HiFiBerry team January 31, 2020 14:27

  While theoretically you could do this in software, I'm not aware of a module that allow easy configuration of a crossover in software that's transparent to the application.
  The easiest way to do this is the new filter designer in HiFiBerryOS:
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RV_Ckszcv4&t=4s
  
  However, this requires a DSP. You could either use a DAC+ DSP (if you want to build a MONO speaker)^with an external amplifier or the Beocreate 4-channel amplifier for this.

  Viele Grüsse,
  Daniel

   

• 0
  
  Christian List January 31, 2020 14:47

  Ok, I understand (at least I think so). Alternatively I could add a frequency splitter and use one channel of the amp2?

   

  What happens if I ignore the whole split and just use both channels, one for the tweeter and one for the bass?

• 0
  
  HiFiBerry team January 31, 2020 14:52

  Hi,
  
  this "frequency splitter" is a speaker crossover. This is basically what's used in any 2-way speaker. The hard thing is to design it correctly. While there are "standard" crossovers available, they usually don't work well as different speakers will require completely different crossovers. Designing good-sounding crossovers is a complex task and requires lots of experience (as a speaker builder myself, I'm really happy to have the function of modern DSPs that make this a lot easier). With a DSP, you can easily try different settings and just check how they sound - however even with this I would recommend to measure the system with a measurement microphone.

  Best regards,

  Daniel

   

  Edited by HiFiBerry team January 31, 2020 14:58